Breaking down the 40-year historical past of the world’s hottest artwork type, one online game at a time

Pong. The Legend of Zelda. Last Fantasy VII. Rock Band. Fortnite. Animal Crossing: New Horizons. For every of the 40 years of online game historical past, there’s a defining sport, a sport that captured the zeitgeist and left a legacy for all video games that adopted. By means of a sequence of entertaining, informative, and opinionated crucial essays, writer and tech journalist Jordan Minor investigates, in chronological order, the modern, genre-bending, and earth-shattering video games from 1977 via 2022. Minor explores growth tales, crucial reception, and legacy, and additionally appears at how gaming intersects with and finally influences society at massive whereas reveling in how uniquely and delightfully weird even the most well-known video games have a tendency to be.

From portly plumbers to armor-clad area marines and the speedy rodents in between, Video Game of the Year paints particular person portraits that, as an entire, give readers a stronger appreciation for the vibrant selection and long-lasting affect of this recent, thrilling, and massively fashionable artwork type. Illustrated all through with retro-inspired imagery and that includes contributions from dozens of main trade voices, together with New York Instances bestselling writer Jason Schreier (Blood, Sweat, and Pixels; Kotaku), Max Scoville (IGN), Rebekah Valentine (IGN), Blessing Adeoye Jr. (Kinda Humorous), and Devindra Hardawar (Engadget), this year-by-year anthology is a loving reflection on the world’s hottest artwork type.
            
Featured Games: 1977 – Pong; 1978 – Area Invaders; 1979 – Velocity Freak; 1980 – Pac-Man; 1981 – Donkey Kong; 1982 – Pitfall!; 1983 – Dragon’s Lair; 1984 – Tetris; 1985 – Tremendous Mario Bros.; 1986 – Dragon Quest; 1987 – The Legend of Zelda; 1988 – Mega Man 2; 1989 – SimCity; 1990 – The Secret of Monkey Island; 1991 – Sonic the Hedgehog; 1992 – Wolfenstein 3D; 1993 – NBA Jam; 1994 – Tremendous Avenue Fighter II Turbo; 1995 – Donkey Kong Nation 2; 1996 – Tremendous Mario 64; 1997 – Last Fantasy VII; 1998 – Steel Gear Stable; 1999 – System Shock 2; 2000 Counter-Strike; 2001 – Halo: Fight Advanced; 2002 – Grand Theft Auto: Vice Metropolis; 2003 – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker; 2004 – World of Warcraft; 2005 – Resident Evil 4; 2006 – Wii Sports activities; 2007 – Rock Band; 2008 – Spore; 2009 – Uncharted 2; 2010 – Tremendous Meat Boy; 2011 – Minecraft; 2012 – Telltale’s The Strolling Useless; 2013 – Melancholy Quest; 2014 – Future; 2015 – The Witcher 3; 2016 – Pokémon Go; 2017 – Fortnite; 2018 – Tremendous Smash Bros. Final; 2019 – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; 2020 – Animal Crossing: New Horizons; 2022 – The Stanley Parable: Extremely Deluxe