Racing the Beam
SKU: 33074614719

Racing the Beam

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Racing the BeamBy: Nick Montfort, Ian Bogost Series: Platform Studies Exploring the cultural and technical influence of the Atari VCS video game console, with examples from 6 famous game cartridges like Pac Man, Combat, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back! The Atari Video Computer System dominated the home video game market so completely that Atari became the generic term for a video game console. The Atari VCS was affordable and offered the flexibility of

By: Nick Montfort, Ian Bogost   | Series: Platform Studies 
Exploring the cultural and technical influence of the Atari VCS video game console, with examples from 6 famous game cartridges like Pac-Man, Combat, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back!

The Atari Video Computer System dominated the home video game market so completely that “Atari” became the generic term for a video game console. The Atari VCS was affordable and offered the flexibility of changeable cartridges. Nearly a thousand of these were created, the most significant of which established new techniques, mechanics, and even entire genres. This book offers a detailed and accessible study of this influential video game console from both computational and cultural perspectives, developing a critical approach that examines the relationship between platforms and creative expression.

Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost discuss the Atari VCS itself and examine in detail six game cartridges: Combat, Adventure, Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Pitfall!, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. They describe the technical constraints and affordances of the system and track developments in programming, gameplay, interface, and aesthetics. Adventure, for example, was the first game to represent a virtual space larger than the screen (anticipating the boundless virtual spaces of such later games as World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto), by allowing the player to walk off one side into another space; and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was an early instance of interaction between media properties and video games. Montfort and Bogost show that the Atari VCS—often considered merely a retro fetish object—is an essential part of the history of video games.
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SKU: 33074614719

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Eydie Kirk
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 4
No working squeakers
These toys are very durable but the squeakers do not squeak. They were sealed in an air tight plastic bag which permanently collapsed the squeakers.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2025
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Skylee Llewelyn
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Too cute not to buy!
these are so cute! my doggy loves them, and they appear to be pretty durable from what i can tell so far. definitely worth the buy!
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2026
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Janet
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 3
Squeaky bits broken 😞
Three out of five had broken squeaks. I have extra ones so I’m going to open them up and replace them but it’s extra work when the squeaky bits should be working.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2025
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Anita Sones
West Palm Beach, US
★★★★★ 5
Puppy packet stuffers.
These are great for puppy packets.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2026
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Mrun
Houston, US
★★★★★ 2
Squeakers not squeaking
Cute but the problem is the bag was vacuum sealed and none of the squeakers work, even after letting them sit a few days out of package 😥
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Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2025

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