This week, I read the paperback version of Blake J. Harris’ Console Wars – Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation. While the main focus of the book is on Tom Kalinske during his tenure at the head of Sega of America, the book also takes a look at certain key events which helped shape this generation: from the long-lasting effects of Nintendo’s efforts to resurrect the North American video game industry almost single-handedly after the great crash of 1983 (be it on competitors, third-party developers, various retailers, and even the Seattle Mariners) to the ongoing tension at the heart of Sega’s internal divide between its Japanese and U.S. offices; and from the added public scrutiny which spurred the creation of the ESRB to the mistakes made by both Sega and Nintendo when each opted to ultimately spurn an alliance with a certain other Japanese company. I wonder what happened with those guys… There are two live-action projects in the works based on this book, though I’m not sure how much confidence I’d have in how well either or both of those works may turn out. There’s another book I’d be curious to look into – Sam Pettus’ Service Games: the Rise and Fall of SEGA (Enhanced Edition). I mention the Enhanced Edition in particular, since it apparently corrects a number of issues which were reportedly in the original printing, as well as adding more detail on Sega’s operations in Europe. Has anyone here read either book – and if so, what are your thoughts on either (or both) of them?
I remember being in the console wars, I was in 5th grade when I got my SNES and my friends had Sega and going back and forth about which system was better.... great time to be a gamer
I really enjoyed Console Wars, found it incredibly interesting and after reading it was surprised just how much that era would influence the industry today. Great read and can't recommend it enough to any who has an interest in the video game industry and/or video games themselves.