This is pretty darn great, it is way too much fun seeing all the changes. Indeed I love the work you've put into the ATL games, excellent screenshots and very cool ideas. Easily my favourite part.
I think the business & console development side of things is much less plausible, but I can see why/how you got there. It does feel like you're overtly (finger on the scale style) working for what you want, rather than outcomes stemming from the POD however. We all do that of course, but (waggles hands) I dunno. Still I enjoy it and the outcomes are great fun, just don't quite buy it.
Also sorry for this being such a massive post, but it is a nice lengthy timeline and it's been a year and a half since I commented.
The lack of CD-ROM might have them lose some support on big JRPG projects to Sega. However, it won't be as bad as OTL however because there will be bigger cartridge memory
Cartridges murdered Nintendo for the following reasons:
- Minimum order required by Nintendo, thus if the game failed tons of expensive inventory, thus smaller orders for even mid-sized games, thus failure if a game takes off (see below)
- Only manufactured by Nintendo, not allowed to make own.
- Cost. Cost. COST!!!
- Turn-around time, a CD second printing could make it out while the game was hot, the long lead-time on cartridges was a no-go.
- Despite all of that Nintendo made TONS of money off cartridges that they were loath to give it up, it also allowed them to launch OTL N64 cheaper than if they had included a CD drive.
ITTL that means Sega, Apple/Atari, and 3DO will all see ex-Nintendo developers. Japanese publishers were less multi-platform than Western ones, so I imagine Sega gets the boost that Sony got IOTL with some going to the 3DO.
Now how can we change that to keep up the level of support *Nintendo is getting in this timeline? The most plausible way is that Nintendo allows favoured nation status for key publishers, allowing them to manufacture their own. This means the big games can still go to Nintendo, much more than IOTL. Of course that still means giving up tons of money, and the other OTL advantages, so ATL Nintendo will probably make a surprising amount less money off the Ultra Nintendo than they did the N64.
Of note IOTL Nintendo didn't really believe in losing money on hardware, so it is good to see $299 Ultra Nintendo because 8 MB of RAM costs way more when the Ultra would have been planned. IOTL memory prices rapidly fell throughout 1996-7 (if you follow the M2 saga, you see them constantly upping memory). In your timeline that should enable Nintendo to make a $100 price cut anytime they want in 1997.
Nintendo also announced that they would be dropping the prices of the UNES and Game Boy Color to $199 and $99 respectively.
Oh, there we go
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3DO also revealed the M2 exclusive, The Fallen. The Fallen was a new game from Psygnosis that followed law enforcers of the future called The Lords. The Lords maintain a sort of police –state across the U.S. and go after The Fallen, people who refuse to be part of The System. The player can experience the story as either a Lord or Fallen in an experience that includes choices and options that include bribery, corruption, gambling, and violence that cloud both sides of the battle. It would be a launch title for the M2 in November and went on to become one of the most anticipated games at E3.
Straight up love this game, to be honest. Very cool idea. In general what an amazing job on alternate games, if perhaps rather... optimistic
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Nintendo began the show by showing a trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Magic Medallions. Shigeru Miyamoto then came to the stage to demonstrate the game. The biggest surprise was that the game was in first-person view. Miyamoto expressed how impressed he was with first-person games on the market and thought Zelda would perfectly translate to first-person 3D gameplay. The game was confirmed for a November release.
Very few Japanese first person perspective games were ever made because motion sickness is a huge problem for Japanese people (or was considered such), I honestly can't see any way for Nintendo of TTL to develop anything in first person. Indeed that even effects third person 3D games in Japan, explaining much of the popularity of 2D vs 3D Mario.
I badly badly want to play the game though, and the idea is super-cool... maybe if Nintendo of America wants to develop a cool Zelda spin-off?
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Daikatana (PC): 8 “John Romero’s new studio has delivered a very good first game. We just wonder what it would look like on Quake II’s engine.”
I was going to ask about Ion Storm. WTF!!! I would love to know what is going on there, because if John Romero remained in charge Daikatana is an unsolvable problem, lol. I'm not going to question too hard though, rich Ion Storm will make amazing games.
ACTIVISION LOOKS THROUGH THE GLASS
Activision has fully acquired developer Looking Glass Studios, the company behind Ultima Underworld and System Shock. They will be publishing its upcoming game, The Dark Project. Rumors were suggesting impending lay-offs at the studio, but Activision has confirmed that no one at Looking Glass will be laid off.
Yeah, for what? Ten minutes? Lol, Activision, you so crazy, these games will sell like they always sell and then lay-offs. (Although if you want to make Thief suddenly explode in popularity, I am cool with that
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There was a game for this year though, that game was Legacy of Kain II-a sequel to 3DO’s hit 1996 title, developed by Silicon Knights.
Well with any luck Denis Dyack pulls off the old PSX era way cooler Too Human concept, but given his, um, personality it seems unlikely. Neat to see another SK developed Kain game though.
Mama Robotnik, on NeoGaf, has tons of information on Kain if you need some source material.
1)otl FFVII of all games started production into n64dd but because nintendo delayed it, Square accepted the proposal of sony of a undisclosed sum for become a second party and moving FFVII in that regard.
I know you don't like Sony Nivek, but you know better:
Final Fantasy 64 was purely a tech demo, not in development for the N64 or the DD. Squaresoft made their choice based on CDs vs cartridges/DD for business and storage reasons & Sony's lower royalties. Sony bought into the company later to help them out with the movie. If Nintendo had gone CDs I bet FF VII would have been multiplatform, actually.
(Incidentally I cannot wait to read your massive Sony-Nintendo timeline, it is very high up on my AH priority list
because I know it'll be amazing, even if we agree on maybe half.)
FINAL FANTASY: THE MOVIE ON HOLD
In an announcement today, Square president, Hisashi Suzuki announced that the Final Fantasy film was on hold and that Square would focus on video games, the industry at which it has excelled over the years.
Yay! But since the movie didn't force Square to merge IOTL
[1] [2] [3] hopefully the idiots running it can be stopped from getting owned by Enix.
Ultra Nintendo...
I'm surprised they never went with that OTL.
"Ultra" had trademark problems, alas, because they were planning to.
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I very much hope you continue this
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