One of the most tantalizing "what if?" moments in the history of the video game industry took place during the early 1990s, when Sony and Nintendo decided to collaborate on a CD-ROM attachment for the Super Nintendo. In our timeline, Nintendo backed out of the deal, Sony went on to make the Playstation, and the rest is history.
But
what if... Nintendo decided to re-negotiate its deal with Sony and press on with the CD-ROM attachment?
Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium starts in the year 2000, nine years into a world where that deal took place. A lot has happened... Nintendo dominates the gaming world, still partnered up with Sony and releasing their beloved games on more powerful hardware, though after a tragic accident in 2000 in which the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto was killed, the company must decide upon a new direction as they prepare to enter the 21st Century. Their rival Sega, surprisingly enough, has done somewhat better for itself, partially thanks to the lack of competition from an independent Sony, and partially thanks to better decisions made by executive Tom Kalinske, who stayed on with Sega several years longer than IOTL. Meanwhile, Microsoft is preparing to launch its Xbox console, while Steve Jobs and Apple, fresh off the success of the iMac computer, wait in the wings with a surprising plan to enter the home gaming industry. A new millennium of technological advancements and cultural changes awaits, and the video games you remember from OTL will never be the same.
Massively Multiplayer is the sequel to an earlier timeline,
Player Two Start, which chronicled the first nine years (1991-2000) after the POD. If you're interested in reading it as well, great! If you decide you just want to start with
Massively Multiplayer, the opening post contains a helpful "Cliff's Notes"-style summation of the events of
Player Two Start.