Oh man, I just watched an awesome documentary on Tetris called Tetris: From Russia With Love which details the fierce licensing war between Nintendo, Atari and Mirrorsoft. I had no clue that there was a messed up war for Tetris. I was aware though, that the game's designer, Alexei Pajitnov, got screwed out of his rightful earnings earlier on in the game's market history.

But what I found most satisfying was Howard Lincoln, former chairman of Nintendo of America. In the interview, he openly relishes his victory over Atari and mocks them thus: "We didn't take advantage of them, they were incompetent businessmen; it was competent business men taking advantage of incompetent businessmen." Also, after having secured the deal, Mr. Lincoln quipped: "When we flew back across to Seattle, every time I looked at Arakawa* or he looked at me, we started laughing because we knew we had not only the hand-held rights but we had the home video game rights as well and at the same time, we found a way to really hand it back to Atatri games." And he says it with smug self-satisfaction; that's how Americans get things done: balls! Also, on Nintendo's cease and desist order forcing Atari to stop selling Tetris games, he admits with glee: "[...] knowing full well that they would go nuts."

Quotes: "Back in America, the battle for Tetris was just beginning. A jubilant Nintendo plunged the knife in."

               "Like stopping a tank with your hands." -- N. E. Belikov, official in charge of granting distribution rights, describes the the pressures of the Soviet system.

Tetris: From Russia With Love, a must see for video game fans.



*Arakawa, Minoru. Former president of Nintendo of America.