Jordan Vogt-Roberts to helm Sega vs. Nintendo series Console Wars

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

To all my gaming fans out there I have one important question for you – Mario or Sonic? The question may seem innocuous, but decades ago lines were drawn in the sand(boxes), and you were either on one or the other, ready to die for your cause. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that intense, but Sega and Nintendo did have a vicious rivalry, and the 2015 book “Console Wars” details how the former, little company took on the behemoths at Nintendo. Now that story is being turned into a series by Legendary, so we can see this epic battle for video game domination play out on the screen.

[SEE MORE]

Nerdist (owned by Legendary Digital Networks) reports that the limited series about this war to end all wars will be helmed entirely by KONG: SKULL ISLAND’s Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who has made it very clear his passion for video games (his Instagram is littered with concept art for a “Metal Gear Solid” movie). Mike Rosolio will write the script based on the book by Blake Harris, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg executive producing through their Point Grey label, which has also had success producing AMC’s PREACHER and Hulu’s FUTURE MAN. As of now, the series does not have a network to air on. 

The filmmaking duo was supposed to adapt the book into a movie as writers/directors back in 2014, but nothing came to fruition as they moved on other projects, like SAUSAGE PARTY. But such is life, and now they’ve turned the project over to Vogt-Roberts to helm, the man who brought color and excitement to the Warner Bros./Legendary Monster Universe with SKULL ISLAND, which set the stage for the big ape’s clash with Godzilla, set for 2020.

[SEE MORE]

I haven’t read the book myself, but it seems like a fascinating look behind the screen at a battle fit for an oil painting or grand tapestry. Here’s an official plot synopsis (via Amazon), teasing the David and Goliath story that would shape the gaming world into what we hold so dear now.

In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just 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.