Game Boy fans can save big on a very cool book at Amazon for a limited time. The Game Boy Encyclopedia, which released on November 30, is a reference book containing all of the 1,100-plus games that released for Nintendo’s Game Boy and Game Boy Color in the west. Normally $43, this 320-page hardcover is on sale for only $27.40.
$27.40 (was $43)
Written by veteran video game journalist Chris Scullion, The Game Boy Encyclopedia looks at every game released in the West for both the Game Boy (~580 games) and its 1998 successor, the Game Boy Color (~560 games), which tallies up to around 1,150 games total. Inside the book, each game is covered with screenshots and trivia factoids, resulting in a comprehensive, though unofficial, look at the system over its long and storied run.
If you’re looking for some more gaming history, you can check out Scullion’s other books on other influential video game consoles and their libraries. You can complement the GameBoy book with the NES, SNES, and N64 encyclopedias. The SNES book also includes section dedicated to the Nintendo’s biggest flop, the Virtual Boy, and its small 22-game library. All three books are available now in hardcover and paperback.
On the Sega side, fans can return to the company’s 16-bit era with this book on the Sega Genesis. There’s also a Dreamcast encyclopedia that covers over 600 games from the short-lived system.
The Video Game Encyclopedia Series
- The Sega Genesis Encyclopedia
- The Sega Dreamcast Encyclopedia
- The NES Encyclopedia
- The SNES Encyclopedia
- The N64 Encyclopedia
- The GameBoy Encyclopedia
The History of Nintendo Books
Game Boy and Nintendo fans in general should also check out Florent Gorges’ The History of the Game Boy and Famicom/NES books, which are available for $28 each at Amazon. Released in English for the first time last year, these books are deeply researched and based on many hours of interviews Gorges conducted with developers who worked at Nintendo when the NES and Game Boy were being developed.
Bitmap Books Video Game Art Books
Bitmap Books also has a very good selection of reads dedicated to classic video games and modern masterpieces. The publisher recently covered interactive terror with the release of From Ants to Zombies: Six Decades of Video Game Horror, and it has also published books on retro consoles, the gorgeous box art of video games, and more. These are beautifully designed books that are meant to be both educational and showpieces in your collection, and each release is typically a chunky read that goes into exhaustive detail on its subject matter.