Movie Review: Console Wars (2020)
Synopsis: In the early 1990s, Nintendo controlled 95 percent of the home videogame market in the United States until an aggressive marketing campaign from Sega successfully challenged that dominance. However, Sega soon learned getting to the top was easier than staying at the top. This documentary tells the story through first-hand accounts from executives of both companies.
Review: My wife and youngest daughter are at a middle school production of The Spongebob Musical. Since I had the TV to myself for a bit, I decided to watch a documentary and settled on Console Wars, which has been in my library for a few weeks. It turned out to be an interesting watch.
I was a teenager when Sega Genesis came out and even owned one at some point (after it ended up on a clearance rack). I did not realize, however, just how much that game system and the feud it triggered with the then-monopolistic Nintendo, changed the entire video game industry.
The marketing campaign that went into Sega's launch was intriguing, especially the way Sega targeted audiences Nintendo was ignoring, making games that were geared more toward teenagers and making Nintendo seem uncool. Nintendo choosing to not stray from their long-time strategy and seem like a follower was also interesting, especially since one could argue it ultimately worked.
I also liked how the documentary took the time to talk about Nintendo's rise and the risk the company took by being the first to attempt a home videogame console after a well-publicized failure by Atari that made retailers skeptical. I gained a whole new appreciation to how that company re-invented the home videogame industry and how a failure could have prevented the industry from ever becoming a thing.
The part about the war that really surprised me was why Sega ultimately failed to stay at the top - internal sabotage that was possibly the result of jealousy from America's Japanese counterparts. This included not approving partnerships with chipmakers that could allow for a better game system and quashing a collaboration between Sega and Sony that led to the latter entering the market with their own much-more-advanced game system. I thought it was amazing the Sony Playstation is only a thing because of that failed merger.
Final Opinion: It's an entertaining and educational documentary that teaches a lot about the history of home videogames and business in general. It's worth taking the time to watch.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other documentaries:
Movie Review: Glow: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (2012)
Movie Review: Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day (2021)
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