Imagine Publishing's Videogames Hardware Handbook

I recently got hold of the Videogames Hardware Handbook from Imagine Publishing and it's a great read so far with some really good retrospectives, but there is one thing puzzling me.

It says that it covers from the Atari 2600 to the Sega Dreamcast and everything inbetween. However, I've looked but there is no retropective of the PlayStation.

Does anyone know why this is? I can't imagine why they'd leave it out.

WKD wrote:I recently got hold of the Videogames Hardware Handbook from Imagine Publishing and it's a great read so far with some really good retrospectives, but there is one thing puzzling me.

It says that it covers from the Atari 2600 to the Sega Dreamcast and everything inbetween. However, I've looked but there is no retropective of the PlayStation.

Does anyone know why this is? I can't imagine why they'd leave it out.

Maybe Sony wanted too much money?

Maybe they forgot?

What the hell is a PlayStation?

Isn't it just a series of articles culled from Retro-Gamer anyway?

superfurryfox wrote:What the hell is a PlayStation?

You trying to be pedantic?

TheTurnipKing wrote:Isn't it just a series of articles culled from Retro-Gamer anyway?

Yeah, it appears so.

Just a curious omission. Evidently, they didn't have a PlayStation article to add.

Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

Jazzem wrote:Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

I'm pretty sure they've done the Archie in the past in the magazine though. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they've a second volume lined up.

Bear in mind the PS1 probably didn't seem so Retro back in the early days of the mag. It probably would have taken them a while to get around to it

TheTurnipKing wrote:

Jazzem wrote:Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

I'm pretty sure they've done the Archie in the past in the magazine though. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they've a second volume lined up.

Bear in mind the PS1 probably didn't seem so Retro back in the early days of the mag. It probably would have taken them a while to get around to it

But surely the Dreamcast wouldn't have been either as the PS came out in 1994 and the Dreamcast in 1999. When was the book published?

lex-man wrote:

TheTurnipKing wrote:

Jazzem wrote:Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

I'm pretty sure they've done the Archie in the past in the magazine though. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they've a second volume lined up.

Bear in mind the PS1 probably didn't seem so Retro back in the early days of the mag. It probably would have taken them a while to get around to it

But surely the Dreamcast wouldn't have been either as the PS came out in 1994 and the Dreamcast in 1999. When was the book published?

I'm not talking about the book itself so much as the articles they pulled from Retro Gamer. It might be they took the articles from a selection of older Retro Gamers written before they'd covered the PS1?

RG doesn't really cover stuff in chronological order.

TheTurnipKing wrote:

lex-man wrote:

TheTurnipKing wrote:

Jazzem wrote:Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

I'm pretty sure they've done the Archie in the past in the magazine though. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they've a second volume lined up.

Bear in mind the PS1 probably didn't seem so Retro back in the early days of the mag. It probably would have taken them a while to get around to it

But surely the Dreamcast wouldn't have been either as the PS came out in 1994 and the Dreamcast in 1999. When was the book published?

I'm not talking about the book itself so much as the articles they pulled from Retro Gamer. It might be they took the articles from a selection of older Retro Gamers written before they'd covered the PS1?

RG doesn't really cover stuff in chronological order.

I just find it odd that the Dreamcast was considered retro before the PS1 although it did flop quite hard.

lex-man wrote:

TheTurnipKing wrote:

lex-man wrote:

TheTurnipKing wrote:

Jazzem wrote:Yeah I was puzzled that they didn't have a PlayStation one (and I don't know if they've done one outside of the hardware book).

I was more gutted at the lack of Acorn Archimedes though...I'm aware I'm probably alone in that

I'm pretty sure they've done the Archie in the past in the magazine though. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they've a second volume lined up.

Bear in mind the PS1 probably didn't seem so Retro back in the early days of the mag. It probably would have taken them a while to get around to it

But surely the Dreamcast wouldn't have been either as the PS came out in 1994 and the Dreamcast in 1999. When was the book published?

I'm not talking about the book itself so much as the articles they pulled from Retro Gamer. It might be they took the articles from a selection of older Retro Gamers written before they'd covered the PS1?

RG doesn't really cover stuff in chronological order.

I just find it odd that the Dreamcast was considered retro before the PS1 although it did flop quite hard.

I don't mean that it was considered retro first. Just that it might have been written about in Retro Gamer first.

Historically that failure is perhaps more interesting than the world domination tale of the PS1.

I bought this a while back and need to start reading it, especially the Dreamcast/ N64 stuff!

Hi there,

As someone has already pointed out, the book was compiled from pre-existing Retro Gamer articles. And since the PlayStation hadn't been covered at that time there was, sadly, no way to include it in the book. Fortunately, we're currently working on a Volume 2 to be released this October. That will feature many of the omissions from the first book including PlayStation and Neo Geo, some more obscure systems like the Archimedes and Oric-1 and some alternate looks at classic machines like the Amiga and Mega Drive.

Ash

Great news, I will look out for that!