The definitive behind-the-scenes history of video games’ explosion into the twenty-first century and the war for industry power “A zippy read through a truly deep research job. You won’t want to put this one down.”—Eddie Adlum, publisher, RePlay Magazine As video games evolve, only the fittest companies survive. Making a blockbuster once cost millions of dollars; now it can cost hundreds of millions, but with a $160 billion market worldwide, the biggest players are willing to bet the bank. Steven L. Kent has been playing video games since Pong and writing about the industry since the Nintendo Entertainment System. In volume 1 of The Ultimate History of Video Games, he chronicled the industry’s first thirty years. In volume 2, he narrates gaming’s entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to capture the global market. The home console boom of the ’90s turned hobby companies like Nintendo and Sega into Hollywood-studio-sized business titans. But by the end of the decade, they would face new, more powerful competitors. In boardrooms on both sides of the Pacific, engineers and executives began, with enormous budgets and total secrecy, to plan the next evolution of home consoles. The PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast all made radically different bets on what gamers would want. And then, to the shock of the world, Bill Gates announced the development of the one console to beat them all—even if Microsoft had to burn a few billion dollars to do it. In this book, you will learn about • the cutthroat environment at Microsoft as rival teams created console systems • the day the head of Sega of America told the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog to “f**k off” • how “lateral thinking with withered technology” put Nintendo back on top • and much more! Gripping and comprehensive, The Ultimate History of Video Games: Volume 2 explores the origins of modern consoles and of the franchises—from Grand Theft Auto and Halo to Call of Duty and Guitar Hero—that would define gaming in the new millennium.

The International Shakespeare Association meeting, held in Tokyo in August of 1991, was regarded by many of the participating academics as a milestone in terms of the quality of the papers given and extent to which the intercultural and cross-cultural study of Shakespeare had been developed. This volume contains the principal contributions (10) to the panel on Acting and Language in Shakespeare and Eastern Drama, specially edited for publication by Minoru Fujita who teaches at the Graduate School of Culture, University of Osaka, and Leonard Pronko, Professor of Theatre at Pomona College, Claremont, California. The papers are presented in three sections: Playhouses and Performances, Literary History, and Interpretation and Theoretical Issues.

The attire of the feudal lords and ladies of old Japan, warriors, priest, courtesans, Edo-period dandies geisha, footmen, farmers— in fact, the whole array of Kabuki's colorful characters-is discussed in fascinating detail in this Japanese Kabuki book. From kimono and armor to undergarments, from wigs to foot gear, from swords to hair garments—no aspect of costume accessories is overlooked. Textiles and textile designs, in all their profusion of weaves, colors, and patterns, are carefully taken note of, and a number of important traditional designs are illustrate. Make-up and headdress varying formats of costume for specific roles, styles of tying the obi--all are expertly described. Of the numerous books in English dealing with the Kabuki theater of Japan, none so far has devoted itself exclusively to costume. Kabuki is compelling bringing about such art forms, yet it is the costumes that create the intrinsic, eye catching spectacle. Praise for Kabuki Costume: "A product of over fourteen years of meticulous study, Shaver's unique and authoritative analysis of the labyrinthine complexities of Kabuki costumery not only provides…a valuable reference work for scholar, but also an apt introduction for anyone seeking to understand the principles of Japanese visual arts and theatrical conventions."—Choice Reviews

John Romeril has been one of the most prolific contributors to Australian theatre in the last twenty years. But since until recently few of his plays have been published, he has had inadequate recognition. As a founding member of the APG he was 'in at the start' of the revival of the so-called New Wave in Australian drama in the sixties. Romeril continues to be a leading influence in contemporary theatre. His work ranges from the well-known The Floating World (1974) to such recent successes as the community based play The Kelly Dance (1984), the mainstream drama Lost Weekend (1989) and the political play Black Cargo (1991). John Romeril is truly the great survivor of modern Australian theatre.

An award-winning nature writer takes readers on a thrilling journey deep intothe domains of strange--and often dangerous--animals.

Intermediality: the incorporation of digital technology into theatre practice, and the presence of film, television and digital media in contemporary theatre is a significant feature of twentieth-century performance. Presented here for the first time is a major collection of essays, written by the Theatre and Intermediality Research Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research, which assesses intermediality in theatre and performance. The book draws on the history of ideas to present a concept of intermediality as an integration of thoughts and medial processes, and it locates intermediality at the inter-sections situated in-between the performers, the observers and the confluence of media, medial spaces and art forms involved in performance at a particular moment in time. Referencing examples from contemporary theatre, cinema, television, opera, dance and puppet theatre, the book puts forward a thesis that the intermedial is a space where the boundaries soften and we are in-between and within a mixing of space, media and realities, with theatre providing the staging space for intermediality. The book places theatre and performance at the heart of the ‘new media’ debate and will be of keen interest to students, with clear relevance to undergraduates and post-graduates in Theatre Studies and Film and Media Studies, as well as the theatre research community.