Description
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR:NPR, Slate, Publishers Weekly, Goodreads Following the success of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball comes Console Wars a mesmerizing, at the back of-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, alternatively, was once just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But that would all change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a man who knew nothing about videogames and the whole thing about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat and bold ideas of his renegade employees, transformed Sega and in the end led to a ruthless David-and-Goliath showdown with rival Nintendo. The battle was once vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, in the end sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and schoolyards to boardrooms and Congress. It was once a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and america against Japan. In keeping with over two hundred interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. Its the story of how a humble circle of relatives man, with an atypical imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, in consequence, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.