They say a hero is only as good as his villain, but what if they exist in a sea of grey areas with equal numbers propping up both sides? As we're seeing from the recent clash between Sony and Microsoft, things work far better for the majority when large companies are continually trying to one-up each other, as the only real victor is the consumer. But free games and exclusive deals per month for subscribed gamers is one thing, the real clash of digital bone and sinew is on the playgrounds, offices, forums, drinking holes and everywhere else of the world, as this is when we'll sit down with our likeminded, opinion-spouting friends and debate until daylight why something like a lightning-fast blue hedgehog was always better than a porky plumber with a penchant for collecting coins and cat-costumes. The return of the 'Exclusivity Wars' can only really be a good thing, and let's be honest; who didn't love those aforementioned debates anyway? Provided you don't take things too seriously, backing your favourite horse and standing by them as they jostle for position against your closest rivals is just plain fun. The old phrase 'Competition breeds innovation' still holds true, and celebrating a new feature as the opposition loses out for whatever instalments are facing off has brought gamers some of the greatest titles and experiences in history.
11. Sega Vs. Nintendo
The face-off: Sonic or Mario? It's hard to remember back when Sega used to be a hardware manufacturer, flying their Sonic-embossed flag as the Dreamcast simultaneously pleased and destroyed a thousand dreams (eventually falling to the wayside), but throughout the 90's the fan-flames were burning brighter than ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8OHLDNHRg Yes, that's an advert from primetime TV, with a company actually mentioning their rival in their own ad - something you'll very rarely see these days. Although it's clearly extremely dated in terms of quality - and Sonic's kowabunga-tinged "Radical dude!" 90's appeal is on full show - it's a great example of how upfront these sorts of rivalries used to be. Far from the venomous "I'll torch your entire bloodline!"-slanging matches that sprout from nearly every forum thread, this was business done with the gamer in mind, shaping an entire generation to do battle against their rivals thanks to expertly-placed PR messaging. In the end Nintendo clearly won outright, with Sega relegated to the software side of things as they continually attempt to revive Sonic in a world that's long-since gotten past the pizza n' skateboards image of 90's Americana, whilst that "nice boy, Mario" is sitting atop regular Game of the Year lists with very little challenge.
