I always wonder how it would have gone if Wii and 360 switched release dates. It would have made more sense for Wii to come out in 2005 since Gamecube was in 3rd place and Wii is the weakest current gen console. Also, since they were making a good sized profit in 2006 for $250, its not unreasonable to think they could have launched at the same price in 05 and not taken a loss. They could have possibly switched Star Fox Assault and Resident Evil from GC to Wii launch games and have Twilight Princess their killer app of 06 right in time for 360/PS3 launch. Having the 360 release in 2006 could possibly have prevented the RROD fiasco and it would be interesting to see 360 and PS3 have a simultaneous launch. Would 3rd parties still prefer 360 without a year head start or was the high price of PS3 going to scare them off regardless?

Your first post has inspired me. I'll see if there are any interesting timelines I can create.

Yeah, that's an interesting thought! What if Wii had launched back in 2005?

Or what if Wii had launched in 2006 with HD? Not as powerful as PS360, but with HD?

Hmm... how much more powerful would it have to be do you think? I mean, a lot of PS360 games barely go HD.

Haha just make it the bare minimum :P

hahaha im glad i could inspire you. I'll go into more detail about how i think this timeline would go

Too bad the Wii wasn't finished by 2005. The controller debuted at TGS 2005, and it wasn't 100% finalized at that point.

From what I know, it was a pain to test and refine.

Wii launched in North America on Nov 22, 2005 with 18 games and a price of $250. Most of the games were 3rd party ports of PS2/XB/GC games such as Gun/King Kong/annual sports titles or games based off kids movies such as Cars/Robots. These games mostly got bad reviews for not being any better than the 6th gen console versions and having terrible use of the motion controls. The most popular titles of the launch window were the bundled Wii Sports which did an excellent job of introducing motion control to the masses. For Nintendo enthusiasts Star Fox Assault was the big title. It was the big return of the classic Star Fox gameplay everybody was waiting for, and being able to do a barrel roll with a flick of the wrist was truly amazing. The major 3rd party exclusive title was the long awaited Resident Evil 4. It successfully brought the core crowd to the Wii and was also able to inspire trust in other 3rd party developers. Nintendo shipped 500,000 Wii's on release and an additional 100,000 each week, totaling 1 million and selling out. Software sales were roughly 3 million and the best selling games were Wii Sports(1million) Star Fox Assault(550,000) and Resident Evil 4(450,000).

An interesting start, but a couple of things bug me.

First, Wii Sports as a launch title. Now don't get me wrong, it's reasonable that a game like it would be available at launch. It's just that Wii Sports was made by the same team that does Animal Crossing, which in our timeline was also released November 2005. I find it more likely that Mario Party 7 would be made a Wii title than anything else.

Another thing that puzzles me is your listing Resident Evil 4 and Star Fox Assault as launch titles. Neither of these are entirely unreasonable, but bear in mind that both games were released nine or ten months before November 2005 in our timeline. It would be pretty tricky convincing Capcom to wait nearly a year before releasing a finished game, especially one that had been in the works for as long as RE4.

I don't mean to trash your work, because it is far from bad! 18 titles on launch day and keeping the same price as in our timeline is reasonable, and your numbers seem reasonable. And your idea of Resident Evil 4 being a killer app for the Wii is a refreshing one, and makes me look at the existing Wii version of the game in a whole new light.

Anyway, here is my guess about the launch of a Wii in 2005, unopposed by the 360 or PS3...

I agree with you, it would probably have cost $250, provided they could make the tech work. After all, the Wii would have been competing with the $150 PS2. However, due to the higher costs of manufacturing electronics at the time, I doubt they would have been able to include that free copy of Wii Sports, much like in your simulation.

Nintendo's launch titles would have included Mario Party 7, Super Mario Strikers, and probably Battalion Wars as the "hardcore" member of the trio. None of these three games would set the world on fire though, although Mario Party 7 would possibly be the Wii's first million seller. 3rd party launch titles, like you said, would have included Gun, sports games, and licensed games. The surprise hit, I think, may have been Call of Duty 2, which would sell due to the idea of a Wiimote shooter alone, much like CoD3 did in real life. I could imagine it even being the first million seller if Mario Party 7 has troubles.

The Wii's launch would have been a bit of a bust in this scenario unfortunately. Nintendo studios were simply either working on DS projects or had too recently completed GameCube games at this point in history.

These are fun! Maybe we should have an alternate history thread on this site.

Thanks for the input, your probably right about wii sports, ill switch that with mario party 7 as the casual launch title. As for star fox and RE4 i thought with GC sales dropping since the anouncement of Wii, nintendo and capcom would shift development in order to maximize profits and that battalion wars and fire emblem would be the last major gamecube titles.