The answer to this question is for the most part, the PS2 existed. I don’t think it mattered what games came to other consoles, how they looked, how revolutionary they were, or what the price of the other systems were.
The world was hyped beyond belief for the PS2.
It was the first console I waited in line for. The PlayStation had truly changed gaming and the PS2 was all but guaranteed to do the same. The hype for it was so high that it killed the amazing Dreamcast before it even had a chance to fail on its own. Even second place for the GameCube was not guaranteed as Microsoft came out with its “edgy” XBox console so there weren’t even enough scraps to go around for three competitors.
Oh, and Nintendo launched with a Luigi game instead of a Mario game. I don’t think it would have changed Nintendo’s fortunes much, but having a mind blowing 3D Mario “may” have gotten a few more casual eyes looking Nintendo’s way.
Hey, I’m a Nintendo fan, but after the N64 and the complete lack of compelling software for the system (I worked at a video store and saw all of the games that released for it) even I wasn’t that hyped on the purple cube. In fact, it wasn’t until Metroid Prime released that I actually came back to Nintendo.
So in short, Sony was on fire, Dreamcast’s fire wasn’t enough, Microsoft was quickly stealing fuel, and Nintendo’s magic had all been but extinguished in the public’s eyes.
On the other hand, the GBA was the successor to one of the best selling devices of all time, had a great library, oh, and it had a little phenomenon called Pókemon running in it as well. It was also geared towards younger audiences, an audience that Nintendo has never lost, even during their darkest hours.
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