@Terrell
My final thoughts on this topic.
We both agree that the game industry was the wild, wild west in the 1980s and 1990s.
We both agree that Howard Lincoln could sometimes be a slimy lawyer who used dirty tricks to score wins.
We both agree that many of NOA's policies were bad. (Lincoln backed away from most of those policies by the mid-1990s).
But there are still three reasons why I hold Arakawa and Lincoln with respect. (even if their policies were flawed).
1. Nintendo (the game company) doesn't exist if Howard Lincoln and John Kirby lose the Donkey Kong lawsuit in 1981. The consequences would have been extremely damaging. I'm not sure if Nintendo could have rebounded from that, and it's why Yamauchi was forever grateful to him. DK was Nintendo's first big commercial hit ever...and it could have also been their last.
2. Both Arakawa and Lincoln are credited with rebuilding the North American game industry. Both men entered the North American game industry when it was burning on fire, and they were given responsibility to put the fire out. Does the game industry exist (in its current form) if Arakawa and Lincoln fail on their mission to sell the NES to the public? How does the game industry change if the NES fails?
3. Game Boy wouldn't have been nearly as successful without Tetris, the best selling Game Boy game of all time. Lincoln and Arakawa had very good intuition to jump at Tetris. Tetris is also a big reason for why more women became interested in video games. Game Boy's success sparked interest in portable games and helped pave the way for future gaming handhelds: Nintendo DS, PS Vita, Switch, Steam Deck, and mobile games.