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

A must listen for any veteran of the 16-bit war

Would you consider the audio edition of Console Wars to be better than the print version?

never read the print version but the narrator was good

What did you like best about this story?

it's fairly comprehensive. the author clearly did his research and uncovered things i hadn't heard before. Many of the events and certainly the outcomes were familiar to me, but the behind the scenes dramas were not, and hearing the entire story with proper context to Sony. Sega and Nintendo and all the characters involved was eye opening and riveting.

My only gripe is NEC story was barely mentioned in this book. It was as if they didn't exist. I get that they never had much traction. but even the book mentions that they were seen as the first real credible threat to Nintendo

Also, many of the great Sega innovations mentioned, were first launched by NEC ( 16-bit system, CD add ons, 16 bit color handheld- which blew away the game gear). I guess from a story perspective it makes for less of stark contrast mentioning NEX, but as a person who got a genesis in 1989. I can tell you that as a kid, i had to make a choice between the system with Altered Beast, or Keith Courage. Sega won that day, but I eventually got a TG16 express and the home console, and really thought NEC made some awesome hardware, but never got the third party support it needed to be a credible threat.

Which character – as performed by Fred Berman – was your favorite?

Tom K. the OG from Sega was the true star of this story

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Al Nilsen's exit from Sega

Any additional comments?

Parts of this story feel over-dramatized, but I give the writer credit for making this story come to life, and keeping the action going.

Voice acting

The voice acting in this was so, so amazing. The story is great, don't get me wrong. But, the voice acting made it feel just like a movie.

Simply awesome

As a Sega fanboy from the 90's listening to rise and fall was outstanding. Decent narration, great writing, awesome stories about every Sega console and found out quite a bit I didn't know.

The epic struggle behind my childhood memories.

As a 11-year old in 1991, this was required reading. I remember the older and cooler high school kids playing Sega. Turns out this was exactly someone's plan. After finishing this book I found a bunch of the people and the author on Twitter.

A wonderful and introspective look at video games

Blake J Harris kills it so does Fred Berman what a marvelous look at the console Wars of the 1990s Blake's writing completely captures the essence of that era and Fred Berman capture the essence of character in a way the completely informs The Listener of the gravity of each and every situation portrayed in this book. not only that but the book gives tremendous insight into the inner workings of Nintendo of America and Sega of America and the war that the two companies were embroiled in. told and a completely engrossing manner that is likely to Captivate any gamer. both men put their best foot forward

holy crap

I loved this book. I really genuinely enjoyed it, and I don't leave reviews often.

Really good.

The story was so well done. I really enjoyed it. It’s definitely worth a credit if you like the 80-90’s tech scene.

As a kid in the 90’s you never thought of everything that went into your games.

a blast from the past

I loved this book it was amazing. great story that explains the history of the Sega and nintendo

Fred Berman's Japanese accents alone are worth it

I enjoyed this much more than I was expecting. It's a non-fiction book that reads a lot like a novel, with intricate dialog and conversations explored. If you grew up in the 90s and owned either a SNES or a Genesis you will enjoy the story of how/why everything happened.

It's also hilarious to hear Fred Berman do Japanese and Swedish accents.

I found it to be a tiny bit misleading though -- It's mainly the story of Genesis versus SNES, told from the perspective of the Sega team. From the title and description I expected the story to keep going to cover N64, GameCube and Dreamcast, but it's bookended by Tom Kalinski's time at Sega where he oversaw the Genesis and Sonic.

Great book! Listens like a movie

Loved almost everything. The only agonizing part is listening to 20 hours of a guy mispronouncing “M-are-io” as “M-air-io”