Off the Shelf: December 2007 Archives

This week we begin our story at the end of the brutal Megadrive vs Super NES console war.  It was one of the most exciting times in gaming with Sega fronted by their platforming superstar "Sonic the Hedgehog" battled a bloody war with Nintendo and the legend that is "Super Mario."  It was so heated that I actually remember arguments in the playground over which company was better.  It was like supporting a football team.

Meanwhile, Sony decided they wanted a piece of the console pie and released the Sony Playstation in 1994.  Back then, little would have suggested that Sony's console and sequel would knock out Sega and have Nintendo on the ropes for years.  Why am I telling you all this?  Back in the console wars, the idea that you'd have a games company that did not have a platforming figurehead was unheard of.  Nintendo had Mario.  Sega had Sonic.  And in 1996, Sony had Crash Bandicoot.