There'd be three big differences:
1. Cartridge format would have gone on for one more generation (though even NIntendo would have moved on by now)
2. Sega would still be making consoles and Sonic would actually be a series worth playing again through sheer necessity.
3. Microsoft never would have entered the home console market. Without Sony paving the way to show that outside companies could do it and succeed, I think they would have just stuck with PC gaming.
robio said:There'd be three big differences:
1. Cartridge format would have gone on for one more generation (though even NIntendo would have moved on by now)
2. Sega would still be making consoles and Sonic would actually be a series worth playing again through sheer necessity.
3. Microsoft never would have entered the home console market. Without Sony paving the way to show that outside companies could do it and succeed, I think they would have just stuck with PC gaming.
SEGA and MS were the two I came up with. Not sure about cartridges though, PC CDs were pretty ubiquitous so they had to move eventually and if the production was cheaper than it makes sense to any company to reduce costs and prices.
Another idea, PS1 was largely seen as a period where gaming "grew up" if it had never existed would we have more mascot gaming geared at young boys rather than gritty games aimed at teenagers?
gamingeek said:
Another idea, PS1 was largely seen as a period where gaming "grew up" if it had never existed would we have more mascot gaming geared at young boys rather than gritty games aimed at teenagers?
I think that would have gone on regardless because that was more of a natural evolution that was really going on at the same time on the Saturn and not just on the PS1. The first generation of PS1 games were just as goofy and mascot-centric as all the other consoles. It was really a combination of the success of 3 adult oriented games (FFVII, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider) that really set the ball rolling on "gaming growing up."
I'm not 100% if Tomb Raider still would have found a home on consoles, but FFVII still would have happened in one form or another on the N64 I think and it wouldn't have been dumbed down as far as the themes went. I mean, FFVI was a fairly dark game and had things like teen pregnancy going on, so by the time Square was already heading a different direction. And Resident Evil would have also happened I think, just on the Saturn instead of the PS1.
That said Sega would still be making consoles and they would have crushed Nintendo in the great third Sega vs Nintendo generation war. Sonic games would be selling 10 million copies, people would rejoice when a new Sonic is annouced. Sega would be the only company making millions in profit. It would be glorious.
robio said:gamingeek said:
Another idea, PS1 was largely seen as a period where gaming "grew up" if it had never existed would we have more mascot gaming geared at young boys rather than gritty games aimed at teenagers?
I think that would have gone on regardless because that was more of a natural evolution that was really going on at the same time on the Saturn and not just on the PS1. The first generation of PS1 games were just as goofy and mascot-centric as all the other consoles. It was really a combination of the success of 3 adult oriented games (FFVII, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider) that really set the ball rolling on "gaming growing up."
I'm not 100% if Tomb Raider still would have found a home on consoles, but FFVII still would have happened in one form or another on the N64 I think and it wouldn't have been dumbed down as far as the themes went. I mean, FFVI was a fairly dark game and had things like teen pregnancy going on, so by the time Square was already heading a different direction. And Resident Evil would have also happened I think, just on the Saturn instead of the PS1.
Don't forget MGS. Also Tomb Raider was a Saturn game first before it ever became a PS1 game.
Dvader said:Tough question, I doubt the industry would be as large as it is today. Sony played a big part in making gaming more of a common hobby than something for children. I dont see Nintendo or Sega ever having that same marketing toward the older game that Sony brought to the table.
That said Sega would still be making consoles and they would have crushed Nintendo in the great third Sega vs Nintendo generation war. Sonic games would be selling 10 million copies, people would rejoice when a new Sonic is annouced. Sega would be the only company making millions in profit. It would be glorious.
awesome.
You make a great point, I forgot about how peerless Sony's marketing was back then not this weirdo abstract PS3 launch stuff. It made you feel that if you weren't playing playstation you were missing out on something.
Last gen RE took a dip in sales at the start cause they moved away from the console that made them and maybe the series getting repetitive had an impact as well. In terms of sales it was a bad move. REmake and RE0 sold around 1.5 million each when past RE games were around the 3 million mark. There was also CV which did ok on the DC but a year old port on the PS2 blew it away. I think the RE franchise lost its relevancy as a major gaming franchise when it went to the GC. UNTIL RE4 hit.
This is where things get crazy, would there be a RE4 if RE was on the PS2. Say sales of RE games stayed very high, would there have been a need for a change. How about Mikami, something happend where he had some falling out with Sony to the point where is not even with Capcom anymore after the whole RE4 port. You can look at it two ways, if they never left the PS brand that means Mikami has no issue and maybe he is still around today. Or Mikami leaves sooner who knows.
I can't complain looking back cause we got RE4. What I am afraid of is having no Mikami but that might have been inevitable .
Dvader said:What if Resident Evil never went GC exclusive?
Last gen RE took a dip in sales at the start cause they moved away from the console that made them and maybe the series getting repetitive had an impact as well. In terms of sales it was a bad move. REmake and RE0 sold around 1.5 million each when past RE games were around the 3 million mark. There was also CV which did ok on the DC but a year old port on the PS2 blew it away. I think the RE franchise lost its relevancy as a major gaming franchise when it went to the GC. UNTIL RE4 hit.
This is where things get crazy, would there be a RE4 if RE was on the PS2. Say sales of RE games stayed very high, would there have been a need for a change. How about Mikami, something happend where he had some falling out with Sony to the point where is not even with Capcom anymore after the whole RE4 port. You can look at it two ways, if they never left the PS brand that means Mikami has no issue and maybe he is still around today. Or Mikami leaves sooner who knows.
I can't complain looking back cause we got RE4. What I am afraid of is having no Mikami but that might have been inevitable .
If it had been on PS2 and not GC it would have been more popular I have little doubt, its the margin of popularity that's debatable. I think the biggest sticking point is that REmake and RE0 stuck to the now antiquated camera angles and so felt very, well almost retro and stuck in a rut. Like you said maybe it was this reason that RE4 was made.
Mikami did seem to turn on Sony so maybe he might have left like you said and gone to make other GC games, being japanese at the time he wouldn't have gone to make Xbox games.
I think the series would have gone on but the games wouldn't have been as good.
---
Tell me to get back to rewriting this site so it's not horrible on mobile
On Sony. If Sony had not entered the industry the System Wars threads would have spilled out into real life with Nintendo and SEGA fans seeking the blood of each other. Or SEGA still would have choked and we'd be living under Micosoft's rule with an even smaller Nintendo contingent (gaming would not be as sucessful in Japan if you remove SEGA and Sony out of the picture).
My question - What would have happend if Xbox Live was an undeniable flop from the day it launched (and never recovered).
Yodariquo said:I can't do these "What if?" things because I think too much. If you change a small detail, it compounds into something completely unpredictable. If things were different, things would be different -- that's about all I can say.
But what if you had thought about it and made a prediction?
Now we'll never know! 
aspro said:On the RE question. I don't think much would have changed at all. Although RE4 was a launch day purchase for me on the GC I'm pretty sure most people (the people who owned PS2's) waited until it came to their console. I remember whn it came to PS2 most people (who don't regularly frequent gaming boards) were unaware another version had already come out.
This is a good question: If RE4 was a GC exclusive would it have acted as a system seller? Making any impact on install base?
aspro said:
My question - What would have happend if Xbox Live was an undeniable flop from the day it launched (and never recovered).
No online gaming, no DLC and no downloadable games pretty much. Except on PC that is.
Other than that, the same pretty much. More splitscreen gaming.
gamingeek said:Yodariquo said:I can't do these "What if?" things because I think too much. If you change a small detail, it compounds into something completely unpredictable. If things were different, things would be different -- that's about all I can say.But what if you had thought about it and made a prediction?
Now we'll never know!
What if Yoda couldn't code? We'd all me stuck at 1UP!
gamingeek said:aspro said:On the RE question. I don't think much would have changed at all. Although RE4 was a launch day purchase for me on the GC I'm pretty sure most people (the people who owned PS2's) waited until it came to their console. I remember whn it came to PS2 most people (who don't regularly frequent gaming boards) were unaware another version had already come out.This is a good question: If RE4 was a GC exclusive would it have acted as a system seller? Making any impact on install base?
aspro said:
My question - What would have happend if Xbox Live was an undeniable flop from the day it launched (and never recovered).No online gaming, no DLC and no downloadable games pretty much. Except on PC that is.
Other than that, the same pretty much. More splitscreen gaming.
The 360 would be in third place rather than first. And Steam would be even bigger on the PC.
I'm pretty sure RE4 sold it's fair share of systems, had it stayed exclusive it would have sold a lot more systems, particularly after the huge GOTY hype (with the gaming press shocked *shocked* that a game that looks and plays as good could come out on the lunchbox system).
Dvader said:robio said:gamingeek said:Another idea, PS1 was largely seen as a period where gaming "grew up" if it had never existed would we have more mascot gaming geared at young boys rather than gritty games aimed at teenagers?
I think that would have gone on regardless because that was more of a natural evolution that was really going on at the same time on the Saturn and not just on the PS1. The first generation of PS1 games were just as goofy and mascot-centric as all the other consoles. It was really a combination of the success of 3 adult oriented games (FFVII, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider) that really set the ball rolling on "gaming growing up."
I'm not 100% if Tomb Raider still would have found a home on consoles, but FFVII still would have happened in one form or another on the N64 I think and it wouldn't have been dumbed down as far as the themes went. I mean, FFVI was a fairly dark game and had things like teen pregnancy going on, so by the time Square was already heading a different direction. And Resident Evil would have also happened I think, just on the Saturn instead of the PS1.
Don't forget MGS. Also Tomb Raider was a Saturn game first before it ever became a PS1 game.
I don't put MGS in this category because it didn't come out until the end of 1998. By that time the market for more mature games was a little bit more established. The others came out about 2 years earlier (except for FFVII which didn't make it into America until 97), and that was still a little riskier of an idea.
The (What if?) Thread poses a series of fantasy scenarios and asks you the quetion, what if - such and such - had or hadn't happened?
Q1 is:
What are the implications if Sony had never entered the hardware race?
Q2 is:
What if Resident Evil never went GC exclusive?
Q3:
What would have happend if Xbox Live was an undeniable flop from the day it launched (and never recovered)
Q4:
WHAT IF. . . Atari had never gotten blown out of the console market?