PHOENIX: THE HISTORY OF THE VIDEOGAME INDUSTRY

Mar 27, 2022
3 min read

Leonard Herman

Fifth Edition - Volume I
Fifth Edition - Volume II
Hardcover Version
Paperback Edition

Since the publication of its First Edition in 1994 as the world’s first serious attempt to document the history of video games in book form, Phoenix has been regarded as the “Bible of Video Game History.”

For this Fifth Edition update, Phoenix now covers 80 years of history and contains so much information that it spans two volumes. Together, the two volumes of Phoenix Edition V cover the gamut of videogame history, from the earliest experiments on mainframe computers to the latest gaming consoles, which are computers themselves.

Written by “The Father of Videogame History,” Leonard Herman (who was proclaimed “The Game Scholar” by video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly in 2003), this epic two-part book covers the entire history of the world’s largest entertainment industry from 1947 through the present day.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
English	Paperback	Preview Edition	N/A	1994	150
English	Paperback	1st Edition	TBD	1994	310
English	Paperback	2nd Edition	TBD	1997	330
English	Paperback	3rd Edition	9780964384859	2001	388
English	Hardcover	Phoenix IV	9780964384804	2017	868
English	Paperback	Phoenix IV	9781539031291	2016	828
English	eBook	Phoenix IV	N/A	2017	868
English	Hardcover	Phoenix V Vol. 1	TBD	2027	572
English	Hardcover	Phoenix V Vol. 2	TBD	2027	584

Preview Edition - History through 1991. This stapled-binding was limited to 50 copies.
1st Edition - History through 1993. This book was limited to 1,000 copies.
2nd Edition - History through 1996. This edition was the first to include black & white photos. Foreword by Keith Feinstein.
3rd Edition - History through 2000. Foreword by Ralph Baer. The first four printings of this edition were in a large 8.5 x 11 format. The book went out of print in 2005 and was unavailable for several years because the publisher believed that the fourth edition was imminent. In October, 2009, it was apparent that the 4th edition wasn't going to be published any time soon, so a new printing of the 3rd edition was made available. The new printing was reduced to a 6x9 size, but otherwise contained the same text as the prior printings. The tenth and eleventh printings featured a new cover by Michael Thomasson and Cory Golabek.
4th Edition (Paperback) - History through 2015. Forewords by Ted Dabney and Chris Kohler. The cover is very similar to the one designed by Michael Thomasson and Cory Golabek that was used in the tenth and eleventh printings of the 3rd edition. Originally, this cover had been designed for the 4th edition, until No Starch Press said they weren't going to use it.
4th Edition (eBook) - This is an expanded version of the 4th edition that has corrected errors found in the B&W edition. These errors are listed on the Rolenta Press website. .
4th Edition (Hardcover) - This is an expanded version of the 4th edition that has corrected errors found in the B&W edition. These errors are listed on the Rolenta Press website. This edition also includes a separate chapter on 2016 and an index of illustrations.
5th Edition (Hardcover) - This edition is across 2 volumes and covers 80 years of history.