And the Battle that Defined a Generation

I have a passion for gaming history books, I think I have read most of the good ones on this topic. Console Wars easily classifies among the top 3/top 5 I have ever read. Well written, full of small anecdotes and deeper analysis as well it really tells the Sega Vs Nintendo tale in a fascinating tale. True, it is much more Sega oriented compared to the pages dedicated Nintendo or other competitors but if you have even the slightest interest in the gaming industry and its history this is a must read.

I grew up during this revolution and that made this book that much enjoyable. As admittedly a Sega fan, I read this book half a fan and the other half as a business major.

It is quite amazing what Tom Kalinske accomplished throughout his career. After reading this, I have a new appreciate for what happened during these years, and especially for Sega of America as well as Nintendo and Sony. All the things that happened were incredible. What shaped this industry had to do with a lot of genius. And without these guys, we wouldn't have what we have today.

Here's a warning: this book is very difficult to put down. From chapter to chapter, you just want to read more and understand what happened during this era you may have lived. Even if you didn't live this era, after reading this book you will have a greater appreciation for what subdued during this time.

Definitely a great book and one of the most enjoyable I have read in a while.

Overall very informative and entertaining book. The sheer amount of information the author obtained of the on goings of both companies is astounding. The only drawback, in my opinion, is the style in which the book itself was written. The author presents it as more like a novel than the biography type form I was looking for. I find some of the conversations in the book hard to believe at times and is occasionally obvious that some bits were made up for the sake of making dry moments more entertaining. All in all though, great book!

Great read!!. Lots of information and insight into the gaming industry. I was a gamer back then and can remember the rivalry between the 2 companies. Who would have thought years later that Sega would be making games for Nintendo?? No one back then for sure!!! Good book if you grew up in that era of gaming. Interesting facts about both companies.

Great read for anyone who owned one or both console systems or is interested in the history of video games in general covering the late 80s and early 90s period.

I also recommend watching an interview with a Sega exec mentioned in the book on twit.tv (Marketing Mavericks, episode 6) and a live panel on YouTube (at San Diego Comic Con 2014, Console Wars) for more background information and anecdotes. Both videos can be easily found online.

This book may also appeal to younger readers who grew up on the Playstation vs XBox rivalry in the 90s and 00s as it discusses the industry shortly before Sony entered the market with its first PlayStation (and the alliance proposals and fights behind the scenes betweeen Sony, Nintendo and Sega) and of course well before Microsoft decided to launch its XBox a short decade later.

Finally, this is an interesting book for anyone interested in consumer marketing.

Update concerning other critical reviews: Yes, this is NOT a technical book about processors, graphic chips or game software reviews. There are plenty of other books and websites covering these topics in vintage video game systems already.

I could not put this book down. Harris' writing style told the story of the epic Sega vs. Nintendo battle of the early '90s, but in a way that made it feel like I was right there with them, in the moment. The creative nonfiction style Harris tells this story in is refreshing.

A really fun book! The "characters" really shine through and it is really cool to feel like you are sitting in on conversations in offices like Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. It really brings back childhood memories as a consumer growing up with this industry!!! Loved it

As a Sega fanboy growing up, it was awesome getting to read about what was going on behind the scenes with Nintendo, Sega, and Sony during my childhood. The writing is very good and reads almost like a story. Highly recommend this book to anyone who has interest in classic video games.

Great, informative, and entertaining read! I am looking forward to the movie adaptation. I learned a lot about the inner workings of the video game industry and it will be interesting to see how the movie accomplishes what the book does on so many levels.

Good read, interesting but a bit slow. Spent too much time on Sega and not Nintendo. Said another way, was the sega side of this "battle" that interesting? Nintendo was the victor but we learn little of its story.

I would give this book 2 stars but something needs to balances out the 5 star reviews which, to be paranoid, were probably not written by totally disinterested persons.

First, the book is written with the skill of your average 8th grader. There is a lot of telling, and very little showing. When someone feels guilty the book just says "she felt guilty." When someone is sad it says "he felt sad." Another problem is the dialogue. As indicated by another reviewer, the dialogue is essentially what a child might come up with when trying to imagine adults having witty repartee.

Second, this book is way too one sided to be an accurate historical depiction. I'm not saying everything in it is false, in fact the skeleton of the story is verifiable from many other sources. However, the major conflict centers around SEGA of Japan (poorly) controlling SEGA of America. Why was the story never told from SEGA of Japan's point of view? They must have some other explanation other than "we are babies/idiots who like to ruin everything because we are jealous." Even if their explanation is wrong or biased, doesn't it deserve to be told? To read this book Tom Kalinske (the head of SEGA of America during the early 90's) is the second coming of Christ who took a nothing company (SEGA), made it into #1, and only didn't get out before the down-fall (which he clearly foresaw but was powerless to prevent) because he was just too darn loyal to all of his employees. While all this was going on he was busy keeping violence out of video games, unifying the industry and curing aids children. That's just barely an exaggeration of the "plot." Again, call me crazy, but I wonder if Mr. Kalinske did not have some significant hand in the financing of this book.

Recommended to anybody that has ever picked up a gaming controller. Those who were teenagers in the 90s will find a particular joy in the history of a massive portion of our collective youth.

Fun from beginning to end with some chapters reveals delivered like a serial novel. Loved it completely.

There are many books written on the subject of videogame consoles and their makers, specially on the 90s, but those are usually written from Nintendo's point of view. This one, however, focuses on Sega's side of the equation, and all the effort SOA made to find an audience in the US, usually isolated from the suits in Japan.
It's a really well told story of their efforts battling Nintendo's dominance, and while I'm sure some of the dialogues and situations and romanticized by the author, the plot is a compelling one.
It instantly joins Replay (Tristan Donovan) and The Ultimate History of Videogames (Steven L. Kent) as the three best books on the subject in my opinion, even though this one is (mostly) restricted to Sega x Nintendo in the 90s. Go for it!

I was just entering the job market as the console wars were heating up and never paid much attention until I saw a Sega commercial. Even though I knew how it ended, it felt suspenseful from Tom's point of view. It was a fun summer read, very excited for the film.

I found this to be an interesting read, although as others have noted the style is quasi-historical fiction in that it is very dialogue-driven. The title is also a bit misleading, as the book focuses almost entirely on Sega and then-CEO Tom Kalinske. Still, highly recommended to anybody looking for a bit of nostalgia.

Very compelling story. I have always been a Nintendo guy, but I couldn't help rooting for Sega. My biggest complaint is that this book is LONG. Well over 500 pages. A lot of the ancillary characters didn't need that much backstory. All in all a good read and I'm definitely going to have to read Game Over now.

December 24th, 1990

I was twelve years old and twelve days away from becoming the BIG thirteen. This Christmas was very special indeed. I was getting a “combined” Birthday and Christmas present. Oh boy, was it special! I was sitting there with my family, my hands trembling because I knew exactly what lies beneath that red paper surface. Just a few hours ago I was playing 720 on the NES on a small color TV and thinking how awesome Altered Beast is going to look. An ARCADE experience right in my living room. By contrast, 720 looks NOTHING like it’s arcade counterpart. My younger sister went to bed and this year I could stay up until midnight and open my gifts. I cared nothing about the other “stuff”, just that giant red present. I was moments away from tearing into this thin red barrier that stands between me and the most memorable Christmas present I’ll ever receive. 11:59 > GO!

It was indeed a Sega Genesis and E-Swat: City under Siege! I probably set a record time for setting it up to the living room TV. I powered up the Genesis, smirked at the “16-Bit” etching on the top because I was an elite, then I heard this. “Rise from your grave”

My jaw hit the floor. Digitized voice, giant sprites, 64 on screen colors out of a 512 palette, and a 16-bit processor (motorola 68k). I was playing a reproduction of the arcade game in our living room. More digitized voice would come out of the famous Yamaha 2612. “Power Up!” and then “Welcome to your Doom”. Man, I was living the dream right here. All year, I was waiting for this moment and it was glorious. My family watched me for a few minutes and then dispersed. I put some headphones on, cranked up the volume slider, and stayed up until I finished Altered Beast and played the first level of E-Swat. Here we are, 24 years later and I remember that day like it was yesterday. That is the kind of impact Sega had on me.

Read my full review: http://www.4g1vn.com/2014/09/console-wars-book-review/

First and foremost this is a fun and entertaining read. As a geek (both the video game and business versions) I really enjoyed getting transported back to the 90s to experience all the pop culture and mega-hits from childhood and how they came into existence.

There is TONS of inside information on the systems, the games, the corporations and the key players in each company. So much so that I found myself doubting it a little.

Its not really a swipe at the integrity of the author. He starts off the book by saying that he took some liberties with the events to make it more coherent but never messed with the facts. And I truly believe that. But there is so much dialogue included, so many specific quotes that you find yourself thinking "do they really remember every little quip they made to each other?" I think it would have been better served not trying to be so much of a novel and dialogue driven.

Again I don't think for a second that Blake Harris messed with the facts. I just think he tried to hard to have it read like fiction instead of embracing its non-fiction status.

Overall its still a great read.

Great book about the SNES and GENESIS era. Gives the reader a look behind the scenes. Definitely paints Nintendo as the bad guy but that isn't far from the truth. There is also a brief look at why/how Sony got involved.

What made this book interesting was seeing some of the stories behind events well known to gaming fans of that era, but the writing style is so atrocious at times--with constant cliches and uses of imagery and lackadaisical editing that it was a chore to get through. Compare a book like this to better works of gaming writing, like Polygon write up of Street Fighter or the book Masters of Doom. Disappointed. Also, this is a book clearly about marketing, which is fine, but you wont find out much about the stuff that goes into the games themselves.