How the Netflix Docuseries ‘High Score’ Is Reigniting Major Gaming Controversies

All gamers should check out the recently-released Netflix docuseries High Score. It offers a fun (if a bit fluffy) look at early gaming history. And even if you know a lot about the early days of gaming, you’re sure to learn some fascinating trivia.

However, High Score is likely to reignite some major controversies in the gaming community. These controversies range from the importance of representation all the way to who won the original console wars.

Let’s take a deeper dive into the major gaming controversies reignited by High Score.

Who is the real father of the modern game console?

Who do you think is the real father of the modern game console?

It’s easy to think of someone like Mario guru Shigeru Myamoto. However, we wouldn’t have had the Nintendo Entertainment System without the Atari 2600. And we wouldn’t have the Atari without Jerry Lawson.

High Score helps to shine a light on Lawson, a man whose gaming reputation is typically overshadowed. But he is responsible for pioneering the first cartridge-based games for the failed system known as Channel F.

Because of that system’s failure, Lawson’s legacy is often hidden. But without his engineering breakthroughs, we may never have had home consoles that could play more than just built-in games.

Who really won the console wars?

What is the oldest debate in gaming? For many players, the original “console wars” are still a subject of much debate.

This refers to the initial rivalry between Nintendo and their upstart competitor Sega. For a while, the SNES and the Sega Genesis were very close in sales. And each company fought fiercely for the young gamer demographic.

In the fullness of time, Nintendo effectively won because Sega eventually imploded. But High Score ends its Sega-centric fourth episode “This is War” by implying that Sega had defeated Mario and the SNES in popularity in the 16-bit gaming era.

So, who really won that knockdown, drag-out fight between consoles? In my opinion, the jury is still out on that.