Console Wars

Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation

By: Blake J. Harris

Narrated by: Fred Berman

Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video-game industry.

In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video-game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But all that would change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a former Mattel executive who knew nothing about video games and everything about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat, and bold ideas of his renegade employees, completely transformed Sega and led to a ruthless, David-and-Goliath showdown with Nintendo. Little did he realize that Sega's success would create many new enemies and, most important, make Nintendo stronger than ever.

The battle was vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and school yards to boardrooms and Congress. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the United States against Japan.

Based on more than 200 interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the tale of how Tom Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punch line into a market leader. Blake J. Harris brings into focus the warriors, the strategies, and the battles and explores how they transformed popular culture forever. Ultimately, Console Wars is the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, give birth to a $60 billion industry.

©2014 Blake J. Harris (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

Solid audio and good story.

harpers audio is generally spot on and this title is no different. It's simple, it's clean, and it's clear. The only extra sounds I can pick out are some very quiet mouth sounds between words and some slight differences in pitch and volume in between places where it's unexpected. To be honest, this is my ideal threshold for editing because any less and the sound is robotic but if there are too many mouth pops, smacks and breaths it gets distracting.
As for the book, it's really well written. Although the title says "Console Wars" it is mostly about Sega, though there are asides periodically from different points of view that break up the Sega fest. And it's not totally about the entirety of Sega's history in America as the Sega Dreamcast isn't mentioned. It really seems to cover a 5 year time period in detail ending with Sony's enterence into the market.
I do have to say one thing though, there is a lot of counting. This gets repetitive because 1- while market strategies tend to happen in a tiered and orderly approach this does not necessarily mean that one thing happens neatly after another. 2- while it worked the first time using the same counting strategy reduces the separation of each list in my head because there are several 1s and 2s and 3s. And 3- I just feel like it's basic writing.

A behind the scenes look at gamer history

An entertaining look inside NES, SEGA, and the games that we grew up on. a great listen.

Fascinating

This fascinating story is well written and exciting to listen to. The narrator is absolutely excellent. He makes you feel like you personally were there and know each person ob the book!

I can only recommend it to anyone who is interested in video games

Nothing like hearing the battle of the 90s

Fred Berman was an excellent choice for narrator because he was very passionate about not being a boring guy. Nothing ruins an audiobook faster than a narrator who isn't engaging and entertaining.

Nothing like hearing what went on behind the scenes of the best battle of the 90s. Sega vs. Nintendo, and now with the Nintendo Switch looming in March and finding out that Sega will develop for them, it seems to have come full ciricle.

Great story, but a little one sided.

What did you love best about Console Wars?

The depth it goes to really tell the entire story.

What other book might you compare Console Wars to and why?

Masters of Doom told a story in a similar depth.

What does Fred Berman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice acting worked well enough, but his emotion durring the normal narrator parts really stood out.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A new player steps up.

spectacular

great performance, really wish it covered all the way through to the publishing date. then we could see the new players in the console wars including Microsoft and Apple.

Great listen!

Fantastic... Turned what should be a business school case study into a remarkably gratify story.

Be Wary of Accuracy

Loved the book, been a gamer all my life so I knew the rough story. This book really helps deep dive into the persons behind the history. Like all super in depth things written later though just be careful not to take this as the only side. It's clearly written with SOA as the "hero" and while it could be completely true just remember the other side has a story too. With that in mind it's a must listen for any gamer.

I'm surprised to say that this book is a nailbiter

The way that the people involved are personified really brings this corporate battle to life, and shows how outside the box thinking, and striking at the right time, can make you a market leader. I would say that I am already interested in video game history, but the book is well written enough where you will enjoy it even without that interest. Highly recommend. I rarely give out 5 star reviews

The Genesis of My Childhood

To be honest, when I purchased this book I expected to be read a 20 hour documentary. However I was surprised and a little skeptical at first when it turned out to be more of a story told through the eyes of Tom Kalinske. Not being a Sega fan I had no idea who Tom Kalinske was. However as I listened to the book I gained a greater appreciation for what Kalinske did for not only Sega but for the video game industry as a whole. While the book is clearly dominated by the point of view from Sega, it goes into telling the side from both Nintendo and Sony.

As much as I love Nintendo I couldn't be happier to see them fall. In a lot of ways they became a monopoly and really made it difficult to make money if you were a developer. This was due to the fact that only a certain amount of orders would be filled and the fact that you could only develop five games per year. The book also talks about how Nintendo not only charged $10 per cartridge but they had a pretty high royalty on each sale. So it's easy for me as a consumer to see why so many developers chose Sega and later the dominating force of the Sony PlayStation.

As interesting as this book was for me most of the time I spent with it there were a few chapters that were a little slow. But the overall the majority of the book I found to be very informative and enjoyable. I even felt like I was a new Sega fan by the end of it.

With that being said all I can really say is that if you enjoy the history of video games then you will love this book about the console war between Sega and Nintendo.