Console wars : Sega vs Nintendo and the battle that defined a generation

In 1990 Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video game industry.

Sega, on the other hand, was 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 video games and everything about fighting uphill battles.

His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat and bold ideas of his renegade employees, transformed Sega and eventually led to a ruthless David-and-Goliath showdown with rival Nintendo. The battle was vicious, relentless and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and schoolyards to boardrooms and Congress.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the US against Japan. Console Wars is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader.

It's the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.