Hey! Listen!
A Journey Through the Golden Era of Video Games
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Hey! Listen!
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Narrated by:
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Steve McNeil
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By:
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Steve McNeil
About this listen
For fans of David Hardcastle and Retro Tech by Peter Leigh.
A hilarious history of the golden period of computer games from the creator of Dara O'Briain's Go 8 Bit.
It is fair to say Steve McNeil likes video games. He took a Nintendo Wii with him on his honeymoon (obviously), and spent so much time playing smartphone games in bed in the dark that he got eye strain and had to wear an eye patch. The locals nicknamed him 'the pale pirate'.
Steve's obsession with video games can be traced back to the golden period from the early 70s to the late 90s. In this book he will delve into these games - from the appallingly bad to the breathtakingly good. He will also take us through the nerdy geniuses who created them, their fierce rivalries and risks often leading to some of the most farcical moments in the history of entertainment.
This is a story of obsession, full of tales of Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Mario, Sonic, Wolfenstein 3D, Worms and many more. It will also answer important questions about the golden age. Questions like: Why did Namco feel they had to change the name of Puck-Man to Pac-Man because they were worried about graffiti, when Nintendo were more than happy to bring out Duck Hunt?
Joysticks at the ready. Let's do a gaming!
©2019 Steve McNeil (P)2019 Headline Publishing Group LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Equal parts hilarious and informative, Hey! Listen! should be in every gamer's library." (Lucy James, Gamespot)
"The 'A La Recherche du Temps Perdu' of the gaming community. The 'A La Recherche du Temps Pew-Pew-Pew', as it were." (Dara O'Briain)
"If 'Games Master' was a Nobel title passed on through the ages like 'Duke of York' or 'Rear of the Year' rather than simply the name of a 90s magazine and TV show then Steve McNeil would surely be the current holder of the esteemed position. What I'm saying is, he knows a LOT about games...." (Scroobius Pip)
What listeners say about Hey! Listen!
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Farren K. Perkins
- 07-04-20
Surprisingly fun!
Surprisingly fun and jokey for a story about video gaming. I would say the golden era is actually too broad for one book, this could have actually been more specific, or multiple books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sara Hope
- 26-04-19
A must for gaming fans.
Steve McNeil knows his games, but rather than just tell you about them he goes the extra step further and makes it funny. This is a rare type of
edu-tainment where the tainment is not secondary to the edu. Thanks to Steve I now know enough facts to use down the pub for at least two years. And I’m in the pub a lot. 5*s
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mike helm
- 20-04-19
Fun look at the history of games
If you are looking for a brief history of how video games evolved then this is the perfect book. It covers the evolution of games and gaming systems in a fun and factual way. I recommend this if you have an interest in gaming as it is well written and light hearted. The only thing missing is a quiz at the end (which according to Steve McNeil at his "book reading" in leicester is the best part). I really enjoyed this book and had to write a quick positive review even if he does insist consoles are better than pc's.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Healing_muse
- 03-05-19
awesome book written by an awesome man
steve mcneil's book of the the 1st half of gaming history is brilliant, funny, informative, detailed and just genius (less can be said about his actual game play on twitch 🤣)
i look forward to the 2nd book
oh, and sam was good too 👍
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steven B
- 21-05-19
Great! Listen!
A very good listen! lots of little factoids about games I didn't know and a few funny stories etc thrown in for good measure. :)
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mikey
- 16-11-19
Loved it
If you're a gamer, or interested in gaming, then you should absolutely listen to this.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David
- 09-07-19
So many memories and the hidden stories behind them
As another gamer born in the 70s this book hits on so many of the games and systems from those early years.
Combined with the stories from the world behind them and the tangled paths of the people who created the foundations for the culture I know and I've today.
Written and read by a guy who obviously has a passion for the subject
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Mr. S. Burgess
- 12-03-20
me too!
wow! I'm 52 and played arcade games in the early 80s ( somewhere there is a Tempest arcade cabinet with my high score buried in the RAM), programmed a ZX Spectrum with zero skill and have owned consoles from the Mastersystem to the PS4. I retain a grudge about the failure of Sega to survive the hardware wars with Nintendo (great for kids) and Sony (great for the hipsters of the time) and this fantastic book confirmed i was at least partly correct. The whole thing could have been a little flat if it wasn't for the brilliant reading by the author himself - often a red flag when surfing for audiobooks to try - but in this case Steve tells a great story with s lot of detail and spot on humour. this is one I will happily listen to more than once.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Dave Florence
- 06-05-19
witty and fun. interesting too
A great listen. Steve McNeil does a great job narrating his book and it brought back great memories of the early systems I used as a kid.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 30-05-19
Fun and fact filled
Lots of interesting details, listened while hacking on my own game and found it inspiring
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