Microsoft entering the industry was really the problem for Nintendo.
If it was just Sony and Nintendo left post-Sega, Nintendo could have comfortably sold as a no.2 home console for a while, but Microsoft coming in just over crowded the market.
There's really never been a time when three consoles trying to basically do the same thing had much success. The Super NES and Genesis did, but the Turbo Grafx 16 found no market in the West, in Japan, the Super NES and PC Engine did alright but Mega Drive (Genesis) lagged behind. With the Playstation and N64 the Saturn fizzled out in the no.3 spot.
If there was no XBox, I don't think the GameCube is some massive success but it probably does considerably better just because it's the only alternative and as such it's strengths (better graphics than PS2, easier to program for, Resident Evil exclusivity, exclusive MGS remake, Tales RPG, etc. etc.) would stand out more. I think it could have sold 40-45 million units or so, not far off from the Super NES, and then they probably could've made significant inroads against the PS3 at $600.
Really in a way it's kind of too bad that Microsoft couldn't just work together with Nintendo and stay out of the hardware business but make software like Halo and Forza for Nintendo in exchange for Nintendo using Windows OS. That was the whole reason for them coming into the industry, they were scared Sony would have a bunch of devices that didn't have Windows on it, not so much that they cared really about the game business itself. But instead you have a situation where the no.2/3 spot was essentially split and really the only one that was a good thing for was Sony.
Last edited by Soundwave - on 19 December 2023
