Well, this is a surprise. Limited Run - the company known best as a physical game distributor - has announced it will be publishing two retro gaming books. Both are by Jeremy Parish and will be available to pre-order on 10th August.
Super NES Works Vol. 1 Hardcover Book
Super NES Works Vol. I looks back at the early days of the Super NES in the U.S., with comprehensive retrospectives of both the console and all 31 games to ship for it through the end of the year. Each entry is accompanied with sidebars, supplementary features, photos of U.S. packaging, and crisp high-resolution direct-feed screenshots.
Super NES Works Vol.I also includes an overview of Japanese releases for Super Famicom through the end of 1991, a comprehensive timeline of events leading up to the system’s launch, and more! It’s the definitive 30th anniversary retrospective of how one of the greatest consoles ever got its start.
There'll be a standard release for $34.99 USD (coming soon) and a collector's edition for $69.99 USD (shipping Q4 2021).
Virtual Boy Works Hardcover Book
After Nintendo achieved world-shaking success with its Game Boy handheld system, a next-generation follow-up seemed inevitable. Yet few could have predicted the form it would take—or how poorly it would fare with critics and consumers alike. That device, Virtual Boy, stands as a rare black mark on Nintendo’s long legacy of console hardware: An abject commercial failure, retired after only half a year of life. But was it really as bad as all that? 25 years after Virtual Boy’s rocky launch, this book provides a comprehensive and open-minded exploration of the Virtual Boy and its library from start to finish.
Packed with history, critiques, direct-feed screenshots, and complete packaging photography for the console’s entire library (and then some), this is the definitive chronicle of Virtual Boy’s history.
There'll be a standard release for $34.99 USD (coming soon) and a collector's edition for $69.99 USD (coming soon).
There's also international shipping if you live outside of the US. Would you be interested in adding these to your bookshelf? Tell us down in the comments.
[source limitedrungames.com]
Comments 17
I'm a Jeremy Parish patron and longtime fan of his Video Works series, but I'm hesitant to buy any of his books. Not for quality concerns - I am certain they are fantastic! But I have serious doubts about his ability to ever finish the series. He's taken on so much, and at his current pace it could take 10 years or longer to finish the Game Boy, NES, and SNES Works series which lead to the subsequent books.
I really do hope he is able to complete them all, though!
I already have NES Works Vol 1&2 and Game Boy Works Vol 1&2, so yeah, I’ll be getting these.
Jeremy Parish works for Limited Run Games so it should come as no surprise that they will sell his books.
Like this guy's videos, but $70 is pricey for a book and some knickknacks. Love the CE cover and cartridge, though!
I could probably swing the standard one sometime later. I've been spending too much on gaming lately.
@JJtheTexan I felt the same way about the Berserk manga, and only just now found out that Kentaru Miyura died a couple months ago, leaving his legacy unfinished.He worked on that series since the 1980’s, but I’m happy that he positively impacted the world with his fantastic artwork.
I love Jeremy's videos on YouTube, but the guy works on so many different topics at the same time that nothing ever really moves forward. For Super Nintendo, I don't even think he's gotten out of 1992 yet and he started that series over 6 years ago. The Super NES is arguably Nintendo's best console of all time (though I think the Switch has overtaken it), but in 1991 you had so many games that didn't know how to utilize the components of the console and as a result suffered from slowdown and other effects that didn't shine it in a great light, a few titles notwithstanding (Super Mario World, FZero, UN Squadron, Actraiser, etc.). It wasn't until 1992, or around the time that Super Mario Kart and Street Fighter II came out, when the console grew into the legend it became.
I have the SNES encylopedia by Chris Scullion. It's fab and quite frankly, I don't feel like I need another one.
@JJtheTexan meanwhile GRRM is laughing at the notion of "finishing books"
I didn't know there was that much to write about the virtual boy, as far as i could surmise from the (meager) magazine coverage at the time, it was over pretty much the minute it began...
@MysticX You’d be surprised. I’ve watched Jeremy Parish’s Virtual Boy Works videos and they’re really good (more interesting than the SNES ones IMO). The games themselves are obviously not legendary classics but many of them were interesting and experimental.
In many ways the VB book would be a better buy because it’s a totally comprehensive review of a console library that probably no one else will ever do.
I just realised that I have never seen the box of a Virtual Boy-game before. They look pretty cool. Very interested in the book about the VB.
I remember playing a Virtual Boy (tennis) at Eurogamer in London, when it was still at Earl's Court. It was fun.
I still think the concept was ahead of its time really, although the hardware was certainly mlre than a bit rough around the edges - particularly by Nintendo's typical high standards.
Still a fascinating piece of gaming history though... and the consoles today sell for a high price. I think of all the Nintendo books released to date, this one may actually be one of the best as it's not simply a flick through memory lane for the majority of people.
I think it's fair to say that VR and AR still haven't really met their true potential even to this day. Makes the Virtual Boy something of a wonder by way of how old it is, yet the same challenges are being faced by the likes of Oculus and PSVR.
You'd have to say that surely one day, perhaps when the technology advances further (thinking more on the wider VR experience here, not just the visuals), this will be a significant part of gaming for everyone.
I've always wanted to pick up one or two of his books to show support, and because they'd be lovely items for the coffee table.
But as others have mentioned, it would be a shame to pick up volumes one or two, and know there's bound to be a third or fourth volume or beyond that may never arrive. But that's my own personal bugbear; I get why he branches out to do the side projects like GBA Works, SNES Works, N64 Works, etc. It gets to be quite a grind to focus on only Game Boy or NES games, and a palette cleanser is always refreshing.
I have all of Jeremy's previous "Works" books, and they're great! I can't wait for these to be released. Huge fan of his Youtube videos and the Retronauts podcast.
Ok, this looks really interesting
I'm a big fan of Jeremy Parrish and will probably end up buying these books. I noticed a few questionable design choices (why are the Super NES/Famicom hardware shots of dirty old systems? Was there actually no way around making the VB game shots grey and black instead of red and black?), but they still look interesting.
@JJtheTexan So, you won't buy a book, because you fear you can't buy all the books???
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