While I am of the generation that first saw home consoles, owning both the Atari 2600 and an Intellivision as a child, I skipped the later console wars. I was in the Army during the biggest Nintendo/Sega battles, and stuck with my computer games. But, this narrative, as lengthy and detailed as it is, made me pick up some old games and play them, and reminded me of the joy of play.

Also, how did Sega of Japan consistently choose the WRONG thing to do, after the success of the Genesis? Truly one of the enduring mysteries of the 1990s.