If you owned a Nintendo Entertainment System console in the 1980s or early 90s, The NES-ential Celebration might be the tribute book for you.
Here’s a fact that regularly baffles Americans: hardly anyone in the UK owned a console until the SEGA Mega Drive came out. While a few outliers owned Atari 2600 and 7800 systems, we were conditioned — thanks to schools and educational programming on the BBC — to prefer computers.
Home computers could do games and science-y/math/school stuff, whereas consoles could not.
So, with this in mind, even I am surprised that I didn’t come into contact with a NES until 1999. No, really.
But even I can see the attraction of a book like The NES-ential Celebration, just launched on Kickstarter. Better still, the team behind it reckon you’re in for an easier ride backing this project than pre-ordering a Nintendo Switch 2!
Join a NES-ential Celebration
Announced today by Playbug Books, The NES-ential Celebration is a 40th anniversary tribute in hardcover, which aims to examine one of the most important game consoles ever.
It’s edited by Tom Regan (GamesRadar, The Guardian) and includes contributions from game journalists Andy Robinson (VGC), Mark Brown (Gamemaker’s Toolkit), Christian Donlan (Eurogamer), Matthew Castle (Official Nintendo Magazine, The Backpage Podcast) Alex Donaldson (RPG Site, VG 24/7), Jeremy Ray (GamesHub, Fandom), Jen Glennon (Inverse), and Andy Kelly (Edge, PC Gamer) and others.
Also included are essays from legendary developers like Nintendo’s Takaya Imamura, Racoon Logic’s Alex Hutchinson, RARE’s Gavin Price, The Game Kitchen (Blasphemous), Ironwood Studios (Pacific Drive), Sabotage Studios (Sea Of Stars). Other contributions come from indie developers, musicians and, of course, devoted superfans.
As is expected with books of this kind, The NES-ential Celebration features original artwork mixed with spritework, intended to get the nostalgia juices flowing. The book chronicles the NES’s legacy and the part it played in reviving gaming after the 1983 crash (again, another event that barely registered in the UK and Europe) and laid the foundation for many IPs and genres that are still played today.
Can you stretch to this Kickstarter?
Sporting a Nintendo Entertainment System cartridge look, The NES-ential Celebration is available to back on Kickstarter now, with editions starting at just $30. An additional 200 “early bird” offers have been added to the campaign, which has already hit £38,262 of its mere £3,231 goal, with 29 days still to run!
Options include digital copies, sleeves, and The NES Vault, a look at over 700 NES games in chronological order. Oh, and there is a gold-wrapped edition of The NES-ential Celebration, too. Naturally, these configurations cost a bit more than the basic $30.
I reckon this Kickstarter is going to be great once it lands on your doormat, so don’t miss it!
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.