"Studying Videogames" is the first book to look at videogames as media texts. Written specifically for advanced level/undergraduate students it covers a broad range of games, industry contexts, and research findings. The book challenges conventional media-analysis approaches; sets out the history, present, and future of games; and interrogates claims about their "social effects." Featuring student activities, interviews with key players in the industry, and an extended case study of the Grand Theft Auto cycle, "Studying Videogames" seriously engages with this powerful media.