I've been working on a project with some friends that I think some of you might find interesting. You know alternate history? You know, pieces of fiction that ask questions like "What if Columbus never reached America?" Well, I made one for the history of video games called "Ohga Shrugs," which is about a world where the PlayStation brand is never created.
For those of you who haven't already left this page out of disgust of my self-endorsement, here are a few fun tidbits from this timeline:
*Sega and Nintendo remain the main competitors in the console market up through 2013
*The console market is much smaller than in our timeline, as several things that made the market boom never happened
*The DS never exists. Instead, meet the Game Boy Nitro, a Game Boy with an analog stick and a single touch screen, which dominates the handheld market until the release of the Game Boy 3DS in 2012
*Nintendo owns Rareware and Hudson Soft, but never formed relations with companies like Next Level, the creators of Luigi's Mansion 2. And Camelot never leaves Sega, meaning there are no classic Mario Golf and Tennis games
*Assassins Creed, not Call of Duty, is the biggest Western franchise on consoles in the 7th generation
*Final Fantasy was a Nintendo exclusive up until FFXIII in 2009
*Mother 3 was released for the N64 in 2000, and Mother 4 was released October 2004. Ice Climbers also gets a sequel, called Ice Climber Ascent, in 2010. However, only three Star Fox games are ever made.
*After the team behind Power Stone is fired by Capcom, Sega hires them to make a crossover fighting series to match Smash Bros
TAKE ME TO THIS MAGICAL STARFOX ADVENTURELESS PLACE, RIGHT NOW!
[16:08] LordJumpMad Hides his gut with a griddle
[16:08] Reala: what ljm does for cash is ljm's business
[16:08] LordJumpMad: Gotta look good my my next game u_u
TAKE ME TO THIS MAGICAL STARFOX ADVENTURELESS PLACE, RIGHT NOW!
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Well, Dinosaur Planet still exists as a GameCube game. But nobody really remembers it. And those who do remember it think "oh yeah, that was the game Rare made to help fill the Zelda niche while we were waiting for Wind Waker."
I sort of "invented" a Star Fox game made from the Dead Phoenix team at Capcom. It gets a decent reception.
Nice. Although, I'd have thought that even if Sony never entered the market, Microsoft probably still would.
Actually, Microsoft only entered the console market back in 2001 to counter the multimedia nature of the PlayStation family, including its non-gaming abilities like DVD-functionality. Until the PlayStation brand became dominant in the latter 90's, Microsoft seemed content focusing its gaming efforts on PC's.
I think about this sometimes, too, but it would really go back further than just Sega. Really, Atari would be competing with Microsoft, than Sony would come along and beat Microsoft, Nintendo would show up, then lose against Sega. Hudson Soft would come along and combine with Nintendo for software instead of Square Soft and Enix, and also Hudson Soft never made a console.
In a reverse world, I'm pretty sure Atari, Sega, and Sony would exist in a current state. Nintendo and Microsoft would be software only. Apple would be running Mountain Lion which actually looks like Windows 8.
The Atari would be PS4, Wii U would be Sega, and Xbox 1080 would be Sony.
The names of this next gen's console from the companies would be Atari 360, Sony Cube, and Sega 8.
Square Enix would show up this gen as an indie developer.
It's interesting to think about.
EDIT: Oh ya, Rare Ware would be an indie. Capcom and Namco would be 2nd party. All the Sony 2nd parties would be 3rd party.
1. Nintendo stays with Hajime Hirasawa’s themes for the Star Fox series.
2.a. Nintendo makes a new deal (contract) but sticks with Sony making the PlayStation.
2.b. Nintendo gets rid of Sony (like how it did happen) but decides to go for an alternative solid sound chip, working together with Yamaha, for instance.
2.c. Even though Nintendo stays independent (like how it did happen) , they decide for the CD format, anyway.
Mind that sticking to cartridges did some good things, though. Full motion video was no option (except for the genius that is the Capcom team porting RE2), so programmers had to stick with in game engines, even for the cut-scenes. Game presentation using only the engine was stimulated because of it. Star Fox 64 is a fantastic example of great presentation, film-like quality with the game engine only.
Even Hideo Kojima seemed to see FMV as an obstacle. MGS is almost completely engine-based. Space was needed for the long story dialogue, though.
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Topic: I made a Video Game Alternate History
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