Console Wars

Harris's meticulous history of the rivalry between Sega and Nintendo in the 1980s and 1990s proves to be listening gold with the skillful narration of Fred Berman. The narrative focuses on Tom Kalinske, who became CEO of Sega America, and retells how he, along with a skilled team, rebuilt the faltering corporation into a legitimate rival to the Nintendo gaming empire. Berman delivers the story in a strong voice that keeps it moving while simultaneously providing rich vocal characterizations of the men and women involved. When delivering dialogue, he captures tone, projection, and tempo so well that listeners will often feel they're eavesdropping. L.E. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 21, 2014
In this engaging narrative, filmmaker Harris (The Flying Scissors) recounts one of the fundamental pop culture rivalries of the â90s, the so-called "Console Wars," which saw Sega and Nintendo vying for market dominance in the early days of the home entertainment console industry. Harris portrays Nintendo as the distinguished incumbent, obsessed with quality control and perfection, while Sega is painted as the ambitious upstart willing to rewrite the rules of engagement. At the heart of it all is underdog businessman Tom Kalinske. While not the only primary character, it's his efforts to make Sega of America into a viable operation and a serious contender that drives much of the book. Harris covers all sides of the ongoing conflict (including the arrival of third party Sony) with cunning thoroughness, turning hundreds of interviews into a riveting story full of colorful characters. While the story is presented as a series of contrastsâNintendo Entertainment System vs. Sega Genesis, Mario vs. Sonic, 8-bit vs. 16-bit vs. 32-bitâit's also a fascinating, even illuminating, history of the video game industry as seen through the experiences of two influential companies and a host of participants, ending with the advent of the fifth generation consoles, and Kalinske's resignation in 1996. This is an essential read for any interested in the evolution of video games, and the rise and fall of Sega as a console contender. Agent: Alex Glass, Trident Media Group.

June 15, 2014

Anyone who grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s and had an interest in video games has likely some awareness of the console wars, which author and filmmaker Harris (12 Dates of Christmas) briefly covers here with verve. What such readers may not be as familiar with are the details of the business dealings, risky maneuvers, and all-out corporate warfare underlying so many staples of childhood. This book will either ruin memories or shed new light on them, but either way Harris's well-researched volume is compulsively readable, even if his portrayal of the people involved stays relatively superficial. While the book will appeal most strongly to those who cut their teeth on the classics of the 8- and 16-bit era of video games, Harris's robust discussions of the origins of such pop culture icons as Mario and Sonic--and the complex theater of business machinations--make for equally captivating reading, though at least a passing knowledge of the industry is necessary to appreciate truly the story he tells. VERDICT Nostalgic twenty- and thirtysomethings will likely devour this book, but it's also a solid pick for anyone interested in the video game industry.--M. Brandon Robbins, Goldsboro H.S., NC

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Long before Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were scrapping it out on retail shelves, a small but nimble competitor very nearly unseated Nintendo. Welcome to the Console Wars.This history of the battle for video game market supremacy between Sega's Genesis gaming system and Nintendo's SNES console is the source material for not only an upcoming documentary co-directed by the author, but also a Scott Rudin-produced Hollywood film being written and produced by geek icons Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (This Is the End), who contribute a funny introduction here. The good news is that despite being a bit lopsided in its portrayal of the players involved, the book is a highly entertaining behind-the-scenes thriller in which price fixing, psychotically aggressive marketing schemes and, occasionally, genuine innovation all come into play. Harris posits the fight between the two companies as a David-vs.-Goliath battle between Nintendo, which dominated the video game industry in the post-Atari era, and Sega, which valued audacious ideas, aggressive branding and more mature games. The nominal hero of the book is Tom Kalinske, a former Matchbox marketing executive sought out by Hayao Nakayama to run Sega's American division, which had just 50 employees. Kalinske fought a competitive campaign starting with the "Sixteen Weeks of Summer" in 1991, during which Sega carried out an inspired insurgency to diminish the launch of the SNES. The edginess of the company's advertising and products-think of the speed and scale of Sonic the Hedgehog versus the trusty familiarity of Mario and Link-shook the market like no upstart had before. Meanwhile, Harris also tracks a quirky Icelandic physics student named Olaf Olafsson, who was quietly helping Sony build a giant-killer of their own.It's hard to say whether the book is better than the movie(s), but whether readers are gamers or just enjoyed The Social Network, they'll be spoiled for choice here.

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Starred review from May 15, 2014
At the dawn of the 1990s, Nintendo was the Goliath of the video-game industry. The company's strictures on third-party development and its policy of understocking retailers contributed to the stranglehold on the market. But Tom Kalinske, who had rejuvenated Barbie and created He-Man for Mattel, was about to change that as the president and CEO of Sega. Like the pixels that together create a larger picture, Harris presents the various elements of the business in vivid color, from research and development to marketing, to show how Sega went from a joke to a market leader in just a few years. Along the way, Harris reveals the forces behind such decisions as Nintendo changing red blood to gray sweat in Mortal Kombat; the origin story of the nickname for Sonic's sidekick, Tails; and even how Mario was supposed to be a certain spinach-guzzling sailor, in a manner that will engage both Gen X gamers and business-minded readers. Harris defines the players immediately, honing in on their most notable characteristics, and puts the reader in the thick of the meetings and deal-making with a confidence stemming from hundreds of interviews. Pegged for both documentary and feature-film adaptations, Console Wars is remarkably detailed and fast paced, pitting speedy Sonic against more-of-the-same Mario in a blow-by-blow account of the battle for supremacy in the burgeoning video-game industry.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)