Perhaps this would be best classified as a "Sega Surprise," but its existence hits close to Nintendo and thus is included on this list. For those who weren't around during the 16-bit console wars, the short of it is that Nintendo and Sega fought tooth and nail for market dominance. The two sides were led by their commanding officers on the ground, Mario and Sonic. The stout Italian plumber represented experience, familiarity, friendliness, and exquisite gameplay. Sega strived to distinguish their trump card by presenting him as the speedy, wise-cracking cool guy. Animosity grew between the fans of each console, and apparently there was no middle of the road. Though they had never met in person, one could only assume that a confrontation between Mario and Sonic would result in a battle of epic proportions.
Cut to less than 10 years later where a radical shift has taken place. Sega can't quite hack it in the console market, and is converted into a third party software developer. While this was odd to hear, it wasn't until the unveiling of the port of Sonic Adventure 2 for the GameCube and the new Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance that the world really seemed turned upside down. The idea of booting a game that begins by displaying a Nintendo logo followed immediately by the Sega logo was truly astonishing. It was the equivalent of Michael Moore and George Bush grabbing a beer together. It was like if newly discovered footage was found showing The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur together at a baseball game. It was as if Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell announced plans to have a child together ... ehh, scratch that last one. Though they wouldn't meet face-to-face for a few more years, it was quite the oddity for its time.
