Before the Crash: Early Video Game History

Acknowledgments

xi Acknowledgments It is encouraging to note that there is now enough academic interest in the early days of video games that such a volume as this, concentrating on the years before the great video game industry crash, can be made possible . I would first like to thank all the contributors to this volume, who are some of the best people writing about video game history today: Jessica Aldred, Ralph H. Baer, Brett Camper, Karen Collins, Ross A. Dannenberg, Leonard Herman, Erkki Huhtamo, Carly A. Kocurek, Sheila C. Murphy, Tim Skelly, Carl Therrien, and Zach Whalen. I am thankful to have such a fine collection of contributors whose essays feature such a variety of approaches , topics, and coverage. I must also thank Annie Martin at Wayne State University Press, whose support, enthusiasm, and patience was much appreciated. Over the years, a number of others have also helped me in my historical research into the pre-Crash era; collectors from the Video Arcade Game Preservation Society (VAPS) and the keepers of the Killer List of Video Games (KLOV) all of whom were very generous in answering my questions, and Keith Feinstein who provided me with an opportunity for firsthand playing experience of so many older arcade games when I visited Videotopia in 1997. Finally, for support on the home front, I must thank my wife, Diane, and my sons, Michael, Christian, and Francis. And, as always, thanks be to God. 00 FM.indd 11 3/20/12 12:53 PM 00 FM.indd 12 3/20/12 12:53 PM ...