Bitmap Books has announced reprints are now available for four of their best selling titles: ARTCADE: The Book of Classic Arcade Game Art (Extended Edition),The Games of a Lifetime, The Art Of The Box and Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups.
You can learn more about them below, and visit their store pages to grab your own copies while supplies last.
ARTCADE: The Book of Classic Arcade Game Art (Extended Edition): MSRP of £29.99 / $41.00 / €36.95
Relive the sights and sounds of the arcade era with ARTCADE: The Book of Classic Arcade Game Art (Extended Edition) – a celebration of the bold artwork and graphic design that defined gaming’s golden age. Featuring hundreds of beautifully reproduced examples of marquee art and side art, ARTCADE showcases the vibrant visuals that once lined arcades throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Inside, you’ll discover artwork inspired by legendary arcade titles such as Pac-Man, Out Run, Street Fighter II, Moon Patrol, R-Type, Choplifter, Double Dragon, Bubble Bobble, Galaga, Donkey Kong and many more – spanning multiple genres and generations of arcade history.
This Extended Edition builds upon the original release with enhanced written content and additional features, making it the definitive version of the book for arcade enthusiasts, collectors, artists and retro gaming fans alike. Alongside the stunning artwork, readers will discover a brand-new exclusive interview with legendary artist Larry Day, whose work includes seminal titles such as Moon Patrol and the pinball machine Catacomb. The book also features an in-depth ‘how-to’ chapter created with contributions from Escape Pod, one of the world’s leading creators of restored arcade artwork — offering fascinating insight into the process of bringing battered coin-op classics back to life.
Presented as a premium hardcover crafted to Bitmap Books’ renowned production standards, the book also comes housed inside a striking glow-in-the-dark slipcase made from heavy board for extra protection. From neon-soaked racing games and explosive shooters to iconic beat ’em ups and maze classics, ARTCADE is both a carefully curated archive of arcade history and a stunning coffee-table art book celebrating one of gaming’s most visually exciting eras.
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The Games of a Lifetime: MSRP of £32.49 / $44.00 / €39.95
Across its 420 pages, The Games of a Lifetime is a video game time machine that takes you on an incredible journey from the very dawn of the industry, through the decades to the present day. It’s essentially video game history from the inside, seen through the eyes of Jaz Rignall, a hardcore gamer who cut his teeth racking up ludicrously large scores in his local arcades, won the 1983 UK National Arcade Championships, and ended up becoming a journalist/influencer who launched iconic game magazines like ZZAP!64, CVG and Mean Machines, which he wrote for and edited with his customary flair and humour.
This was at a time when games magazines had huge influence and importance, which helped put Jaz at the very heart of the nascent UK game business during its most humble beginnings, and continued as the industry exploded into a massive, worldwide entertainment juggernaut. Jaz was also a key factor in bringing Japanese games to Western gamers, reporting on import consoles and games when no-one else was doing that. The Games of a Lifetime kicks off with a foreword from the man behind the remarkable Digital Foundry, Richard Leadbetter, who sets out the context of his former colleague’s extraordinary career. Then it’s Jaz’s story all the way, copiously illustrated with hundreds of game screenshots meticulously captured on a multitude of systems, from the Atari 400 to the PlayStation 5, and including pretty much every system you can think of. The ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, NES, PC Engine, arcade machines galore, Amiga, Super Nintendo and many, many more are all here. The Games of a Lifetime also includes a bounty of archival photos, amazing box art, vintage arcade flyers, and beautiful hardware and magazine shots. Also featured are specially commissioned illustrations by beloved, prolific game illustrator Wil Overton (Rare, Super Play magazine), who has reimagined classic Mean Machines artworks from Jaz’s era in his own instantly recognisable style.
Of course, Bitmap’s exacting standards are evident on every page, whether in the vivid visual design or the sumptuous production quality. The cover, for example, is printed using special Pantone inks, and features a bespoke illustration by pixel-art specialists Army of Trolls, which is packed with numerous references to Jaz's illustrious career in games – and the history of the medium itself. Simply put, The Games of a Lifetime looks and feels entirely as fabulous as its text demands.
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The Art Of The Box: MSRP of £34.99 / $48.00 / €42.95
Before the days of brand awareness campaigns and digital marketing, a game’s only source of advertising was often limited to the box artwork you’d see on high street shelves. With early game graphics offering little visual interest, it fell to the packaging to conjure up engaging images of deep space battles, medieval knights and wizards, explosive military operations, and monstrous alien creatures. And every cover had to be hand-crafted by an artist using traditional media – often with a short deadline and the vaguest of briefs.
The Art Of The Box features 26 biographies of those artists who, at some point in their careers, found themselves illustrating video game packaging, including Bob Wakelin, Steve Hendricks, Ken Macklin, Tom DuBois, Steinar Lund, Marc Ericksen, Julie Bell and Susumu Matsushita among many others. With information drawn from live interviews wherever possible, we discuss their beginnings as an artist, their inspirations and influences, the games they illustrated, and where their artistic careers have taken them.
With artists from the UK, Europe, North American and Japan, The Art Of The Box encompasses the full gamut of game packaging illustration, from the early days of Atari’s iconic VCS box art to modern-day collaborations between designers, CG artists and game developers for the latest AAA games. Each biography is accompanied by lavish, full-colour box artwork, supplied by the artists themselves, and each piece is presented without the usual logos and retail elements, so you see each piece as the artist intended. This substantial and exhaustively researched book is 564 pages in length, with over 100,000 words and more than 350 full colour images. The Art Of The Box is produced to Bitmap Books’ usual high standards, available in hardback format with heavy, gloss paper, incredible print quality and including a ribbon bookmark.
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Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups: MSRP of £34.99 / $48.00 / €42.95
Get ready for the fight of your life in Go Straight: The Ultimate Guide to Side-Scrolling Beat-’Em-Ups. Written by award-winning author Dave Cook and opening with a foreword by legendary Double Dragon creator, Yoshihisa Kishimoto, this odyssey through bare-knuckle nostalgia features over 200 games spanning 37 years, starting with Irem’s 1984 arcade mash, Kung-Fu Master, continuing through the genre’s ‘90s heyday, and finishing with indie brawlers such as Mother Russia Bleeds and Streets of Rage 4.
At over 450 pages, Go Straight takes a deep dive into familiar beat-’em-up legends like Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Final Fight and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as delving into the more obscure brawlers you just have to try, like Denjin Makai, Shadow Force and Gaia Crusaders. As well as reviewing each game, Go Straight features hints, tips and guides to levels and enemies. The book is packed full of screenshots, sprites and level maps, all lovingly curated and presented to our usual high standards.
Go Straight is printed lithographically to the highest standards. This ensures that the colours in the book are really vibrant and that the pages have a high-quality, luxurious feel to them. As standard, each book is offered in hardback with a spot-varnished fascia featuring artwork by artist Jorge M. Velez. If you have fond memories of playing side-scrolling beat-’em-ups at home on the couch or in noisy arcades, or if you’re excited by the genre and jumping in for the first time, Go Straight is the perfect guide for you.
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