Best Before : Videogames, Supersession and Obsolescence

ISBN-13: 9780415577915 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 192 str.

James Newman

Opis

Despite record sales and an ever-growing global industry, the simple fact is that videogames are disappearing. Best Before examines the ways in which the obsessions with technological obsolescence and supersession and an industry defined by continual innovation have effectively closed down the possibility of valuing old videogames in any way other than curiosities or waypoints along the teleological journey to the next generation of hardware and software. James Newman presents videogames as new media in need of preservation and discusses the practical and conceptual challenges faced by the emerging group of memory and heritage organisations dedicated to saving and interpreting these rich, complex and mutable texts and the cultures of gameplay and fandom that surround and support them. In addition, Best Before offers a series of in-depth case studies that explore aspects of videogame preservation such as the efficacy of hardware and software emulation, the place of the artefact in an increasingly virtual world, the role of the fan as archivist and researcher, and the challenges of exhibiting videogame materials.

O autorze

James Newman is Professor of Digital Media and Director of the Media Futures Research Centre at Bath Spa University. He is the author of numerous books on videogames and gaming cultures including Videogames (2004) and Playing with Videogames (2008). James is a co-founder of the National Videogame Archive which is a partnership with the National Media Museum and is a co-producer of the GameCity international videogames festival.