Consoles and Competition

Consoles and Competition

Reviewing the history of video games explains why Sony is dominant today, and why Microsoft is actually introducing competition, not limiting it.

Ben Thompson summarizes the history business models of the most prominent game console makers, as background for discussing Microsoft’s ongoing attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard.

As someone who lived through most of this history but spent a lot of it too young to have the perspective to understand it, I found this look fascinating. The shifts in approach play out differently based on interactions with broader market trends in a way that reminds me a lot of competitive players adjusting to a shifting metagame.

See also Super Bunnyhop’s history of game industry buyouts.