Perspectives on the European Videogame, edited by professors Víctor Navarro-Remesal (Tecnocampus) and Óliver Pérez-Latorre (Department of Communication), and published by Amsterdam University Press on the 20th of December, puts forward a (re)Reading of videogame history and culture through the European lens.

The history of European videogames has so far been overshadowed by the global impact of the Japanese and North American industries. However, European game development studios have played a major role in videogame history, and many prominent videogames in popular culture, such as Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider, Alone in the Dark, and The Witcher, were made in Europe. Moreover, although in the last few years several monographies focused on national histories of the videogame, including European countries, have been published, the transnational perspective and the use of the European lens to (re)think also the present of the medium have so far been scarcely explored in game studies. In this sense, Perspectives on the European Videogame proposes an innovative research avenue into videogame culture, adopting the European lens in a way that combines the analysis of national specificities and transnational perspectives, and covering (re)readings of the past and questions. Thus, the book aims to contribute to the creation of a, until now, almost non-existent yet necessary academic endeavour: a story and critical exploration of the works, authors, styles, and cultures of the European videogame.

Throughout the book, topics such as the following ones are addressed, among others: the influx of Spanish popular culture into the Spanish videogames of the 80s, the pioneer approaches to the notion of ‘political videogame’ in French production, the history of the computer Sharp MZ-800 in Communist Czechoslovakia, the French-Spanish coproduction of Asterix videogames, the notion of authorship in the contemporary European videogame, and the ‘naturalist trend’ in narrative videogames produced in Europe.

This book stems from an international collaboration, gathering contributions by researchers from 9 European centers, and covering the South, Center and North of the continent. At the same time, a fundamental axis of it is formed by contributions by UPF researchers, through the collaboration of the Department of Communication and Tecnocampus. In this sense, alongside with the role of Drs. Navarro and Pérez as editors, Drs. Mercè Oliva, Manuel Garin and Anton Planells have written some chapters of the book.

Book page on the publisher's website: