100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders πŸš€

Japansoft: An Oral History

Brief Description
A retrospective of the early Japanese videogame industry, comprising over 30 interviews with developers of the era, and including never-before-seen period photographs, rare press adverts and an illustrated hardware guide. Comprising interviews with lesser documented developers at companies including Sega, Enix, Capcom, Hudson Soft, and Nihon... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$6499
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

An innovative and beautifully designed history of the nascent Japanese videogame industry, as told by those who were there, Japansoft takes readers inside the games, companies, and human experiences which forged a whole new culture.

A retrospective of the early Japanese videogame industry, comprising over 30 interviews with developers of the era, and including never-before-seen period photographs, rare press adverts and an illustrated hardware guide

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A retrospective of the early Japanese videogame industry, comprising over 30 interviews with developers of the era, and including never-before-seen period photographs, rare press adverts and an illustrated hardware guide.

Comprising interviews with lesser documented developers at companies including Sega, Enix, Capcom, Hudson Soft, and Nihon Falcom, Japansoft: An Oral History offers fresh and diverse perspectives on many of the defining games of their time.

A re-edited digest of game journalist John Szczepaniak's three-volume series, The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers, this edition adds brand new, specially conducted interviews with figures including Giles Goddard (Star Fox programmer), Richard Garriott (originator of Ultima), and Robert Woodhead (co-originator of Wizardry).

A companion to the critically acclaimed Britsoft: An Oral History, this publication sees editor Alex Wiltshire and leading design agency Julia return with a multilayered and eclectic publication that offers a unique reading experience through interlinked interviews that can be read in any order.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780500028292

Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 August 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd

Illustration: 59 Illustrations, black and white; 30 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 160.0mm

Height: 230.0mm

Weight: 960g

Pages: 348

About the Author

John Szczepaniak is a journalist and novelist. He's written for Retro Gamer, GamesTM, Official PlayStation Magazine, Game Developer Magazine, Gamasutra, The Escapist, GameFAN MkII, nRevolution, 360 Magazine, Play UK, X360, Go>Play, Next3, The Gamer's Quarter, Retro Survival, NTSC-uk, Tom's Hardware Guide, Insomnia, GameSetWatch, Shenmue Dojo, Pixel Nation plus others. Alex Wiltshire is a journalist, writer and a former editor of Edge magazine. He edited Britsoft: An Oral History, and is author of several books, including the bestselling Minecraft Blockopedia. He is senior narrative editor at Mojang, and writes a column about game design for Rock Paper Shotgun.

Also by Alex Wiltshire

View all
  • Britsoft: An Oral History
    Britsoft: An Oral History documents a vibrant period of invention in Britain's cultural historyβ€”the start of a new form of entertainment, created on ZX Spectrums, Commodore 64s, Amigas and Atari STs, in bedrooms and living rooms. Interviewees include: David Braben (Elite), Peter Molyneux (Populous), Rob Hubbard (Commando) and Jeff Minter (Attack of the Mutant Camels). The book is a companion...
    Hardback
    $7299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Making Videogames
    An in-depth visual guide presenting the captivating creative journeys behind the world's leading videogames. Making Videogames is an unprecedented snapshot of modern interactive entertainment, with insight from true pioneers about the most important games in the world. Illustrated with some of the most arresting in-game images ever seen in print, the book explores the unique alchemy of technical and artistic...
    Hardback
    $6099
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Home Computers
    Home Computers showcases the quirky and characterful beginnings of a commercial product that would come to unite the globe: the personal computer. As so much technology is forgotten once it is superseded, this is a celebration of machines, industrial design, and techno-utopianism of an era in the not-so-distant past. Conceived as a visual sourcebook of the most popular, most powerful,...
    Hardback
    Sold Out

More from Science & Nature

View all
  • Murder Under the Mistletoe
    BOOK 4 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'The best of the new cosy crime writers' Daily Telegraph 'You'll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds' Janice Hallett It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • John and Paul
    THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Raising Hare
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS 'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'I...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
    CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' β€” BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' β€” TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' β€” NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...
    Hardback
    $4200
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Nuclear War
    The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, with an average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit. Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Anxious Generation
    A powerful argument for reclaiming childhoodβ€”and all human relationshipsβ€”from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spacesβ€”communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Prisoners of Geography
    Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...
    Paperback
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Booker Prize
    Orbital
    Winner of the Booker Prize 2024. Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, describes the winner as 'a book about a wounded world' adding that the panel's 'unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition'. Life on our planet as you've never seen it before. A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
    It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Place of Tides
    To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...
    Paperback
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Ultra-Processed People
    Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Island of Missing Trees
    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a captivating and poignant novel that delves into the intertwined lives of two star-crossed lovers in war-torn Cyprus and their enduring legacy decades later. This Sunday Times bestselling novel intricately weaves themes of love, loss, and identity amidst a backdrop of cultural and historical turmoil. Set in 1974 on the island...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.