The Haynes Video Gaming Manual

For some reason, this isn't coming out in the US until Feb 2010, I may have to order from AmazonUK.

What a horrible cover! I know, know, you don't judge a book by its cover.

Well the cover is partly in the tradition of Haynes manuals, and also rather harks back to the old school 80s design of books we got here, such as those from Usborne for example.

Good ol João Diniz Sanches!

@Damo - I love game consoles but I think they could have sexed up the cover a bit.

No, no.

Just make it more eye pleasing. I can dig the retro look but not if it includes grimy yellow consoles. I kinda like your suggestion though. Hey it works for Team Ninja games right?

I vote for nekkid ladies. And balloons.

Live in the USA, so it's gonna be a bit hard to find this in my local store =(

Those consoles look pretty sexy to me!

seconding ODOGG618; those consoles on the cover look pretty sexy to me too :3

I would get it for $10 including shipping.

But if the Dreamcast is sat on the Saturn, how would you put your discs in?

...but I am Puerto Riccan...

Looks cool, but I'd rather spend $20 on a game.

Must get

Wow,
this looks great. Totally worth it even to have shipped over here. Very retro cover what else would they do with it? The only other cover I could imagine would be one of those cut away engineering diagrams like they have on their auto manuals, but it would be unfair to do it for just one console so what they did is classic anyway, throwing so many on there. that pile of consoles is like diamond jewelry showcase for nerds like me.
I'll ask for it for holidays. I agree, right now if I had 20 bucks lying around I get more games, but as a gift it's perfect.

I do wonder how this compares to (and/or compliments) "The Encyclopedia of Game Machines: Consoles, Handhelds and Home Computers 1972-2005" which seems similar though was originally in German and then translated to English.

Though one thing came very apparent. These books have a tendency to go out of print when I typed the aboves book ISBN (3-00-01539-4) into Amazon UK is showed there were no copies available. From what I can tell if you can read German you're in luck as there is a new edition which goes up to 2009 (the publishers website is here) and there seems to the sequels as well (on controllers and graphics).

Howdy, joao here. Wanted to thank you for the kind comments and orders, of course - genuinely hope you like the book.

@Starwolf_UK
I can't imagine there's a book out there that compares to 'The Encyclopedia of Game Machines 1972-2005'. Winnie Forster has done a remarkable job of cramming in some 500 machines (along with some excellent, extremely rare items featured) and the book provides a short but authoritative overview of the hardware. I can't recommend it enough, if you can get hold of the English edition. It's a beautiful and essential thing.

Going head-to-head with that kind of work would be daunting and silly. So what I've tried to do with my book is narrow the focus to 20 machines but go in a little deeper, as well as give plenty of attention to the games. In addition, the early chapters try to offer some practical advice with regards to gaming and collecting. So the two publications cross over on some of the subject matter, of course, but end up distinct, which was important to me.

Anyway, that's ultimately for others to decide. Just thought I'd say 'hello' and thank people for their support.

Annoyingly, I didn't once consider the inclusion of naked ladies on the cover. A missed opportunity, I fear.