Ever since I bought The King of Fighters: The Ultimate History from Bitmap Books many years ago while on holiday, I’ve been a fan of just about every book I’ve bought from the publisher since. I’ve even reviewed two of them here in I’m Too Young to Die and Trigger Happy. Later this month, Bitmap Books is launching Fatal Fury/Garou Densetsu: The Ultimate History. I had a chance to chat with Sam Dyer, creative director at Bitmap Books, about the publisher’s growth, the most challenging project so far, how they decide on a specific project, reprints, coffee, and the future.
Nintendo Insider: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sam Dyer: My name is Sam Dyer. I live in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath in England with my wife and two children. A graphic designer by trade, I have a passion for all things design and of course, video games!
Nintendo Insider: How does it feel looking back at the early days to now when you do multiple books and reprints on a regular basis?
Sam Dyer: I founded Bitmap Books in 2014, initially as a hobby project in the evenings and weekends. After an amazing reaction to our first book (on the Commodore 64), the business has gone from strength to strength. I do feel very proud to have such an amazing customer-base that buys our books on a regular basis. Occasionally I have to pinch myself that I now do this as my job – I’m very lucky.
Nintendo Insider: What has been the most challenging project to work on so far?
Sam Dyer: Probably 50 Indie Games That Changed The World. During development I was dead set on including concept art for each game so the reader could really understand how the games were put together, behind the scenes. This turned into a HUGE task that involved contacting the owners of each game and asking them to send any development assets.
When this was multiplied by 50, it turned into a pretty epic admin task. Lots of chasing people, stalking on LinkedIn, and patience were required! I have to say it was 100% worth it in the end. From a design point of view, N64: a visual compendium was a challenging book as it was our first that used 3D graphics, opposed to pixel art. We had to take great care making sure that the images looked good in-print which involved lots of playing around and print tests. I was happy with the result, and think that the book accurately conveys the N64’s visual aesthetic.
Nintendo Insider: Have you run into any legal issues with scans or including specific games?
Sam Dyer: No.
Nintendo Insider: The main draw for Bitmap Books releases when I started buying them a few years ago was the high quality binding, print quality, and packaging, but I’ve since also discovered the actual writing since unpacking the two books I bought before. It is great to see that it is still present even now. Has it been challenging to maintain that level of quality while shipping worldwide?
Sam Dyer: Maintaining the quality has actually been pretty straightforward. We carefully budget each book and make sure that standards are never compromised. Importantly, we use a couple of printers that understand the quality the books need to be. I’ve also been very careful to not grow the business too much as this is where quality-control can suffer. The high quality is such a key aspect of Bitmap Books, and something I’d not want to change.
Nintendo Insider: I’ve seen your books all over the world including in small bookstores in Singapore. How has it been working with distribution partners and still maintaining the pristine quality of your books?
Sam Dyer: To be honest, any distribution is a bit of a lottery. We don’t have any say in how third-party sellers package or sell our books. We always say that the best way to buy our books is direct, as we can control how they are packaged and shipped. You also get a free digital version when buying directly from our website.
Nintendo Insider: Was there ever a consideration to maintain the same physical dimensions for books so they are uniform on someone’s shelf?
Sam Dyer: No, not really. I understand this would be a visual benefit on a bookshelf, but each book’s dimensions are carefully considered based on the type of content and design style. Personally, I would find it boring if every book was the same size.
Nintendo Insider: How do you decide what project to work on? Is it through journalists or creators pitching you on different topics or do you plan on your own and then seek people out to work with?
Sam Dyer: It’s a mixture of my own ideas, which we develop by working with a freelance writer, and ideas proposed directly by an author with a book concept. Both routes have similar processes, and I don’t have a particular preference.
Nintendo Insider: Having done so many books on different topics, which ones are your favorites in terms of the overall project and also in how creative you are with packaging?
Sam Dyer: This is like asking me to pick a favourite child! It’s hard, but my favourite book is probably Metal Slug: The Ultimate History. To be trusted by SNK with one of their key IP’s was a huge privilege. I love the graphic design, and the innovative slipcase we created that played sound-effects from the game. ROCKET LAWNCHAIR!
Nintendo Insider: Speaking of packaging, have you run into international shipping issues with how elaborate some of your covers are?
Sam Dyer: I don’t think so. Some collector’s editions can be a challenge to ship if they are big and heavy, but in these instances, we try to create bespoke packaging to reduce the chance of damage in transit.
Nintendo Insider: What is your protocol on updating a book’s content when you reprint it? Do you prefer keeping things as they were or are you open to fixing any potential issues/name changes?
Sam Dyer: We do occasionally update the odd typo when reprinting. Sometimes we may also update a book with additional content. If we do this, we always offer past customers the new content in PDF form for free.
Nintendo Insider: Is there a way fans can request specific games or publishers to be covered in future Bitmap Books releases?
Sam Dyer: Sure! We’re always open to new ideas. Just email us at [email protected].
Nintendo Insider: Have you ever been commissioned to work on a specific game or publisher for a potential release by said publisher? Would you be willing to do that?
Sam Dyer: We’ve been approached before to do books on specific games, but unfortunately, these didn’t make it past the initial discussion phase. It is something I’d love to do one day, as it would be a dream to one day do books on the Mario or Zelda franchises.
Nintendo Insider: Is there anything you’d like to say to our readers?
Sam Dyer: A huge thanks to everyone that has supported Bitmap Books over the years. Whether you have purchased our books or spread the word online, we really appreciate it.
Nintendo Insider: What should we expect from Bitmap Books in 2026?
Sam Dyer: In May, we have our next big release, which is our fourth collaboration with SNK. This time we’ve done a deep delve into the history of Fatal Fury/Garou, very much in the style of our Metal Slug and KOF books. In the summer we are releasing a book on Arcade games which interviews pretty much all of the key arcade developers from the 70s 80s and 90s, and includes loads of iconic coin ops. To round off the year we have a book which covers the entire Quest for Glory series of adventure/RPG hybrid games. Exciting times!
Nintendo Insider: This is something I ask everyone at the end of an interview. How do you like your coffee? Go into as much detail as possible.
Sam Dyer: Day-to-day I drink my black decaf. If I’m out and about I’ll get a decaf Cappuccino. Pretty boring, sorry!
