Coffee table books are the fishing trophies of the literary world. The ideal coffee table book is a nonfiction photo book about a specific, interesting subject, just the sort of thing you’d want to leave on your coffee table to entertain guests.
There’s a coffee table book on everything these days, including and maybe especially video games. This breed of coffee table book covers a lot of fascinating territory. Some are entertaining autobiographies about some of the industry’s biggest names, while others are insightful chronicles delving into some of the most intriguing chapters of gaming history.
If you’re hunting for the perfect readable display piece for your gaming room coffee table, you’ve come to the right place. Here are our top ten coffee table books for gaming guests.
10. Square Enix Final Fantasy VII Remake: Material Ultimania
Final Fantasy VII Reborn is a game drowning in details. From the sharp turns the remaster’s story takes from the original’s to the🍸 insane scale and complexity of the characters and environment, it’s a game that constantly leaves you wishing you could see everything at a closer angle. Guess wha🌞t? You can!
peels back the veil, exploring FFVII Reborn’s development cycle in vivid detail. It’s full of pictures from every phase of the game’s production, giving readers a clear view of early concept art, costume reference photos, and music sheets. Snippets of commentary from the game’s staff accompany these photos, and they reveal how they tackled the mammoth task of recreating one of the most iconic entries in the Final Fantasy franchise.
9. Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977 by Jordan Minor
If the vitriol spawned by Astro Bot’s (well-deserved) victory at the 2024 ♔Game Awards is anything to go by, gamers can get very passionate when ꦇthe words “best game of the year” come up in conversation. With so much anger swirling around the topic, it’s essent♕ial to step back and remember how fun the debate over which game best represents gaming in the year it came out can be,
has a mouthy title, but it’s an easy read. Minor’s examination of his favorite games of the year is dense but easy to read. He goes beyond just talking about the good graphics or fun gameplay. He takes a big-picture stance, judging his subjects by how they broke the rules and brought gamers together. It’s also got some hilariously charming illustrations.
8. An Illustrated History of 151 Video Games by Simon Barkin
If you’ve got a friend coming over who loves to regale you with fun bits of gaming history, leave out in plain sౠight. What you see on the cover is what you get; what you get is a version of gaming history told in one hundred and fifty-one pages, each full of unique trivia and artwork about a particular game.
An Illustrated History of Video Games is♔ a love letter to gamers of all ages. Parkin crams the most striking pieces of artwork from every game he covers onto its dedicated page, and the trivia he tosses in covers everything from fascinating development drama to tips about uncovering the games’ secrets. Trust me, that virtual historian friend of yours will be busy.
7. The GBA Pixel Book by Bitmap Books
The words Gameboy Advance can bring many things to mind, but when I hear them, I always think about the beautiful pixel art d💦evelopers packed into its 240-by-160 screen. If you feel the same way or know someone who does, pick up by Bitmap Books.
This art book contains beautifully rendered photos of the finest pixel art from the GBA library. Covering over two hundred and forty titles, this tomb covers system-defining best-sellers like Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald to more obscure, region-exclusive titles like CIMA: The Enemy. From sweeping screenshots of Mother 3’s Nowhere Island to sprite-by-sprite breakdowns of Final Fantasy 6’s bestiary, this book is a pixel art lover’s dream put to print.
6. BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development by BioWare
BioWare is going through a rough patch right now, but that doesn’t change the fact that the developer produced some of the most impactful RPGs ever. If you’ve ever asked yourself what went on behind the walls of one of gaming’s biggest juggernauts, BioWare: Stories and deserves a spot on your coffee table.
Wrapped in a black glossy sleeve, BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development covers a quarter-of-a-century’s worth of fascinating history. The book takes you on a boots-on-the-ground tour through the company’s history, chronicling their journey from making Shattered Steel to gaining the rights to make the game that would become Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – The Complete Official Guide: Collector’s Edition by Piggyback
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a game that makes you feel like a 🌠goldfish plopped into the waters of Lake Erie. The sheer scope of the game’s three-tiered overworld and the depth of its construction mechanics never leave you feeling short on wonder, but it can make it an intimidating game for some players.
is one of the best books a Zelda fan can have. This beautiful 🌟black-sleeved tomb plots out the best outline for a newcomer’s journey through Hyrule. It has fantastic advice, and all of it’s accompanied by screenshots of the game’s most beautiful locales, intimidating enemies, and emotional moments.
4. A Handheld History: A Celebration of Portable Gaming by Lost in Cult
Can we all agree that handheld consoles are one of the best inventions made by human hands? Several best-selling video game consoles are handhelds, and their genealogy remains a fascinating lens through which to look✨ at the industry’s evolution. If you want to do that, might I suggꦯest ?
This book got everyಌthing a fun romp through the annals of gaming history needs. It’s informative, with a dedicated page for almost every handheld console ever molded, from the Atari Lynx to the Nintendo DS. Accompanying these tidbits of trivia are endearing doodles of some 🥂of gaming’s greatest mobile juggernauts.
3. From Ants to Zombies: Six Decades Of Video Game Horror by Bitmap Books
If I had to name a game genre that spat in the face of rules, I’d pick horror every time horror. From campy to gruesome to psychological, horror games can embody a colorful spectrum of moods and topics. If you’re as much of a horror game enthusiast as I am, get a copy of .
This little black book is a treasure trove of horror gaming knowledge. Spanning sixty years of gaming, the tome explores the evolution of horror in video games from the days of 3-D Monster Maze to modern thrillers like Subnautica, buoyed by exclusive commentary from some of the genre’s 🍌greatest pioneers.
2. A History of Video Games in 64 Objects by the World Video Game Hall of Fame
A History of the World in 100 Objects is one of the best coffee table books, and if you’ve read it, you know why. There’s something unbelievably cozy about seeing human history personified by everyday objects. Now, imagine if someone took this approach to capturing the history of video gamꦦes. That’s how we ge🧸t .
This one’s got something for everyone. Whether you’re a classic arcade gamer or a con💃noisseur of the contemporary gaming scene, you’ll find a page ꦿthat covers one of your gaming fixations.
1. The Game Console 2.0: A Photographic History from Atari to Xbox
When I started putting this list together, I asked myself, “What does the ultimate gaming coffee table book need to do to earn that title?” After a bit of soul-searching, I decided that the best coffee table book about video games should cater to as many gamers asღ possible. As soon as I figured t🐬hat out, I knew which book would take the number one spot.
is THE coffee table book for gamers. This up-to-date compendium of every gaming console ever made features deep lore cuts that will surprise even the most 🦩game-savvy visitor. Put this bad boy in your guest room and watch your guests lose themselves in its pages.
Published: Feb 1, 2025 08:58 am