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Reviews
World 1-1 (2015)
So what was the world of Atari like during the heady days of its beginning? To see its rise and rise then to when it dipped in the 80s and never really recovered.
There is no greater way to find out by talking to the people who were there at the time. This movie started at the beginning - before Atari was even born. Post-war then space wars - this was all about with the advent of computers and technology in the 50s and 60s.
Consoles and the games live on. They have a life now in our world with the games that broke the mould. 1983/84 was the end of it all for Atari in most respects– the beginning of the end for Atari and the games market at that time even though they still kept bubbling along. Tough to hear now as a gamer and then for Atari fans even tougher still. But to finish off the movie delivers a strong and powerful message: "As any Videogamer knows - death is not permanent"
We live in a world where videogames are more popular than ever and surround everything we are and do. Success has even meant that in the US they make more money than the music and film industry combined. But even with that success we must remember one thing. The most important morale of the story from Atari and why it prospered. Be creative.
From Bedrooms to Billions (2014)
From Bedrooms to Billions tells the now scarcely believable story of the rise and fall of Britain's games industry.
The narrative of this ambitious documentary is driven entirely by the interviewees as they reminisce on those heady days. The movie is host to an impressive line-up of movers and shakers from the cottage industry's hey-day. The roster includes many of the major players which is a fine achievement in itself and it feels like a real treat to have them all in the same place speaking so candidly.
The movie's focus is the story of how and why bedroom coding was able to grow and flourish so rapidly, only to be effectively hijacked by the corporate suits in later years. While this is interesting enough in itself, ample time is also devoted to the culture which developed around gaming, computer game magazines, as well as a few anecdotes along the way. The filmmakers have done extremely well to find a positive angle on which to end the film, giving us something to look forward to and thereby elevating to more than a rose-tinted nostalgia piece. Not that there's anything wrong with nostalgia of course, this movie has it in spades.