The Unofficial SNES Pixel Book [Bitmap Books]

22 Mar

Recently we discovered a company called Bitmap Books and were in awe of their products. Founded by graphic designer Sam Dyer, Bitmap Books has a focus on gaming media and delves deep into the history of games in each of their books. Their books are filled with interviews with industry veterans and lots of insider info, making them fantastically informative and extremely interesting to read. Sam provided us with a copy of The Unofficial SNES Pixel Book, and with it being an era that I was late to the party on (being born the same year it was released in the UK), I was excited to find out more about that generation of gaming.

When the package arrived, I was instantly impressed with the packaging alone! Good quality thick cardboard with custom branding? Ugh, I was sold. When a company puts that much effort into the outer box, I like to think that's a good sign!

Inside, was the book itself: a very sturdy hardcover, encased in a stunning, spot-varnished outer slipcase to protect it. Again, very impressed by the overall appearance of it and it looks fantastic on a shelf or a coffee table. Created in collaboration with German publisher Elektrospieler, and painstakingly translated from the original German text, this book is a retro gamers dream. Printed on high quality glossy paper, everything really pops. Bright colours and crisp details are really well done, and give a great look into all of the games within these pages. There is just so much information contained within this book, from interviews to engaging facts, it's very easy to get lost for a few hours poring over the details.

Even the kids love it! With a SNES being ancient technology to them, getting to sit down and see everything in its glory here really made them realise that many games just wouldn't be where they are today without the "ancient" games of days gone by - especially with many of the franchises still going to this day!

At just £29.99 from Bitmap Books for this gorgeous hardcover, as well as a free PDF copy for those of you who liked to keep things sealed(!) it's a spectacular deal. And with information on not just the classic games like Zelda and Mario, but plenty on the more obscure titles too, there's stuff in here to keep even the most knowledgeable gaming fans entertained.

I would highly recommend checking Bitmap Books out, especially if you're a huge fan of games and all of the history behind the industry. I'll definitely be looking to add another book to the collection as soon as I can :)