Book Review: Console Wars

**Originally Posted at The Geek Gernation.com**

I recently had the pleasure of reading the novel Console Wars by Blake J. Harris and took the time to review it. I highly recommend the novel which can be bought online here.

Blake J. Harris’ novel Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle That Defined a Generation is a fascinating read that brings the audience behind the scenes of the 90′s home gaming industry from a business point of view. The book captures the Nintendo vs. Sega battle royale from the viewpoint of Tom Kalinske – the brand new president of Sega of America and the company’s attempt to challenge Nintendo’s reign on gaming. It’s an interesting point of view as normally “History is written by the victor.” Harris also does a good job of adding a simple narrative, making this an enjoyable read.

Before you start thinking “Oh great, a history lesson,” allow me to point out that this story plays out like a movie. It’s historical fiction, meaning that the accounts are real but the dialogue is a reenactment that shows each characters’ personality and aids in the creation of an actual story. The back of the book does a great job of setting the scene:

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Classic Game of the Month: June 2013

It certainly has been a while since I've made one of these but it's time for another Classic Game of the Month. This time around, it's the famous NES boxing game, Punch-Out!

History

Punch-Out and Super Punch-Out were originally arcade games developed by Nintendo in the early 80's. When the NES came out, Punch-Out was brought to the console in 1987. The game took elements from both arcade games and featured the story line of boxer Little Mac as he fights opponents to become champion of the World Video Boxing Association.

Punch-Out for the NES came out in 3 versions - the later two were endorsed by real boxers who would also serve as the last opponent in the game. The most famous, of course, was Mike Tyson (Pictured above).

Wii U Virtual Console Released

In April's Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that the long awaited Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii U was to be released in America some time during the last week of April, 2013. This announcement follows previous news that many channels for the Nintendo Wii would cease operation this coming summer (those include: News/weather channel, Everybody Vote's Channel, Nintendo Channel and Wii message transfer). Previously, Wii U owners would have had to play retro games in Wii mode via the Wii's Shop Channel.

It has been confirmed that all Wii U VC games at release will have the option to be playable with just the Wii U Game Pad (and thus with the TV off). They will also support their own individual Mii-verses. Those playing the Wii VC versions of will not have these abilities, but they will have the option to purchase the upgraded versions at a discounted price. So far only games from the NES and SNES are available for purchase, but N64 and even Gameboy games are stated to be following in the future.

Of the many games shown in the sizzle reel down below, the biggest and mos surprising addition to the Wii U VC is EarthBound. Unreleased on the Wii's VC and an incredibly rare SNES game, American gamers of all ages will finally get to experience the game that brought Nes and his pals to America and why they've been included in Super Smash Bros.