Worlds of What If: A Series of Video Game Alternate Histories

[Salnax]

KungKras said:

Salnax said:
Okay, so far I've got a basic outline for generation 5 without Sony being in the console market. It's not pretty. The Saturn and N64 sell a combined 90 to 95 million units, less than our timeline's PSone all by itself.

In retrospect, Sony entering the industry was a great thing, if only because they made less crazy decisions than Sega and Nintendo generation 5 and provided resources and advertising for big games like Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer, Namco Fighters, Twisted Metal, Crash Bandicoot, Final Fantasy, and Spyro.

Anyway, I'm thinking the Xbox becomes the new PSone in terms of making a breakthrough for Western console gaming. It had the horsepower, the price, and the killer apps. Especially since it would have been the only 6th generation console capable of playing Grand Theft Auto.

Isn't the panic performance increase of the Saturn just a myth?

Don't foget that the 6th gen consoles would be radically different as well. A long Saturn lifespan would mean Dreamcast using more powerful tech.

Oh, and a lot of PC game companies wouldn't start migrating to consoles, so PC gaming would have more games in the alternate history as well.

It's one of those stories that's hard to pinpoint an origin to, so it may very well be a myth. Video game history is foggy before 1998 or so.

Don't worry, I've thought about that. The Dreamcast would come out at least a year later in my timeline. That said, that still puts it as early as 1999, and Sega stuck to 6 year cycles for a while. Maybe a 2000 release date for the Dreamcast? Hmm... if we abuse Moore's Law and simply double the Dreamcast's specs (God help me) it would still have a weaker CPU than the GameCube, but more GPU and RAM. The real question is whether the Dreamcast would use regular CDs like in real life or DVDs like the GameCube and PS2? Because depending on that answer, console gaming could have been held back for a generation.

Can you think of any specific franchsises, developers, or publishers that would stay on the PC? I can think of plenty of 21st century examples, but the PS1 seems to have mostly been dominated by Sony 1st party games, Japanese games, and the ocassional Western developer that seemed destined for consoles. Honestly, the chief games I'm kicking out of the console boat so far are Warzone 2100 and Medal of Honor.