Platform: Book 
Author: Blake Harris
Publisher: Harper-Collins
Release Date: May 13, 2014
Nerd Rating: 8/10
It was the author Walter Benjamin who once mused upon a page: “history is written by the victors.”
This of course, is the natural order of conflict; the winning side is vindicated through victory and because of that victory, they are then entitled to shape the future as well as the past, in some respects. It isn’t until many years later, when scholars begin digging into the who’s and why’s of a conflict, that they story of the non-victorious begins to be told.
This natural progression applies not only to military conflict, but also professional rivalries as well, including the storied rivalries of the electronic entertainment industry.
There have been some excellent pieces of work produced that have documented some of the beginnings of our hobby. Steven Kent’s The First Quarter does a great job of charting gaming’s path from early Pong, through Atari’s rise and fall, to Nintendo’s domination.
David Sheff went further into a singular subject in his book, Game Over which focused on how Nintendo was able to resurrect and then dominate the gaming industry from the mid 80’s through the early 90’s.
While both of these books are very important to piecing together the history of our hobby, both follow the same paradox that I outlined above: that being, both books focus more on Nintendo’s point of view through history.
So it is refreshing that we now have a book devoted to Sega’s point of view during the great console wars.
Console Wars, by Blake Harris, takes the reader on Sega’s amazing journey from a barely-known seller of the Master System, to the major force that overtook Nintendo’s market-share with the Sega Genesis.
Harris documents Sega’s story through the journey of Sega of America’s President, Tom Kalinske and the team he put together for the sole purpose of taking on the behemoth that was Nintendo, head-on.
Console Wars opens with Kalinske feeling confused and bewildered, following his ouster at toy giant Mattel, following a power struggle with management. Kalinske, looking for answers as to what he should do next in life, opts to gather his thoughts with his family on a Hawaiian vacation. It is in this exotic, tropical setting, that Kalinske’s solace is interrupted by the President of Sega of Japan, Hayo Nakayama, who literally travels to Hawaii and tracks Kalinske down on a beach. It is from this most unlikely of beginnings that Kalinske acquiesces to Nakayama’s invitation to travel with him to Japan to view the wonders that Sega was cooking up at the time, where he eventually succumbs to Nakayama’s persuasion, accepting the role of President of Sega of America.
Nintendo versus Sega. The epic battle that shaped our industry
From there, Harris provides a stylized and somewhat embellished recounting of the efforts of Kalinske and his team in leading Sega’s meteoric rise; from scrappy competitor, to a name equally synonymous to gaming as Nintendo. That’s not to say that Console Wars focuses entirely on Sega. The book also provides fresh insight into the actors within Nintendo, as well as Olaf Olafsson’s quest within the ranks of Sony to bring their own console to life.
The liberties that Harris takes in covering the subject matter breathes life into the people and events that took place, culminating in a narrative that is both historically important, and nearly impossible to put down. Harris’ skills as a script writer are on full display, as Console Wars’ pages melt away so effortlessly, creating an intense desire to devour the complete book in one sitting, while at the same time instilling guilt within the reader for greedily wanting to forge ahead through each chapter in order to uncover the next piece of the puzzle, instead of taking time to savor each page before moving to the next.
Sonic the Hedgehog and Sega of America’s President, Tom Kalinske were instrumental to Sega’s rise in popularity.
Where Console Wars falters is in much the same way that Sega eventually faltered. It’s so highly stylized, that one starts to question how much substance there actually is. There are some parts of the narrative where Harris tries to add too much into the motivations of his subjects that seem almost too unbelievable and the suspension of disbelief is broken. Harris does at times, cross the line into over-romanticizing Sega, however he does a good job of balancing that out through shifting perspectives into other camp’s, mainly that of Nintendo.
Despite the sometimes questionable narrative, Console Wars is a highly entertaining and addicting read for those who are interested in the events that shaped the video game industry, and the people behind them, as well as anyone who considers themselves a fan of Sega during their golden age. It’s effortless style reads more like an engrossing work of literature, than it does as a piece of history, while bringing to light facts that even this grizzled old gaming veteran didn’t realize. The greatest triumph of Console Wars however, is that it provides that rare look into the motivations and mindset of one of the unsung heroes of the electronic entertainment industry, Tom Kalinske.
Written by The Watchman
He’s also an actor, a reporter, a pro wrestling connoisseur, and some say he’s a cat whisperer.
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