Review by Booklist Review
Nintendo's Super Mario Bros., one of the most successful game franchises, began as Donkey Kong, wherein a portly plumber jumps over barrels to save a princess from a grinning ape. That scenario somehow struck a nerve in game-players, perhaps because of its whimsical nature compared to the violence of first-person shooters. Ryan, a lifelong gamer, has reviewed more than 500 video games for Katrillion, a now-defunct teen news and entertainment website. He recounts the franchise's history, from humble beginnings as an arcade game competing with Pac-Man and through the tie-in releases of Nintendo game consoles, with all the iterations Mario has gone through, from simple barrel jumper to explorer of myriad worlds of mushrooms and castles. The secret to the game's success lies in its many difficulty levels and the secrets hidden in the game, which attracted a cult-like following to rival that of Star Wars. The twists and turns that the Nintendo creators go through to keep the franchise alive involve near-death market moves and legal battles that parallel Mario's quest.--Siegfried, Davi. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The history of how a Japanese video game featuring two Italian brothers became one of America's favorite pastimes is covered in exhaustive, enthusiastic detail by video game reviewer Ryan. The author takes readers through Nintendo's early business machinations; the story of Mario's eccentric creator, Shigeru Miyamoto; and the game-changing emergence of Nintendo's motion controller for the Wii, with a breezy journalistic style. At times the tone slips into the white hat-black hat morality employed in most video games, often painting Nintendo's business competitors or detractors with broad reductive strokes-"hardcore gamers sneer at Wii"-and paeans to new Nintendo releases get smattered with exclamation points, so that some pages read like Nintendo promo material. All of this is distracting but not fatal, and the book is a thorough history of Nintendo's victories, written by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable fan. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A gaming journalist retraces Nintendo's unlikely shaping of video-game history through a pudgy Italian plumber named Mario.In his debut, Ryan chronicles the surprisingly riveting history of Japanese video-game empire Nintendo, from their early coin-operated arcade-game days to recent innovations in game-system technology. More specifically, though, the author follows the professional career of Nintendo's mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto and the often-riveting story behind the genesis of now-legendary pixilated plumber Mario, and the improbable success of Mario's star-vehicle, Donkey Kong, whose oddball name came about from a happy accident in Japanese-to-English translation.For anyone who grew up in the '80s with quarter-arcade games like Donkey Kong, the first half of Ryan's book is an endlessly fascinating nostalgia trip. Placing Miyamoto's creation in its cultural and chronological context, the author not only gives Nintendo's full history, but also a detailed accounting of Nintendo's early field of competition, especially with one-time giant Atari and later Sega, with its irreverent anti-Mario stance. Nintendo's rise to importance would also be marked by big lawsuits, namely by Universal, who claimed they owned the rights to King Kong, and thus, Donkey Kong. It's this historical element that Ryan thrives on, as well as the biographical aspects of Nintendo's eccentric Japanese founding fathers. The author drives home the notion of Nintendo's success being mostly due to its uncanny sense of resourcefulness. In the later chapters, however, the narrative slows, as Ryan gets too caught up in gamer shop talk. In his coverage of the '90s and beyond, the author seems more concerned with the technological minutiae behind every new gizmo that Nintendo is responsible for and can't retain the dramatic buildup that had given such heft to earlier chapters.Late stumbles aside, an effective and entertaining overview of the video-game industry's history and Nintendo's essential role in shaping it.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
