Loved it. Absolutely loved it. But then again, I was a diehard Sega kid growing up.
If you didn't play video games in the 90s this might not have much for you. But, if you did, this is the story of how all that business came together.
The book covers a massive amount of content in a very easy-going, novel-narrative style. It covers Nintendo's entrance into the long-dead video game market, then Sega's weak early attempts to compete, and then chronicles the entire business of video games developing into the modern era. The scandals that took them to senate hearings- and the ratings system that they had to create- are huge parts of the story.
Sega is the main character of the book- or rather, Sega of America President Tom Kalinske, who is given the difficult job in the first chapter and leaves it in the last. Kalinske was clearly the biggest influence on the research, because it's primarily from his point of view.
Nintendo isn't a villain, mind you- plenty of the story is dedicated to the massive work they put into creating an industry that had ceased to exist after the Atari crash. Their on/off relationship with Sony and the creation of the Playstation also play a large role.
In the end the villain is Sega of Japan, who seem to grow more and more resentful of Sega of America's eclipsing success while they struggled at home. The book paints a picture of a jealous, even bigoted Sega of Japan that undermines SOA at every step. How much is hard truth and how much is Kalinske's own memoirs of it is impossible to say.
Even with a grain of salt for that it's a fantastic read. The stretch of time from 1985 to 1995 was chaos for video games, and this book takes that history and spins it, Mad Men or Moneyball-style, as the trials and tribulations of a small group of marketing and designing underdogs. In the course of the story Sega goes from a struggling upstart with 5% control of the games market to a powerhouse with 55%... only to lose it all just as quickly. If you ever wondered why Sega went from being on top of it all to last place, the answers are here.
The fictionalized dialog can get a little awkward at times, but it doesn't detract from the whole. This is a detailed and far-reaching look at how video games went from a failed toy in the 70's to dominant media in 2000, and how influential just a handful of people were to it.
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Bought “Very Good”; received “Very Poor”.
I bought this book that was categorized as “Very Good” and I have to say that it is probably a low grade good to near acceptable. The back of the book is just about separated from the spine. There’s soiling on some of the pages in & outside of the book. The dust jacket has some very noticeable wear to it. I wish some of these defects were mentioned in your discripton but sadly they were not. I will probably not purchase a book from this seller again. Very disappointed in their quality and miscatagorizing conditions of books. Please do everyone a favor and put a description down so people know what they are getting.
Top reviews from other countries
Paco
"La guerra que definió una generación"
Reviewed in Spain on September 10, 2017
