This is a continuitaion of an alternate timeline first proposed here: http://vidgameanalysis.blogspot.jp/2017/04/had-it-happened-nintendo-play-station.html
When we last left our hypothetical timeline, Sega had just beaten Nintendo in the 5th Generation Console War, and rather handily too. Although Nintendo had managed to regain some lost ground and respect by launching some of their best titles yet, it proved too little too late to stop the Juggernaut known as the Sega Saturn. The Sixth Generation Console War was on.
In our timeline, the Playstation 2 wins this console war by ten country miles, helped in no small part by a gigantic library of games that included such timeless classics as God of War, the Grand Theft Auto series, the Metal Gear Solid series, Final Fantasies 10-12, and so on. In this timeline, things happen much more differently.
Sega's victory over Nintendo was due to superior hardware that allowed for superior graphics, sounds, and an overall gaming experience to the SNES and Play Station. Although Nintendo 64 games could potentially be superior graphically to anything the Saturn could pull, the Saturn's CD based technology meant developers could inject more data into their games; this was a godsend for the RPG genre, as it meant room enough for animated cutscenes and voice acting. Having learned this lesson the hard way, Nintendo allies once more with Sony to create the Gamecube.
The new Nintendo Gamecube is created, and rather than use the mini-CD's we know, it uses regular DVD's like the PS2 does in our timeline. Sony also strong-armed Nintendo into putting online capabilities into the Gamecube. The system is released August 11th, 2002. Its launch titles include Super Mario Sunshine, Pikmin, and Luigi's Mansion. For Christmas of that year Nintendo also releases Pokemon XD.
Critics, however, were still enamored with the Dreamcast. Sega wasted no time at all in introducing three new franchises in 2001, the year the Dreamcast was released: Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, and finally Samba de Amigo. Further, the Dreamcast had also saw the triumphant release of Final Fantasy 10, the then newest Final Fantasy. Unfortunately, FF10's release eclipses Shenmue's, causing a small rift in Sega with Square. The competition between Shenmue and FF10 causes a clash between the two games; though both are successful, neither is as successful as hoped. This means Squaresoft never makes Final Fantasy 10-2.
The Dreamcast sports a sophisticated web-based system that allows for online play. One of the first games to truly demonstrate this capability was Ch Chu Rockets, released in our timeline as well. Not to be outdone, Nintendo also added online capabilities for their Gamecube. These ideas were originally dismissed by the journalists of the time as "nonsense" and "a fad that will fade; who even uses the Internet but nerds?"
In the real world, this was around the time the Internet became more ubiquitous. Although MySpace and Youtube were still years away, the Internet was already growing and becoming more accessible to people. In this timeline, this remains true.
The first Gamecube game to utilize online play was Tetris 2002, a Tetris port featuring multiplayer. However, the Gamecube finally found its niche by including an online mode for Mario Kart: Double Dash. This was the first true BIG seller for the Gamecube, and it became one of the hottest selling titles on the market. With online modes included for Mario Tennis and Mario Sluggers, the Gamecube was quickly gaining a reputation for being THE console for those who loved online competitions.
On the other hand, the Dreamcast had released two games that helped define its online capabilities: Phantasy Star Online and Final Fantasy 11. The Dreamcast had earned its own reputation as being a console for MMO enthusiasts. Unfortunately, constant updates to both games meant that original generation Dreamcasts would not be powerful enough to handle the games; for this, Sega released the DreamerCaster in 2005, a more powerful Dreamcast with an extra 50 GB hardrive specifically made to handle MMO's.
Both consoles received versions of games like Street Fighter 3, Capcom vs SNK 2, among others. However, because the Gamecube had the stronger online competitive scene, its versions of said games outsold the Dreamcast's versions by a margin of 1,7:1. For better or for worse, the Dreamcast was the console for hardcore solo gaming, while the Gamecube was the console for hardcore competitive gaming.
This situation was further ascerbated by Nintendo releasing Super Smash Bros Melee with an online mode. The release of this game BLEW UP Gamecube sales, creating a new fighting franchise as well as a big moneymaker for Nintendo. The Silver Age of Fighting Games had begun: online competitive play was clearly the future. In this timeline, the release of Melee was held back to 2004 so as to implement a better online gaming feature, as well as to add two new characters: Solid Snake and Olimar.
The year 2004 was the year Nintendo took its crown back as King of Gaming, because they released Pokemon Stadium 3, which was compatible with the entire Third Generation of Pokemon. This meant online competitive battling with Pokemon, a dream come true for millions the world over. Gamecube sales doubled; the Gamecube was outselling the Dreamcast 3:1, and they would not stop anytime soon.
The Dreamcast held on; its unique franchises helped keep it thriving for the better part of a decade. Although the Gamecube ended up winning the 6th Generation Console War, the Dreamcast sold well enough to warrant calling it a huge success. Sega would continue supporting the Dreamcast well into 2015, a full 14 years after its debut. The Dreamcast was the third most successful gaming machine ever, surpassed only by the NES, the Atari 2600, and the Gamecube. Nintendo itself continues supporting the Gamecube well into 2017, where an alternate version of me is currently writing a blog entry dreaming of a world where Sony would take the Play Station and make it their own console, perhaps making more like it.
Sega would not release another console until 2010, called the Sega Opus. At this time, gaming systems no longer care about how many "bits" it can pull out; it's all about the gigabites and Internet speed. The Sega Opus is 100% WiFi compatible, with 250 GB hardrive for those MMO enthusiasts. Nintendo itself would not even bother making a new console until 2015, finally releasing their Nintendo Buddy. There's no Wii or WiiU in this timeline; the Buddy is a system that is backwards compatible with the Gamecube, boasts an internal memory card that holds up to 2 GB of memory, and is 100% WiFi compatible. The hard drive itself is 150 GB.
The Sony Playstation was more than Sega's killer, it was a literal game changer. It was the console that destroyed two gaming dynasties and opened the door to new gaming opportunities. Moreover, it was a console that thrived not on first party games, but on third party ones. The best selling games on the PS1? All made by companies NOT called Sony:
1- Metal Gear Solid- Konami.
2- Castlevania: SotN- Konami
3- Final Fantasy 7- Squaresoft
Nintendo and Sega were ALWAYS dependent on their First Party games; hell, Sega had never abandoned this mindset, even as the Dreamcast was dying. Sony's success proved that Third Party games were just as important to a system's reputation as First Party games, a lesson Sega never really learned and Nintendo always could safely ignore. A world without the Playstation is a world where First Party games would always always ALWAYS define the console, which in turn would fuel the Console Wars more.
The Playstation changed the way gaming is done; even today only Nintendo consoles rely primarily on First Party games, and the sole reason they can do this is because Nintendo still has a safe reputation for making good games. A world wihtout Sony's Playstation is a world where gaming is still dominated by the giant First Party companies.
The Dreamcast sports a sophisticated web-based system that allows for online play. One of the first games to truly demonstrate this capability was Ch Chu Rockets, released in our timeline as well. Not to be outdone, Nintendo also added online capabilities for their Gamecube. These ideas were originally dismissed by the journalists of the time as "nonsense" and "a fad that will fade; who even uses the Internet but nerds?"
In the real world, this was around the time the Internet became more ubiquitous. Although MySpace and Youtube were still years away, the Internet was already growing and becoming more accessible to people. In this timeline, this remains true.
The first Gamecube game to utilize online play was Tetris 2002, a Tetris port featuring multiplayer. However, the Gamecube finally found its niche by including an online mode for Mario Kart: Double Dash. This was the first true BIG seller for the Gamecube, and it became one of the hottest selling titles on the market. With online modes included for Mario Tennis and Mario Sluggers, the Gamecube was quickly gaining a reputation for being THE console for those who loved online competitions.
On the other hand, the Dreamcast had released two games that helped define its online capabilities: Phantasy Star Online and Final Fantasy 11. The Dreamcast had earned its own reputation as being a console for MMO enthusiasts. Unfortunately, constant updates to both games meant that original generation Dreamcasts would not be powerful enough to handle the games; for this, Sega released the DreamerCaster in 2005, a more powerful Dreamcast with an extra 50 GB hardrive specifically made to handle MMO's.
Both consoles received versions of games like Street Fighter 3, Capcom vs SNK 2, among others. However, because the Gamecube had the stronger online competitive scene, its versions of said games outsold the Dreamcast's versions by a margin of 1,7:1. For better or for worse, the Dreamcast was the console for hardcore solo gaming, while the Gamecube was the console for hardcore competitive gaming.
This situation was further ascerbated by Nintendo releasing Super Smash Bros Melee with an online mode. The release of this game BLEW UP Gamecube sales, creating a new fighting franchise as well as a big moneymaker for Nintendo. The Silver Age of Fighting Games had begun: online competitive play was clearly the future. In this timeline, the release of Melee was held back to 2004 so as to implement a better online gaming feature, as well as to add two new characters: Solid Snake and Olimar.
The year 2004 was the year Nintendo took its crown back as King of Gaming, because they released Pokemon Stadium 3, which was compatible with the entire Third Generation of Pokemon. This meant online competitive battling with Pokemon, a dream come true for millions the world over. Gamecube sales doubled; the Gamecube was outselling the Dreamcast 3:1, and they would not stop anytime soon.
The Dreamcast held on; its unique franchises helped keep it thriving for the better part of a decade. Although the Gamecube ended up winning the 6th Generation Console War, the Dreamcast sold well enough to warrant calling it a huge success. Sega would continue supporting the Dreamcast well into 2015, a full 14 years after its debut. The Dreamcast was the third most successful gaming machine ever, surpassed only by the NES, the Atari 2600, and the Gamecube. Nintendo itself continues supporting the Gamecube well into 2017, where an alternate version of me is currently writing a blog entry dreaming of a world where Sony would take the Play Station and make it their own console, perhaps making more like it.
Sega would not release another console until 2010, called the Sega Opus. At this time, gaming systems no longer care about how many "bits" it can pull out; it's all about the gigabites and Internet speed. The Sega Opus is 100% WiFi compatible, with 250 GB hardrive for those MMO enthusiasts. Nintendo itself would not even bother making a new console until 2015, finally releasing their Nintendo Buddy. There's no Wii or WiiU in this timeline; the Buddy is a system that is backwards compatible with the Gamecube, boasts an internal memory card that holds up to 2 GB of memory, and is 100% WiFi compatible. The hard drive itself is 150 GB.
The Sony Playstation was more than Sega's killer, it was a literal game changer. It was the console that destroyed two gaming dynasties and opened the door to new gaming opportunities. Moreover, it was a console that thrived not on first party games, but on third party ones. The best selling games on the PS1? All made by companies NOT called Sony:
1- Metal Gear Solid- Konami.
2- Castlevania: SotN- Konami
3- Final Fantasy 7- Squaresoft
Nintendo and Sega were ALWAYS dependent on their First Party games; hell, Sega had never abandoned this mindset, even as the Dreamcast was dying. Sony's success proved that Third Party games were just as important to a system's reputation as First Party games, a lesson Sega never really learned and Nintendo always could safely ignore. A world without the Playstation is a world where First Party games would always always ALWAYS define the console, which in turn would fuel the Console Wars more.
The Playstation changed the way gaming is done; even today only Nintendo consoles rely primarily on First Party games, and the sole reason they can do this is because Nintendo still has a safe reputation for making good games. A world wihtout Sony's Playstation is a world where gaming is still dominated by the giant First Party companies.
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