Sega launched the Dreamcast worldwide in 1998 for $249 and was a big step up in graphics, Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter showed off its power. PS and U64, which both cost $149 by this point, outsold it through 1999 but Dreamcast was still able to gain a sizeable fanbase with games like Soul Calibur, Power Stone and Crazy Taxi. In 2000 Dreamcast cut its price to $199 and began to outsell U64 but Sony launched a redesigned PSone for $99 and continued to be the market leader. In Fall 2000 Sony and Nintendo released there next gen systems, Playstation 2 and Gamecube. Ill continue tomorrow.

Do you guys think Sega would make a handheld game system after the Nomad and GameGear if they had a bit of money to spare? Or would they leave that market to Nintendo?

I posted the first draft of my timeline on the Alternate History Wiki. You can see it in the link below. Note that it is still a work in progress.

http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/Ohga_Shrugs

In the contect of the Ogha Shrugs timeline, we need to study a lot of divergences.... but making a little resume.

Gunpei Yokoi is still with Nintendo(with no pressure of the Playstation, Nintendo will easily delay or even outright cancel the virtual boy for the technology being pretty in infancy)? If yes, them the Wonderswam will never be released thus Bandai will save some money(the same money who they won with Digimon games was used to push the wonderswam without sucess), thus that must be cleared.

So, SEGA want to merge with Bandai in OTL, Until the failure of the Saturn blocked that decission, maybe will be the merge possible? here for more info http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=SegaBase+Saturn+p4&bl=y . If that so, maybe Bandai will push the Game Gear or Nomad with Digimon as much Pokemon Change the fortunes of the ailing gameboy(thus delaying both Color and Advance a few years) maybe keeping SEGA handled for some type of third parties.

What happened to Square? in OTL with the money of PS1 they went so Bold that make the infamous movie final fantasy the spirit within, here being more moderate they will not make that mistake as OTL? and unlike OTL, they have more friendship with Nintendo thus yamauchi will not turn them off of the Gameboy/COlor & Advance until Enix merge change that? Enix take advantage of that, with Dragon quest remakes and new games, plus a pretty interesting game, Star OCean blue sphere:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeCYG12hMHs (yes that is gameboy & GBC game who looks and play as good as famicom, even super famicom game)

Those thing are good to discuss be free to share ideas my friend

I planned on Yokoi dying in a car crash around the same time, but in retrospect that makes little sense. I guess he could still be with Nintendo, but maybe he'd work with Bandai. My guess is he'd still be at Nintendo, but would have a less active role, mostly focusing on new handheld hardware.

As for the Sega/Bandai merger, I still don't think that would have happened. According to what I read from your helpful link, the problems were more on Bandai's side than Sega's. Maybe Sega could have still pushed a takeover through, thanks to the sheer amount of money they would have had, but Nintendo would have potentially been able to counter it.

My plan for Square takes note for what you said. The different direction of Final Fantasy 7 through 9, along with the reduced income, means that the Spirits Within movie is never made. Therefore, it never becomes a major loss, and Square remains independent through this day. Various Square games would thus appear on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color that didn't come in real life. However, I doubt any of these projects would have been groundbreaking. It's something to think about though.

Anyhow, thanks for the thoughts. I'll keep them in mind. And welcome to VGChartz!

Is there a reason Saturn launched at $300 instead of $400?

Maybe the Panasonic 3DO can help as a buttefly, with his price of $699 (the original PS3 price meme), was so hard to be sold for the market and maybe with the lack of pressure of Sony, maybe SEGA make better market studies and detrminate that with 3DO fiasco and with Nintendo pricing competitive their upcoming console.... better reduce the price to win marketshare early.

To Salnax:

1. Gunpei Yokoi fate is a big divergence, maybe doesn't abadon the company in bad term but maybe after the virtual boy not being released(butterfly), he decided to plan his retirment, helping some programmer to make his game own(like Intelligent System with Fire Emblem and others and Sakamoto with Metroid) and planning to become either an advisor(what yamauchi want originally) or a teacher for the new generation(some people mention he want to do that), thus maybe he will not die in tragedy and disgrace as OTL.

2. Yes is possible for Nintendo to block that merge(much as Sony blocked a possible Nintendo and Bandai merge in 2005.... jerks of Sony) and again Bandai have better relationship with nintendo(several peripherial were co-created like Sufami Turbo or Satellaview), maybe the merge will be Nintendo-Bandai? Namco-Bandai as OTL? or Bandai Alone?

3. Yes, maybe here Square will be more intelligent but the 'artist' like Hironobu Sakaguchi or Tetsuya Takahashi will leave?(that can explain Blue Dragon for the Pluto). And that leave another good point... what will happen to Tetsuya Takahashi and Monolith Soft? without CD will be now pretty hard to make Xenogears(the game who put him outside the shadow of Chrono Trigger) or maybe he will abandon Square to join Namco as OTL( with doing the whole Xenosaga now, maybe being multi-disc in either 'Dreamcast' or Gamecube or Multiplatform) or going early with Nintendo?(his wife was a good 'friend' of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata and maybe Iwata can help them like Secret of Mana Team with Brownie Brown)  

And don't doubt what Square can make with the Gameboy, specially the Advance now they will be early in the development, they can easily make remake of the NES Final-Fantasy to either Gameboy Color or Advance or both, SNES one to GBA, plus new game in the Advance and the future Nitro.

A Dual screen handled like the DS is still possible? maybe for 2012 in this timeline?(that would be better with cheaper 3d multiscreen tech like Nvidia Tegra chips), A DS can be pretty innovate in 2012 after a PSP-Like with touchscreen Gameboy, that would be simple a must get gadget(like the original DS and now 3DS)

Waiting for more, i'm thinking some alternate for myself, some classic(like if sony and nintendo manage to work together) plus an 'interesting' one.

In real life, Sega reduced the price of the Saturn to $299 by the end of 1995. I figured with the delayed launch, they'd be able to keep the price low.

1. Yokoi would probably end up staying with Nintendo as an advisor/teacher IMO. If I had to guess, he would split his time between being an advisor and a mentor up through 2006 or so. Among other things, this would mean he'd provide insight during the 2002 Metroid Prime/Fusion reboot, would give his two cents for the GBC, GBA, and GBN, and their various redesigns. If I had to guess what his effects would be based on the design of the WonderSwan series, I'd say they'd likely sacrifice screen size and power for battery life and low price. Perhaps there'd be a Game Boy Micro released in 1999 or so ala the GBA Micro in real life?

2. Until I can think of a good reason otherwise, I'm keeping Bandai's ultimate fate similar to our timeline's. I still have more research to do on them though, so anything can happen. Hell, maybe they'd try making a console again like they did as late as 1995 in collaboration with Apple.

3. Good thoughts. I have to research these people.

4. My plan was for Final Fantasy 1 through 3 to receive GBC remakes and for 4 through 6 to be remade for the GBA earlier in the system's life. I guess the Nitro would receive versions of 7 through 9 though. Hmm...

5. For sheer ease, I'm going to have Nintendo essentially release the 3DS in early 2012, with the dominant feature being an extra screen that happened to be in 3D. It will still keep the Game Boy name, though I am now wondering whether to call it the "Freedom" or the "Game Boy 3D."

Anyhow, I'd like to thank you for putting time into looking my stuff over. Like all good editors, you're making me aware of things I would never have thought of. You're obviously well-educated in video game history, and I'm very interested in anything you have to write.

1. As an I say before, Yokoi is a pretty big wild card but again he want to reduce his own 'responsabilities' in the company, he know he start to become old and doesn't want to be a weight for the company, being Advisor-Teacher is the better for him with Nintendo(maybe as the seven member of Nintendo Board of Managers post Yamauchi retirement?). His thing with the Wonderswan was to compete with the gameboy in his big streght...Batery life, and pretty easy manage to do that(with a single battery and backlight.... the wonderswan both monocrome and color/Crystal endure as long as the old gameboy!!!), maybe here he will push for light and portability(like a gameboy color light and/or color pocket redesing and  a game boy advance micro early(skipping the Advance SP)) for the portable, and maybe finally push for power in the Nitro, when the tech is enough cheap(and with only one screen will be more easy to do that)

2. Better for bandai, that manage more freedom, and with work with apple again... maybe not so much, the Pippin burn hard both companies....

3. yes much of those people manage to have an impact in the industries, Sakaguchi for taking blame of FF:SW fiasco and Takahashi for his ideas and gameplay experiment(xenogears was pretty interesting and original, Xenosaga is a game with several flaws, specially being more an anime than a game, Xenoblade make him won the respect of Nintendo fans, like me,XD), again here Kojima and Clover Studios(now Platinum) side with SEGA, maybe Itagaki/Tecmo will side with nintendo(Ninja Gaiden 3d will be more easy that having to compete to Devil May Cry and Sega own Shinobi & Kunoichi) and maybe Namco(SEGA is still a rival in the Arcades plus having tekken and ridge racer can help both companies), those thing are interesting too.

4. Don't doubt that Square(and enix and other too) will take advantage of the portable for ports or update rerelease of the game, for the GBA, Several wonderswan game will appared too, maybe SaGA will be remade and exported for the GBA and later the Nitro without issued, ditto for Final Fantasy(maybe Square will be the one to take advantage of 1GB gamecard of Nitro for the Final Fantast VII to IX remakes/port) and don't forget Mana series and front mission to the mix.

5.Interesting releasing the 3DS(3D Dual Screen, LOL) in similar date, maybe keeping the Gameboy Name, Freedom sound better for a full internet based one(like PSP-GO, no using cart), maybe Game Boy 3DS(as wink to OTL) or game Gameboy Cubed(as homage to 3D and having similar power to gamecube even in the lower brace)

Thanks for the compliment, yes i become a connoisseur thanks to friends and acquitances who work with Club Nintendo of Mexico(a gaming magazine in spanish for Mexico-Latin America) and with a lot of reading in several website/blogs, and i'm thinking two big ideas(one classic, other overlooked), thanks, waiting for more details of your work, you work of a motion less wii was amazing(possible the nintendo sucess thanks to both rivals shoothing thenselves in the foot and the secret weapon who was Wii Fit in our world.... that game change the vision of videogame for some in family(mother))