The Ultimate History of Video Games, Volume 2: Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, and the Billion-Dollar Battle to Shape Modern Gaming

The definitive behind-the-scenes historical past of video video games’ explosion into the twenty-first century and the conflict for trade energy

“A zippy learn by means of a very deep analysis job. You received’t wish to put this one down.”—Eddie Adlum, writer, RePlay Journal

As video video games evolve, solely the fittest corporations survive. Making a blockbuster as soon as value tens of millions of {dollars}; now it may well value a whole lot of tens of millions, however with a $160 billion market worldwide, the largest gamers are keen to guess the financial institution.

Steven L. Kent has been taking part in video video games since Pong and writing in regards to the trade for the reason that Nintendo Leisure System. In quantity 1 of The Final Historical past of Video Video games, he chronicled the trade’s first thirty years. In quantity 2, he narrates gaming’s entrance into the twenty-first century, as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft battle to seize the worldwide market.

The house console increase of the ’90s turned pastime corporations like Nintendo and Sega into Hollywood-studio-sized enterprise titans. However by the top of the last decade, they might face new, extra highly effective rivals. In boardrooms on each side of the Pacific, engineers and executives started, with monumental budgets and complete secrecy, to plan the following evolution of dwelling consoles. The PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast all made radically totally different bets on what avid gamers would need. After which, to the shock of the world, Invoice Gates introduced the event of the one console to beat all of them—even when Microsoft needed to burn just a few billion {dollars} to do it. On this ebook, you’ll find out about:

The cutthroat atmosphere at Microsoft as rival groups created console systemsThe day the pinnacle of Sega of America informed the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog to “f**okay off”How “lateral considering with withered expertise” put Nintendo again on topAnd way more!

Gripping and complete, The Final Historical past of Video Video games: Quantity 2 explores the origins of recent consoles and of the franchises—from Grand Theft Auto and Halo to Name of Responsibility and Guitar Hero—that might outline gaming within the new millennium.