Press Reset
Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Ray Chase
-
By:
-
Jason Schreier
About this listen
From the best-selling author of Blood, Sweat, and Pixels comes the next definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the video game industry: how some of the past decade's most renowned studios fell apart - and the stories, both triumphant and tragic, of what happened next.
Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.
The business of videogames is both a prestige industry and an opaque one. Based on dozens of first-hand interviews that cover the development of landmark games - Bioshock Infinite, Epic Mickey, Dead Space, and more - on to the shocking closures of the studios that made them, Press Reset tells the stories of how real people are affected by game studio shutdowns, and how they recover, move on, or escape the industry entirely.
Schreier's insider interviews cover hostile takeovers, abusive bosses, corporate drama, bounced checks, and that one time the Boston Red Sox's Curt Schilling decided he was going to lead a game studio that would take out World of Warcraft. Along the way, he asks pressing questions about why, when the video game industry is more successful than ever, it's become so hard to make a stable living making video games - and whether the business of making games can change before it's too late.
©2021 Jason Schreier (P)2021 Grand Central PublishingCritic reviews
“Schreier covers the notoriously secretive gaming industry [and] knows it well.” (GQ)
“Jason Schreier is a huge fan of video games, and his enthusiasm is contagious.” (Booklist)
“My only complaint about Blood, Sweat, and Pixels is that there wasn't more to read.” (Forbes)
What listeners say about Press Reset
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ioannis Bazianas
- 31-05-21
a must read for all gamers and aspiring game devs
I love games! I'm a gamer. I do not want my favourite past time to be at the cost of people's lives, mental health or anxiety. learning about game studios closing and how we got here is a must to enjoy your past time responsibly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 28-09-23
Very insightful
Great to hear more about the industry and its issues, especially if you're a gamer as I didn't know quite how bad the working conditions are.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-06-21
Great audiobook bad sound quality
Content was great, on par with previous book from Jason Schreier. Narration was good but suffered from very low sound quality occasionally.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-12-21
Essential reading for anyone looking at working in games
Book 21/21 for 2021.
Finished the 21st book for 2021 reading challenge, and it was a doozy. After reading Blood, Sweat and Pixels earlier this year I was initially excited to read the follow up. In reading some of the samples available it felt like more of the same so I decided to skip it for the time being - that was a mistake!
Press Reset is more an industrial work, following the people who worked at studios and how they’ve dealt with the challenges of working in the industry, with the highest highs and lowest lows, as opposed to focusing on the games themselves as Blood Sweat and Pixels did.
There are triumphant stories of success in this book, and some very sad stories of people leaving the industry - there is for the most part - a chronological thread leading from the first story to the final. Without giving much away - there was plenty of fallout in the aftermath of Bioshock Infinite’s release and Irrational’s subsequent shut down, as about 70% of the books stories relate to it.
I found the narration vibrant and told the story well - sometimes the voices for different people in the stories blended together somewhat, but overall I really liked the audio production and got through the book very quickly.
I do have some minor gripes, the final chapters deal with how the problems endemic to the industry could be solved including decentralisation of companies, streamlined creative teams, outsourcing devs, unionisation etc which I found especially fascinating.
However, this was only one chapter out of 10 - and I feel like it was a bit rushed - Schreier is on record in the book and online as being a strong proponent of game dev unions which is absolutely fine, but I felt as a result the book didn’t engage with that topic on both sides as deeply as I’d have liked. I’d love to see potential studies into this, or surveys etc etc - there is an element of this in the book - but it felt a bit one sided and shallow for my liking.
Another fanboy complaint which doesn’t impact anything, but Schreier has now twice used Super Plumber Adventure as an example in his books, where is the love for Mr Blue Needlemouse, my boy Sonic? Come on Jason, represent!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 16-07-21
super interesting and super-er scary
this has been my walk to work for the last few weeks , I laughed and I shuddered. Jason words and that narration = gold
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 07-06-21
Great book, fantasticly told but poor audio?
I loved this, as with Schreier's earlier book. Chase is fantastic again too. However this is let down slightly in odd, small sections where the audio quality seems to dip to a much lower bitrate or quality level. I'm very glad to have listened to it but it's not perfect for that reason alone. I really enjoyed it, don't let it put you off, it's still excellent and timely and we really need to heed the lessons in the book for not only video games but all businesses.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Marc Springer
- 04-06-21
great book
book is fantastic but the audio is mediocre. it keeps switching between good quality and terrible quality for some strange reason.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 06-06-21
Interesting look at how the game industry is run
Great book and interesting look at how the game industry is run or badly run and what happens after you finish a game or worse get cancelled
how hard it can be to be a game developer and what happens when it's game over
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 12-02-24
Fantastic book about game development hell
This book is fantastic and think it was even better than the first book, as it uncovered the uncomfortable truths and ingrained patterns of the gaming industry.
The voice actor, again, is fantastic, though there are some lines which sound like they were recorded incorrectly and sounds a little off. Nothing too bad, but did notice it a few times. Otherwise a fantastic book highly recommended
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 28-09-21
Eye opening for a newbie
Great book. As an aspiring designer, to learn so much about the production and publishing proccess of a project is invaluable aswell as the gruesome realities of the industry's business angle .
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!