1st Edition
A History of Sports Video Games Building Virtual Athletic Fields in the Digital Age
This book explores the history of sports and sports-themed video games, providing a comprehensive and holistic view of this complex and diverse genre.
The author highlights the influence of technological advancement, industry competition and popular culture on game design, marketing strategies and user experience. Offering valuable insights into the historical process of interaction and integration between real-world sport and video games, this volume will enrich existing scholarship on video games.
This volume is a valuable contribution to the fields of both game studies and sports studies, and will be perfect for those interested in the history of science and technology as well as social and cultural history.
1. Introduction 2. The Pioneers 3. The Post-Crash Era 4. The 1990s 5. The New Millennium
Biography
Lu Zhouxiang is an Associate Professor within the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures at National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland.
“From Tennis for Two to contemporary esports, Lu’s work provides a much needed contribution to sports video game research and the genre's vital, but oft-neglected, place in digital game history. His astonishingly comprehensive survey of sports video games across nearly eight decades will undoubtedly trigger fond memories of childhood for many readers. But more importantly, his book should be required reading for anyone interested in understanding how the sports game genre has developed and subsequently influenced the digital game industry.”
Prof. Andrew Baerg, University of Houston-Victoria
“Sports games have long been overlooked by game historians. A History of Sports Video Games takes a step towards addressing this omission by offering an introductory chronicle of their history, from games running on computers of the 1950s to the present. It provides a foundation for researchers and others interested in an accessible yet detailed overview of this topic.”
Dr. Henry Lowood, Stanford University
