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harrisonefreeman's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting topic, but the supposed dialogue is so cringey. I could see this being a mini series or something but it needs some punching up real bad.
captainsneakers's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.75
A fun read with a lot of anecdotes and inside info about the history of video games.
The predominant perspective has always been from Nintendo, so it was interesting to read something focused on Sega.
I do feel a lot of the recreated conversations were kind of hokey, and the end cuts off very abruptly; there's not even a summation about what happened to Sega after Kalinsky left.
Overall, a good read and I would recommend it.
The predominant perspective has always been from Nintendo, so it was interesting to read something focused on Sega.
I do feel a lot of the recreated conversations were kind of hokey, and the end cuts off very abruptly; there's not even a summation about what happened to Sega after Kalinsky left.
Overall, a good read and I would recommend it.
rembrandt1881's review against another edition
4.0
Console Wars barely gets to a 4 for me because there were a couple of things I wanted to read about for it to really be the 'wars' of the 90s that i remembered. There was just a cursory view given of how Sony really stepped in and shook things up near the end and I would have preferred to have read more about that. There was also a passage where a skit that Nintendo did at an early E3 that could have been paraphrased and space there used to give some kind of overview of the situation that caused Atari to jump back in the ring and also the situation at 3DO, maybe just a chapter that kind of recapped what they were doing and then a few follow ups as they flailed later.
Instead what I got was the story of Sega, with the main villain Nintendo also present. The relationships between thew two companies was great to see and the contrast in styles and Sega created the image of Nintendo that we have today. It was also interesting to see how quickly things failed because of cultural differences and ego just as the company reached the top. If you are into the insider tales of business success and marketing you can learn a lot through this book.
Instead what I got was the story of Sega, with the main villain Nintendo also present. The relationships between thew two companies was great to see and the contrast in styles and Sega created the image of Nintendo that we have today. It was also interesting to see how quickly things failed because of cultural differences and ego just as the company reached the top. If you are into the insider tales of business success and marketing you can learn a lot through this book.
aligrint's review against another edition
2.0
This was a fascinating time in history, and the book starts out with some great anecdotes, but the writing is terrible. I understand that history authors need to manufacture dialogue, but what he comes up with is chock-full of unbelievable cliches. And the entire 'war' is described only through the eyes of marketers, with everything else - the technological development, financial situation, view from the perspective of kids - elided.
Overall, not recommended. I hope someone writes a book about the same topic but spares us the dialogue.
Overall, not recommended. I hope someone writes a book about the same topic but spares us the dialogue.
wintrovia's review against another edition
2.0
I loved playing consoles and grew up at the height of the Sega vs Nintendo tussle for supremacy in the early to mid nineties. This book is about that battle, so it seemed like it should have been perfect for me. It could have been but it wasn’t.
This is a poorly written book in my opinion. The style of the writing and the focus of the story is completely not to my taste and really spoilt my enjoyment. I really thought it would be interesting to read but it was actually all over the place.
There were brief spells when I enjoyed the book, where it focussed on the details of the technology and the inside bits of information about the games and systems. These moments were far too brief and the bulk of the book was a series of cringe worthy scenes involving executives backslapping, punning and being brilliant.
Because at times I was interested, I saw it through to the end but did regret not trusting my early instincts and abandoning the book earlier on. I just kept hoping it was going to get to the good bit and somehow the whole book passed by without ever getting to the good bit.
The worst part of the whole thing was the cheesy dialogue. For some reason the story is written with huge chunks of dialogue which can’t possibly be even close to the real events. Or at least I hope they weren’t, because they were dreadful. The florid language, bad jokes and descriptions of emotions that were way over the top.
It could have been a good book, I’d like to have read more about the actual games rather than the boardroom squabbles. It’s always hugely skewed towards Sega, with some chapters about Nintendo incongruously thrown in every now and again. I had a Megadrive as a kid, so was in the Sega camp but even so, found it far too partisan.
This is probably the worst book I’ve finished in a long time, which says more about me than the actual book. It’s not dreadful but it’s a huge missed opportunity. I couldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you’re incredibly interested in the executives that worked at Sega in the early 90s.
If you’re feeling nostalgic about old video games then I’d suggest not buying this book, just play Mario or Sonic again instead.
This is a poorly written book in my opinion. The style of the writing and the focus of the story is completely not to my taste and really spoilt my enjoyment. I really thought it would be interesting to read but it was actually all over the place.
There were brief spells when I enjoyed the book, where it focussed on the details of the technology and the inside bits of information about the games and systems. These moments were far too brief and the bulk of the book was a series of cringe worthy scenes involving executives backslapping, punning and being brilliant.
Because at times I was interested, I saw it through to the end but did regret not trusting my early instincts and abandoning the book earlier on. I just kept hoping it was going to get to the good bit and somehow the whole book passed by without ever getting to the good bit.
The worst part of the whole thing was the cheesy dialogue. For some reason the story is written with huge chunks of dialogue which can’t possibly be even close to the real events. Or at least I hope they weren’t, because they were dreadful. The florid language, bad jokes and descriptions of emotions that were way over the top.
It could have been a good book, I’d like to have read more about the actual games rather than the boardroom squabbles. It’s always hugely skewed towards Sega, with some chapters about Nintendo incongruously thrown in every now and again. I had a Megadrive as a kid, so was in the Sega camp but even so, found it far too partisan.
This is probably the worst book I’ve finished in a long time, which says more about me than the actual book. It’s not dreadful but it’s a huge missed opportunity. I couldn’t recommend it to anyone unless you’re incredibly interested in the executives that worked at Sega in the early 90s.
If you’re feeling nostalgic about old video games then I’d suggest not buying this book, just play Mario or Sonic again instead.
spencervail's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent and entertaining. Nice history of the two consoles and the surprising downfall of Sega.
adamthebookaddict's review against another edition
3.0
Book #8 of 2020
3 out of 5 stars
Console wars – By Blake J. Harris
Console wars is a book that fills a gap in the market, it tells how the video game company Sega went from the little known underdog to taking 50% of the market and providing a true competitor to Nintendo in the 90s. The book itself is flawed but enjoyable, one major flaw I noticed was that the book varies between a non-fiction account which tells the facts of the two businesses and how they worked to defeat one another (the best parts of the book) and Blake J. Harris’ obsession to tell the story as if it were a film treatment.
The film treatment side of the book involves an abundance of clichés, both in the descriptions and the dialogue. The dialogue itself is the most dubious part of the book and I think the average reader with an ear for authentic dialogue will be aware of this.
However despite the books flaws I did find it an interesting and enjoyable read. Currently I believe this is the only book available on the subject and so the books flaws may be forgiven by many, at least for now.
3 out of 5 stars
Console wars – By Blake J. Harris
Console wars is a book that fills a gap in the market, it tells how the video game company Sega went from the little known underdog to taking 50% of the market and providing a true competitor to Nintendo in the 90s. The book itself is flawed but enjoyable, one major flaw I noticed was that the book varies between a non-fiction account which tells the facts of the two businesses and how they worked to defeat one another (the best parts of the book) and Blake J. Harris’ obsession to tell the story as if it were a film treatment.
The film treatment side of the book involves an abundance of clichés, both in the descriptions and the dialogue. The dialogue itself is the most dubious part of the book and I think the average reader with an ear for authentic dialogue will be aware of this.
However despite the books flaws I did find it an interesting and enjoyable read. Currently I believe this is the only book available on the subject and so the books flaws may be forgiven by many, at least for now.