Updated and extended in 2025. Whether you are playing as a supersonic hedgehog, an athletic archeologist, or a moustachioed Italian plumber, video games allow their players to inhabit spaces where the usual parameters of existence do not apply. The medium's history is chronicled through the individual stories of 151 of the most iconic video games. Beginning in the early 1970s, the book charts five decades of the pixel revolution. The story of each game is accompanied by trivia and quotations, and illustrated with photographs, screenshots and artwork. This celebratory reference and history, newly updated, will enthrall any video games aficionado.