Console Wars
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'Console Wars' documentary arrives on CBS All Access on September 23rd
Console Wars details the battle between Nintendo and Sega in the 90s, focusing mostly on the Genesis and SNES era.
Read up on how Sega tried to out-cool Nintendo in the '90s
While many of us could tell the story of Nintendo vs Sega to our grandchildren as though it were an actual battle, sometimes it's best to look at things through another's more impartial eyes. Thankfully, author Blake J. Harris has documented the fight between Sega and Nintendo in his book Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, available starting today. There's plenty of insider information and interviews with high-level executives detailing Sega's uphill battle against its infamous rival, and Harris himself analyzes the situation as one similar to a children's tale. "A central thesis of the book is the story of the tortoise and the hare," Harris told the BBC. "Sega came on the scene and were very flashy - they certainly put an emphasis on style. Nintendo was more focused on gameplay, game development and less so on marketing." The book has already been greenlit for a film adaptation produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who give the book's foreword. Rogen and Goldberg most recently produced the film Neighbors, as well as last year's This Is The End. [Image: Sega]
Story of Nintendo vs. Sega coming to the movies
Hollywood is turning the bitter battle of bits between Nintendo and Sega into a feature film. Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, an upcoming book by Blake J. Harris, attempts to outline the biggest video game rivalry of the '90s. Through backchannels and behind-the-scenes accounts, Harris' book chronicles Sega's rise from a stalled arcade company to direct competitor in a period when Nintendo dominated the industry. Sony acquired domain name rights in August, 2012. Oddly enough, Trident Media Group broke news on November 28, 2012 that Sony Pictures had acquired the rights to the book, and that prominent writing team Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (This is the End, Superbad) had already been attached to write and direct the film. That same day in November, both Rogen and Goldberg tweeted about their involvement, yet news outlets missed the scoop. (Turkey Day comas, most likely.) Scott Rudin, who helped produce Moneyball and The Social Network, has been signed on to produce Sony's adaptation of Console Wars, and author Blake J. Harris will serve as executive producer. Harris is also working on his own version of a film for Console Wars – a documentary. Console Wars will be released on paperback and eBooks on May 13, 2014 in the US, and in August in the UK. [Image: Blake J. Harris]
The biggest stories of 2013: Console wars, Bitcoin's boom and the NSA's very bad year
2013 was a bust! Or so we've been told. Whether you follow that line of thinking or reflect on the last 363 days in a more optimistic light, it's clear the year wasn't all big breakthroughs and great triumphs. This was the year of government surveillance revelations, fallen giants and lackluster product releases. But it was also the year Netflix took on the studios, patent reform became a real priority in DC and two new game consoles hit the scene. No, we won't be riding our hoverboards into the sunset at the close of 2013, but the stories that rocked the industry had a profound impact not only on technology, but also on society as a whole. So let's raise those half-empty glasses and make a toast as we recap the year that was: Here's to the glassholes!
Time's history of video game consoles stirs up memories, rivalries
Picking your trench in the console wars used to be a much simpler affair. You could go with Nintendo and their pair of Italian plumbers, or you could side with Sega and their totally radical hedgehog with an attitude. It's been a while since that rivalry really mattered, but this installment of Time's look back at the first four generations of gaming consoles stirred it right back up. Let's go, Sega Genesis nerds! Fight me in real life! Just kidding, we're all friends now. Besides, I was always jealous of you all getting to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Time's next installment in the series is due Thursday, December 26, which should be plenty of time for PlayStation fans to finish a batch of popcorn and reminisce on their console of choice's decade of domination.
South Park ends PS4, Xbox One wars with a Red (Robin) wedding
It's going to be difficult to watch the new season of Game of Thrones without humming South Park's vocal variation of the theme song. We won't reprint it here, but it rhymes with "Meeners, ploppy Meeners." The third and final episode in South Park's Game of Thrones-style, next-gen console wars storyline aired last night, wrapping up with Kenny as an anime princess, the Black Friday mob, George RR Martin on a horse and a Red Robin wedding. And it includes a line that would fit in most Game of Thrones episodes: "Whose betrayal is this?" We usually hate to spoil the ending of anything, but in this case it's both obvious and harmless: The episode closes with an ad for Ubisoft's South Park RPG, The Stick of Truth. The US audience can check out all of the drama at South Park Studios.
What about the Wii U?
Everyone's in a tizzy about the "new" console generation, conveniently forgetting that, market-wise, it was already here a year ago with the release of Nintendo's Wii U. It isn't as technologically advanced as the new Sony PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox One, but the Wii U's like the kid who still likes Ninja Turtles when everyone's moved on to Power Rangers: They might not be as cool, but they're still your classmate, and they're still going to graduate with everyone else. Nintendo might seem a little square compared to Sony and Microsoft right now, but it still has the skills to succeed in school. At launch, Nintendo sold out its entire initial allotment of 400,000 Wii U's -- which looked promising -- but after the holidays, sales softened significantly and continued to slide. By E3, the situation wasn't looking so good. Just a few months later, Nintendo announced a price cut of $50 for the console, reducing its profit on each unit sold. However, the price reduction also moved a lot of units, with the Wii U experiencing a 200 percent uptick in sales for the month of September.
Next-gen console wars continue in last night's South Park
Finally, the root of all console wars was revealed, thanks to Cartman in last night's episode of South Park: "You know why Kenny's doing this right? Because he wanted to be a princess and I wouldn't let him." Turns out extreme console fanboyism is just as immature as we all thought. South Park continued its Game of Thrones-inspired console wars storyline last night in "A Song of Ass and Fire," which saw the battle for Black Friday heat up with Cartman's army of Xbox One fans against Kenny's small crew of PS4 players – all dressed as their characters in South Park: The Stick of Truth, the Obsidian RPG due out in March 2014. Plus, there was a nice Princess Kenny anime intro around the 20 minute mark. US readers can watch the full episode here.
'Console war movie' domain names registered by Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the film production arm of the Sony conglomerate, registered a batch of domains playing off "console war movie" through brand protection company MarkMonitor. Sony Computer Entertainment, the company's gaming branch, has no fingerprints on the registrations, suggesting this to be a full-tilt movie endeavor rather than a marketing plan for the next PlayStation, as Fusible ponders.The full list of registered domains can be found below, but just to ease the shock, we'll tell you they all include the words "console war," some have "movie" and others still have the audacity to use a hyphen. The drama of war:
Microsoft Xbox turns X years old today, celebrates decade of console prowess
One decade ago today, on November 15, 2001, the Xbox gaming console was born, hitting stores across North America on the same day. That Pentium III-based black box found its way into tens of millions of living rooms around the world, and wasn't discontinued until after its successor was announced in 2005. Now, halfway through its lifecycle, the Xbox 360 is still selling strong -- perhaps spurred by the company's release of Kinect in 2010 -- with about four years left to go before Microsoft is expected to unleash its nex-gen console. An updated system may be inevitable, but regardless of what's inside, we wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft's blockbuster game machine don its familiar Xbox handle for decennia to come.%Gallery-139419%
Nintendo admits its Wii U highlight reel was spiced up with PS3 and Xbox 360 footage
Nintendo's E3 2011 keynote yesterday gave the world its first official look at the all-new Wii U hardware plus (we thought) a glimpse at the graphical capabilities of its next console. As it turns out, the impressive list of upcoming games for the 2012-bound console was just that, a list, with the visuals we saw on screen coming from PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of said titles. Nintendo of America chief Reggie Fils-Aime has confirmed that to be the case in an interview with GameTrailers, where he also points out that the eventual Wii U games will look at least as good as their PS3 / 360 counterparts. Which is why, in his eyes, it's okay to show us those games being played on the competition's (current-gen) hardware. He does remind us that the Wii U will be delivering graphics at a 1080p resolution, and points to the garden tech demo that also graced E3 as an indicator of what can be done with Nintendo's next console. That's all well and good, but maybe tell us in advance next time, Reggie?
Microsoft sells 55 million Xbox 360 consoles, claims that's console history
If you work for Sony you might want go watch TV right now -- there's something on Discovery about ostriches and sand. Meanwhile, Microsoft just let us know that it's sold 55 million Xbox 360s globally, which is very probably enough to maintain its lead over the PS3. Moreover, 360 sales in the US are still accelerating six years into its life-cycle, thanks largely to updates like Kinect -- and Microsoft boasts that "no other console in history can make that claim." Huzzah. Now, we're not ones to snatch the pen from the victor's hand, but remember: this claim is based on US stats, whereas the PS3 has generally been doing better in other regions. What's more, neither the Wii nor the PS3 has yet reached its sixth birthday, so the story isn't over. Nevertheless, the chart after the break does make Microsoft's performance look damn impressive. Why is it that when you're down, life just keeps on kicking?
Sony ships 4.1 million PlayStation Move controllers to retailers (updated)
A little press release from none other than Sony informed us this morning that the company has shipped 4.1 million PlayStation Move controllers worldwide. Alas, that number has been widely misreported as the tally of direct end-user sales, which it most definitely is not. What Sony's letting us know is total wands that have left its warehouses on their way to retailers, a number that's one step removed from actual sales results. Still, if you simply must have something to compare against Microsoft's 2.5 million Kinect sales, there you have it. Update: Our brothers at Joystiq have reached out to Sony and confirmed that these numbers represent shipped units, not consumer sales. Here's Joystiq's exact wording on the (seemingly purposefully) confusing situation: A Sony representative explained that the 4.1 million actually represents Move units shipped to stores, adding "While we don't disclose our exact sell-through number, the key is that our retailers continue to ask for more Move units and are taking every unit we can supply them with based on their sales." Which, you know, would have been a cool thing to put in that press release, we think. Update 2: We've also confirmed with Sony that the sales numbers are in reference to retailers, not consumers, and learned that more than 75 percent of the sales in the US are bundles -- meaning new console sales or software groupings.
Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime dishes cumulative sales numbers for current console generation
Rather like Nokia and its market share obsession, Nintendo just can't seem to stop talking about its hardware sales lead. The company's US chief, Reggie Fils-Aime, recently dished some NPD data detailing the specific advantage that the Wii has over its competitors in the US since the current console generation launched: Mario's team has managed to sell 30.4 million units of its hardware, followed by Microsoft's Xbox 360 at 21.9 million and Sony's PS3, which lags somewhere far behind with 13.5 million total sales. On the more mobile front, DS sales have ratcheted up to 43.1 million, more than doubling the PSP's 17.7 million shipments to the US of A. Nothing we haven't heard before, really, but it's always good to get a statistical update for the sake of keeping flamewars as informed as possible.
Xbox 360 sales increase 88 percent in June, give it US console crown for the month
Proving once again that in this world it's more important what you look like than what you do, the Xbox 360 has cruised to the title of best-selling console in June on the back of a sexy physical redesign. The latest numbers from NPD show that Microsoft shifted 451,700 units in the US, which ousts the Wii's tally of 422,500 and comfortably dwarfs the PS3's 304,800. Still, if Sony wants any consolation it need only look back to the results of its own console Slimmification last year -- US sales were said to have tripled in the immediate aftermath of the new SKU's release. So Microsoft might have a little bit of catching up to do yet, and let's not forget that the king of all hardware sales remains the DS, which somehow managed to sell more than half a million devices in June, in spite of the whole world and its dog already owning one.
Dreamcast resurrection: classic Sega titles coming to XBLA and PSN later this year
The Dreamcast lives on! Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure are reviving Sega's final console, only this time on Microsoft and Sony's hardware. They are the two inaugural titles that will hit the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network later this year, to be followed by other classics from Sega's better days. As the now software-only company tells it, you'll basically be getting the original games, replete with (slightly) higher-res visuals, surround sound, online leaderboards, and Trophy and Achievement integration. We don't know what pricing will be like just yet, but Sonic Adventure will be coming at us in time for the 11th anniversary of the Dreamcast's original launch in the US (September 9, 1999).
Mega64 and Tommy Tallarico present: Gamer Warz 2
We really think Tommy Tallarico missed his calling in life by becoming a composer. If the first Gamer Warz and this followup are any indication, the man was meant for comedy. Gamer Warz 2 (watch it after the break) is a collaboration between Tallarico and lulz-factory Mega64 that really gets to the heart of the elitism and console preferences of the gaming community at large in a surprisingly civil and educated way. Don't get it twisted: we certainly love Tallarico's music, but this may be the funniest video we've seen in a long time.
Study: PS3 has highest percentage of online systems in U.S.
According to data collected by The Diffusion Group, there's one area of the console wars in which the PS3 has a notable lead: The percentage of users online in the U.S. According to the numbers posted by Gamasutra, 78 percent of PS3 owners have taken their consoles online, compared to 73 percent of Xbox 360 owners. By comparison, only 54 percent of Wiis have been connected to the internet, which means that 46 percent of our nation's nephews are failing to return their Aunt Cathy's calls. (By the way, Dylan, would you just help her already? It would take you five minutes. Please, just help her.)
NPD: Xbox 360 wins US sales war in a downbeat February
The cosmos must clearly have approved of Microsoft's actions over this past month, as today we're hearing the Xbox 360 broke out of its competitive sales funk to claim the title of "month's best-selling console" ... for the first time in two years. Redmond's own Aaron Greenberg describes it as the best February in the console's history, with 422,000 units sold outshining the consistently popular Wii (397,900) and the resurgent PS3 (360,100 consoles shifted, which was a 30 percent improvement year-on-year). In spite of the happy campers in Redmond and Tokyo, the overall numbers for the games industry were down 15 percent on 2009's revenues, indicating our collective gaming appetite is starting to dry up. Good thing we've got all those motion-sensing accessories coming up to reignite our fire.
2K Marin: Console wars 'drown out creative discourse'
The initially Xbox 360-exclusive BioShock was one of the major salvos in the ongoing console wars, waged on message boards and comment sections everywhere (including right here on this very site). Speaking with Destructoid, BioShock 2 producer Jordan Thomas expressed hope that the multi-platform sequel -- which launches today -- doesn't play a similarly divisive role. According to Thomas, "platform partisanship" is just silly and it "seems to flood the critical channels and drown out other creative discourse." Which sounds about right -- whenever a piece of news comes up that swings even close to the differences between the various consoles, the discussion usually degenerates into the same old arguments, and new and more interesting issues get drowned out like Andrew Ryan's old city. 2K Marin didn't ask in so many words, but we will: Would you kindly all just get along?
