To be honest, my point is more so that the argument that it saved console gaming ignores the rest of the world and pretends it does not exist.
In Japan, the Famicom was already a thing in 1983. So we can safely assume the Japanese would have still played consoles like they did.
In Europe, the opposite was true, and there was no real console market. We can relatively safely assume that the Master System and NES would have sold just like they did; and that console gaming wouldn't have really taken off until the PSX.
So no. Console gaming at large was not saved. Europe's market was non-existant at the time and you cannot save something that does not exist. And Japan's market was unaffected.
Now I still think companies would have launched consoles in the US regardless (if you think a 350 million people market with tons of disposable income and little barriers to entry will be ignored, yeah that is not going to happen). Whether they catch on or not is of course the question but I do think companies would launch consoles in the US regardless.
Microsoft routinely launches Xbox consoles in Japan despite doing miserably. So why wouldn't Nintendo and Sega launch their consoles in the US even if they only sell 1-2 million?
But what really makes me angry is the claim that it saved console gaming at large, which it absolutely didn't. In the US it is at least debatable but not worldwide :P
