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Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean

Chris Wilkins

The History of Ocean Software Paperback – 1 Dec. 2013

by Chris Wilkins (Author), Roger M Kean (Illustrator)

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The History of Ocean' charts the rise and rise of Ocean Software throughout the 1980 and 1990's and is littered with anecdotes from those that contributed to the company's success as well as photographs, concept graphics, sprites and Ocean memorabilia that has never been seen outside the Ocean Headquarters in Manchester. The book is 264 pages in full colour with a nice thick, gloss finished, cover with an embossed Ocean logo that finishes off the book beautifully. Inside, the pages are also finished in a gloss finish that give the images a vibrant look. The Ocean story is captured by Chris Wilkins and Roger Kean and illustrated by Oliver Frey. Roger was editor of Crash and Zzap 64! magazines and the owner of Newsfield Publications whilst Oli was responsible for the artwork that defined the look and feel of these magazines plus created their infamous covers.

Print length

264 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Fusion Retro Books
Publication date

1 Dec. 2013
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ICKI9PI
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fusion Retro Books; 1st edition (1 Dec. 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 935,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer reviews:
67 ratings

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Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean
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Chris Wilkins
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I am Chris Wilkins and welcome to Fusion Retro Books, home of high quality retro books. We pride ourselves in including memoirs from the developers, artists and musicians within each and everyone one of our books, thus giving the reader a personal insight into what it was like developing games on the 80s & 90s consoles and computers. FUSION, our bi-monthly magazine, is the retro and gaming fix you need between our book releases. 60 pages filled with all things gaming - and to compliment the magazine, check out the FUSION Annual!
Our first launch title was 'The History of Ocean Software' - a book that has continued to hit a chord with many a nostalgic gamer. We successfully ran a Kickstarter back in November 2012 that raised a modest sum of money allowing us to produce a high quality, 264 page book on one of the largest software publishers of the 1980s and 90s. We left no stone unturned - talking to all those at the top of the management chain right down to those in the dungeon of Central Street, Manchester. The book continues to sell well.
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

67 global ratings

5 star		71%
4 star		21%
3 star		6%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		2%

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Jeffwarz

Brining back great 8bit era memories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 28 March 2014

Verified Purchase

Book is about the history of one of the most iconic games companies of the 8bit era. Containing interviews with employees from amangement to deveolpers. All gving great insight into how things were done back in the 8bit days. Looking back on the games like Robocop, Batman to name a few classics...

The book is beautifully presented weighty, printed on thick very high quality paper that looks great on any coffee table or bookshelf.

If your a retro gamer and have a thing for the 8bit era and played many of the brilliant titles that Ocean released you have to get this book, you won't regret it.

I'm hoping the writers look at the other 8bit era companies that have long gone but provided us with great games in front of our CRT TV's and screaming tape decks. If they do they I'll be first in the queue..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 7 October 2018

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An amazing account of an incredible label at the forefront of what is now a massive industry. This is where it all started and brought back some long forgotten memories of some real fun times. Would recommend this to all 8 bit gamers of the time.

Helpful

Ben Jenkins

Memory lane for retro gamers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 14 January 2021

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A well written account of one of the most important and influential UK software houses. A must for retro gamers wishing to gain an insight into Oceans illustrious history.

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SMC

A great book that brings back lot of good memories

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 8 March 2015

Verified Purchase

This book brings back a lot of great memories of 8 bit (MSX & C64) and 16 bit (Amiga) gaming for me. It's very well put together, good graphics and has lots of interviews with the people responsible for making the games. Highly recommend if you were a gamer in the 80s and 90s and a fan of Ocean games.

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Nightbeast

Great Read, pick this up if your an avid retro-head

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 November 2016

Verified Purchase

Really enjoyed this book, similar to the US GOLD one, jam packed on info and nostalgic nuggets. a must for any retro enthusiast / gamer especially if like me you grew up with the 8-bit scene and want a window back into your childhood

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 29 November 2017

Verified Purchase

Loved ocean games back in the day so I was looking forward to reading this. Not disappointed very good read and paints a great picture of what it was like behind the scenes. Recommended

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Dan Rexx

A great statement for a great software house

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 6 August 2015

Verified Purchase

Item arrived on time and in perfect condition. It's a great book to relive those great moments that deserved to be preserved. A must for any person who was lucky enough to have lived those unrepeatable moments of the dawn of videogames. Precious book altogether.

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The History of Ocean Software Paperback – 1 Dec. 2013

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About the authors

Chris Wilkins & Roger M. Kean

Chris Wilkins

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