A New Legacy: Nintendo acquires Midway timeline

[Jaiken]

It is early 2003 and Midway is about to shutdown Midway Games West, company with the name associated with the old Atari, until a certain Mustached Plumber buys their parent company.

Premise: Nintendo decides it wants to acquire a company that has these qualities:
1) Good arcade multiplayer action: Gauntlet
2) Game company that can make traditional sports games
3) Developers that can make games that appeal to older audiences.

Crossroads with this timeline:
1) Nintendo is at a crossroads to decide to make violent video games associated with its name like Mortal Kombat or will they keep to their name sake.
2) The Nintendo Revolution (Wii) will deter some Midway developers from staying with Nintendo and move to seemingly greener pastures.

This timeline will be determined by voter polls and what direction Nintendo will take in this timeline.

Note: Sega has been bought by Sammy Corporation as in our timeline and Microsoft has already bought Rare.

 

[Jaiken]

Among the school playgrounds rumors spread that Nintendo will be acquiring Midway Games.

Kid 1: I am telling you Nintendo will be for adults!
Kid 2: No way. Nintendo is for babies, they would never get a game like Mortal Kombat.
Kid 3: My mom said if Nintendo starts selling Mortal Kombat they should tone it down.
Kid 1: That would be lame either you keep Mortal Kombat the way it is or don't keep it at all.

Video game websites start gathering more information on what caused this sudden change in Nintendo to acquire such a company that doesn't fit it's brand image.

All eyes were glued to E3 of that year when Nintendo's spokes person Bill Trinen hit the stage.

Bill Trinen: "I know many of you have questions and the answers will come in due time, but what I can tell you is this. We at Nintendo want to provide the best experience for all gamers of all ages, not just kids. Those that play sports, arcade games, multiplayer games and games of all sorts are welcome under our company.

That is why we are announcing our acquisition of Midway Games and their expertise in Western Game development to our portfolio, any questions?"

An IGN reporter stands up. "What pushed Nintendo to attempt to change its brand image? You know many families won't like Mortal Kombat being under the same roof as Yoshi and Kirby."

Bill Trinen responds: "We are committed to bringing every type of gaming experience to Nintendo consoles, but we know that if we don't adapt to the gaming market and its needs then we will be left in the dust. Gamer's wants and needs are needed not just for profits, but for brand image and customer loyalty."

As Bill Trinen leaves the stage, Nintendo's higher ups are deciding what to do with Mortal Kombat and their brand image.

Kid 1: Will I be able to perform a fatality on Donkey Kong?

 

[Jaiken]

"So has the Nintendo board of directors reached a consensus?" Asked Saturo Iwata.

"Yes we have Iwata-San, we will change our brand image; however, we will be leaving the creation of Rated M franchises to our newly acquired developers and partners." , "Nintendo and our in house developers will focus on family friendly while Midway and those we partner with focus on titles that our developers are not familiar with making."

"What should we do with Nintendo Software Technology? They are getting ambitious and want to create a game called 'Hammer Man.' It concerns a military cyborg named M09 fighting other military cyborgs for control of the cybernetic technology made by different world militaries."

Iwata responds, "What is the planned age rating and what type of gameplay experience will it give players?".

"NST says the game will be rated Teen and will be like a Musou beat-em up similar to those Dynasty Warrior games made by Koei".

Iwata makes the call "Have Midway Games and Miyamoto-san monitor NST. Ensure the games are up to Nintendo standards and show Midway Games what scale of quality we require at Nintendo."

A director raises his hand, "Iwata-san what do we do with Mortal Kombat. Do we keep it multi platform or keep it mainly to our devices?"

"Have the classic titles be present with our other classic titles on the upcoming project NERD is developing. Keep the newest entries multiplatform, but make sure that Midway Games learns the specs and development process of Microsoft's new so called 'High Definition' device. This will help development should we ever follow High Definition. Also, keep handheld Mortal Kombat Nintendo only, any device Sony or Microsoft makes will not benefit our plan with the Iris."

As the meeting concludes the plan for Nintendo was obvious:

'Have in house Nintendo focus on the Eastern Front and Midway Games focus on the Western Front.'

Nintendo will be turning Midway Games into a Western Nintendo EPD division like EPD is IOTL ensuring that games are up to Nintendo's Seal of quality.

 

[Jaiken]

With the acquisition of Midway in early 2003 Nintendo was entering the foray of Western gaming. Surprising most gamers was the willingness to keep titles like Mortal Kombat multiplatform. Was Nintendo going third party like Sega?

Kid 1: There is no way Nintendo is going the way of Sega.
Kid 2: Then why are they not keeping Mortal Kombat only on Nintendo's consoles?
Kid 3: My mom is glad the name Mortal Kombat is not fully associated with Nintendo because of this.
Kid 1: I bet you Nintendo is only letting Mortal Kombat stay multiplatform.
Kid 2: We will see, but Nintendo has been acting strange lately.

John Tsui, Former Midway Art director had this to say in our timeline:
“I tell game developers, if you want to make a game, you want to make it worth your time,” he said. “If you have a crazy idea, put it in. If everyone has the same standard, everyone is going to have the same ideas. Not being ashamed of your crazy idea is a great thing to do.”. “Understanding the scale of games is important,” he said. “Make sure you’re not biting more than you can chew."
Source: https://www.inverse.com/entertainme...documentary-josh-tsui-interview-mortal-kombat

ITTL: John Tsui, Midway Art Director had this to say:
"It is good to make games worth your time, don't be afraid to add a crazy idea into your game. If no one takes risks then all games seem the same; however, our time at Nintendo has told and shown us that having scale and realistic goals is important as well. Don't bite off more than you can chew."

Not all developers were happy seeing Nintendo's future specs of their console dubbed the 'Revolution'.

Dennis Dyack: "What is the point of going with Nintendo if their graphics are not to the same standard as the competition? They are making a big mistake and should invest in top notch graphics like Unreal Engine."

Silicon Knights was a talented group of developers that made the cult classic 'Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem' and were talented enough to garner attention from Konami and be entrusted to remake the twin snakes. Midway Games were tasked to scope Western developers that would help Nintendo's push into the Western Market and they were eyeing Silicon Knights with their talent on Eternal Darkness.

Eternal Darkness was Nintendo's answer to Resident Evil. There was no guarantee that Resident Evil would always be on a Nintendo console so why not have their own game that stuck out from the crowd and played similar enough?

Midway Games pitched the idea to Nintendo and plans were made to acquire Silicon Knights, but first the issue is of Mr. Dyack and his obsession with graphics.

Satoru Iwata and a Midway Games director entered a meeting room with Dennis Dyack.

"Mr Dyack" , Iwata stated, "We are interested in acquiring your company."

"I am not giving up the company I created unless compensated for the amount my company is worth."

The Midway Games Director speaks up, "Of course, that makes sense, but do know that Iwata is right that developing high end graphics does not matter in the long run. I see many game developers going bankrupt from the jump to HD graphics just like how the jump to 3D destroyed 2D game developers."

Dennis Dyack was handed a contract signing owner ship over to Nintendo for $200 Million dollars. Dennis Dyack and Iwata signs the contract with lawyers present.

Dennis Dyack takes the contract and leaves alongside his lawyers and states one final thing, "You will know that games made with Unreal Engine 3 is the future of video games in due time. See you in the gaming market and good luck with your endeavors."

Dennis Dyack forms the studio Precursor games with some developers from Silicon Knights.

Nintendo now owns Silicon Knights and is still looking for game developers to acquire thanks to the watchful eye of Midway Games.

Here is a teaser for next Threadmarks:

Kaiju and Gauntlet enter Japan
Nintendo and Midway enter the Next Level
Kuju brings the Battalion to the table
Mortal Kombat in my Smash Brothers?

 

[Jaiken]

It is mid 2004 and E3 is on without a hitch.

Bill Trinen shows up on stage. "I am sure you are familiar with the giant monster or Kaiju as they call them in Japan." "Please take a look at this."

Nintendo presents, Developed by Kaiju Productions.

A trailer starts playing and shows a Laboratory with a scientist monitoring a screen with a radar pinging 3 characters. A closer look shows the names: 'Lizzy, George and Ralph'. The trailer than moves to gameplay of the three monsters destroying parts of the city and fighting the military, picking up buildings and throwing them at the tanks and airplanes. A giant bat appears and starts attacking the three monsters with its big claws.

'It is time to take down Scumlabs once again' a logo details on screen with the monsters causing havoc and mayhem. Introducing: 'Rampage Mayhem Playground'.

The audience clasps for a bit and settles down.

The camera pans back to Bill Trinen who has this to say "This is one of many efforts to spread our franchises far and wide between gamers from all across the world. There is one more trailer to show before we leave today, please take a look."

Nintendo Presents, Developed by Sumner Productions

A weird voice starts speaking, "In ancient times a evil mage named Garm used the power of the rune stones in an attempt to control the demon Skorn. Garm failed; however, his followers and School of sorcery is attempting to bring him back by any means necessary."

The text and voice fades until Sumner appears on screen. "Using my power to hold their summoning at bay I have entrusted the safety of the 8 realms to champions of the past." The screen shows silhouettes of the Warrior, Valkyrie, Dwarf, Jester, Archer, Wizard, Sorceress and Knight. "Go forth and save the 8 realms from Garm's followers and prevent the Rune Stones from falling into the wrong hands."

Gameplay shows battle menus and overworld movement akin to Dragon Quest 3 as a battle between 4 champions and zombies takes place in Poison Fields.

Gauntlet: Skorn of Garm's Influence.

Lights cut back on and the camera pans back to Bill Trinen. "What you have just seen and heard are the latest entries in the Gauntlet and Rampage franchises. These games will release in late 2005 as our initiative to revitalize Midway Games' gameplay experiences, and both games will release only on Nintendo Gamecube and the upcoming Nintendo Nitro handheld device."

Sounds of chattering and gossiping comes from the crowd.

"As for those concerned of Nintendo releasing games on other consoles", Bill Trinen continues, "We are not releasing future entries in franchises that are not Mortal Kombat on other consoles. Mortal Kombat has a legacy and fanbase on other consoles that benefit the gameplay experience and we intend to keep that experience alive."

And with that E3 ends; however, chatter of Nintendo going third party still haunts playground rumors and internet gaming forums.

 

[Jaiken]

With the recent acquisition of Silicon Knights Midway Games had another developer to show the Big N. Next Level Games the developer of NHL Hitz Pro and their upcoming work on Mario Strikers had recently made dealings with Midway before the buy out. Midway proved to Nintendo that Next Level Games was worth the risk and could potentially bring back more franchises; especially, a certain teenage baseball pitcher from Washington with his obscure references to stick bananas into his ears.

Tanabe would love to bring back Star Tropics and who better than Next Level Games? Not only that, but thanks to the acquisition of Midway Nintendo Software Technology was running smoothly along with its new game "Machine X".

Picture curtesy of Unseen 64

The game is to release 2008 for the codename: "Nintendo Revolution". It is to be a Musou beat'em up type of gamepaly.

ITTL Midway Games helps Nintendo acquire Next Level Games faster and Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is saved. It releases with moderate success of 750,000 copies and a critical following that shows Nintendo's direct subsidiaries besides those under Midway can produce titles that interest gamers with differing gameplay tastes.

ITTL Midway Games helping Nintendo with Mortal Kombat has also helped Microsoft push Rare ware to make more Killer Instinct, Banjo Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Conker to compete with Nintendo.

As for Sony? Sony focuses on their upcoming Blue Ray technology for the rumored PS3.

Any interesting ideas or questions for this timeline?

Teasers for next upcoming Threadmarks:

Kuju brings the Battalion to the table
Mortal Kombat in my Smash Brothers?
The Age of Reggie Fils Ame

 

[Jaiken]

In Mid 2005 Nintendo showed a game where cartoonish looking soldiers attacked military bases; however, the player was able to control a small squad of soldiers including the vehicles they drove.

Picture Courtesy of Nintendo and Wikipedia
Developed by Kuju London, Published by Nintendo

In this game the player controls a vast array of units ranging from infantry, armored divisions and aircraft, completing missions through a mixture of unit management and strategic planning. In the game's story, the player operates as a commander of a battalion, who initially take part in a conflict between two nations that culminates in an eventual alliance between them, in response to a surprise attack by a third nation.

Reception for the game was more positive than our timeline due to Midway Games helping Nintendo of America market the game. The game sells an average of 1, 150,000 copies and is liked In western countries as Nintendo's arena shooter.

Midway Games convinces Nintendo to purchase the developer and to rename them Headstrong Games.

Below is a list of Nintendo's upcoming and current acquired developers.

Nintendo’s in house developers following our path

Nintendo EPD
Nintendo EPD 2
NERD
Nintendo Software Technology
Retro Studios
Brownie Brown
NDCube
iQue
Next Level Games
Monolith Soft

Nintendo owned subsidiaries in this timeline
NetherRealm
Sumner's Tower
Kaiju Productions
Jam Blitz
Twisted Productions
Midway Games
Surreal Software
Inevitable Entertainment
Headstrong Games

With Nintendo not wanting to pay Sony royalties for an online shooter it decides to have Inevitable Entertainment make its own online shooter that would be appropriate for all audiences.

Further Threadmarks
Mortal Kombat in my Smash Brothers?
The Age of Reggie Fils Ame
Twisted Carnival Hits Japan

 

[Jaiken]

Disclaimer: Images credited to Evil Waluigi on Deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/evilwaluigi/gallery

Bill Trinen hit the stage at late E3 2005. What Nintendo was doing perplexed the minds of the audience.

Bill Trinen: "I am sure you are asking what we are doing here so later than usual. Well, I will tell you we have a big announcement."

The stage fades to black and shows the Smash brothers characters fighting next to a big mountain when a certain Blue Bomber interrupts them.

The crowd roars as Megaman attacks the group of Nintendo characters.

"Of course that is not all take another look."

Sheik is seen fighting Ganondorf as a rope dart impales the dark king off screen and pulls him out of sight. "Get over Here" says the familiar voice.

Scorpion attacks Sheik with his rope dart but is stopped by a blue shot of ice.

Lights come back on as Bill Trinen takes the stage: "That is right, both Scorpion and Sub Zero are in Smash Brothers and are separate characters."

This newest Smash Brothers is a collaborative title between Sora LTD, Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. The developers at NetherRealm Studios has removed tripping.

“Let me show you one last trailer before we leave.”

The Trailer shows Villager resting on an island in a hammock until a bunch of Subspace Emissary enemies appear. The enemies creep up on Villager until a Yo-Yo knocks away the monsters. "Radical!"

Mike Jones starts attacking the other characters showing off his attacks while this theme plays:

Image credited to Diegichigo on Deviantart https://www.deviantart.com/diegichigo/art/Newcomer-Mike-244867301

The extra hidden characters were:

George from Rampage copying a more strength based Donkey Kong.
Kosmos with her clone Telos.
Mewtwo due to having his data from Melee.

Unfortunately, having Mortal Kombat characters had parents screaming about performing fatalities in the teen rated game; however, the age rating was not changed as the fatalities were toned down.

Villager isn’t a fighter due to Sakurai not seeing how someone in Animal Crossing could fight.

 

[Jaiken]

Time shifts to 2006 when retailers are to learn about the "Nintendo Revolution".

It was E3 2006 and eyes were on Nintendo's new machine. Was it going to follow the same graphics like the 360? Was it going to be expensive like the PS3? Only time could tell.

All chatter was silenced once a certain man took center stage.

"Hello, my name is Reggie Fils Aime and I am the President of America at Nintendo." "There are many rumors about Nintendo's next machine, well I am here to reveal information about the console."

The Nintendo Revolution is pulled out. "This is the Nintendo Revolution or as we like to call it the Nintendo Wii. The name is related to how we should play games together and that this console is more than just for hardcore gamers."

The man shows a short video of Wii Sports and demonstrates it using a white remote. With a swing resembling that of a golf club the character mimics Reggie's movements and the ball is sent flying.

"That is not all we are here to show you. From our good friends at Next Level Games we have a new title to show you".

The light cuts on and shows an image followed by some gameplay:

After Zoda's defeat Mike Jones moves in with his Archaeologist Uncle to live on CoralCola island. Mike Jones gets curious about how the Argonian race is prospering and reaches out telepathically to Mica. "Help! Zoda's army is making clones of the Argonians and taking over our new planet!" Mike Jones immediately volunteers to rescue her and her family. Dr. Jones has invented a spaceship and recommissioned NAV-COM to follow Mike to Argon along with Peter the talking parrot. Armed with a slew of baseball themed mechanical weaponry from his Uncle, Mike set out to save Mica and all of Argon.

As it turns out Zoda had back up clones to take on Mike Jones and his slew of intergalactic alien soldiers.

The screen then cuts to cel-shaded gameplay:

credit to Darkwarlos for gameplay

Mike Jones is seen fighting extraterrestial beings with his slew of yo-yos, baseball bats, swords, psychic blasts, axes, laser guns and spiked shoes. As the fighting continues we see his weapons gather experience points gathered from defeated enemies. In this game Mike Jones is capable of choosing and upgrading his various arsenal of weaponry against the forces of Zoda, even his sportsman shoes.

The title fades back in with the title: "Star Tropics III: Armada of Zoda" Coming 2008
Developed by Next Level Games and Surreal Software
Published by Nintendo

"But that is not all take a look at this."

credit to GamesStation1987 for gameplay

NBA JAM 2008
Developed by Jam Blitz
Published by Nintendo

"Players will be able to take the arcade gameplay of NBA Jam home and play on one console with pre-existing gamecube controllers just like the other titles shown today, even online."

"We have also brought all classic titles to the Nintendo Wii:"

Mortal Kombat 1-3 gameplay is shown.

"This service is known as the 'Nintendo EShop'. All titles from the legacy of Nintendo and Midway Games will be available for purchase and includes free online play."

Reggie continues to show other games such as The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and NFL Blitz 2008 for the Nintendo Wii.

"Before we leave let us show you one more title."

A roar is heard as giant monsters are seen fighting each other. George, Ralph and Lizzy are seen fighting other giant monsters until dinosaurs pop up. It is the dinosaurs from Primal Rage and they start destroying cities as well.

More monsters more mayhem. Rampage: Mayhem Playground 2. Only on Nintendo Wii coming soon 2008.
Developed by Kaiju Productions
Published by Nintendo

"All of these multiplayer titles we have shown will have online functionality and online multiplayer. We have not forgotten the hardcore gamer."

And with that E3 ends.

Butterfly Effects: Star Tropics and NBA Jam are back and the Wii has better online functionality due to Midway Games helping with other consoles' online functionality. E.A. is losing some ground to Jam Blitz sports titles and Microsoft is trying to appeal to the younger demographic. PS3 launch is still a disaster but is now more impacted due to Nintendo's Wii appealing to all gamer demographics and losing out on Mortal Kombat due to the architecture of the PS3 being too complicated to develop for.

Future Threadmark Teasers:
Twisted Carnvial Hits Japan
Primal Rage: Age of Extinction
Duo of Growing Pains

 

[Jaiken]

It was Late 2007 and the Wii hit store shelves. The lines were long and many people were looking forward to Wii Sports and playing bowling straight from their home.

One game from developer HeadStrong games was on the forefront of Nintendo's new and improved online connectivity.

The game included co-op missions that ran at real time where both players would control a small battalion of vehicles, planes, and infantry to take on the oncoming threatening force.

Gameplay credited to LGG.

In Japan, while gamers waited on the Kaiju Mayhem brawler, a pre-existing game was rereleased for the Nintendo Wii with a pack in device.

Developer Twisted Productions
Publisher Nintendo
Released 2007
The game was CarnEvil. Never before seen on any console. It came with a buckshot controller that used the A button to shoot and the B button to reload by cocking the shotgun accessory.

Buck Shot accessory also comes in white and black with obvious orange parts to not be confused with a real gun.
The game also came with a time trial mode that challenges how quickly players can complete a level and upload online scores to Leader Boards.

Twisted Productions also co-developed another game that came out the same year as CarnEvil.

Developed by Treasure, Twisted Productions, Midway Games
Published by Nintendo
Released November 2007

The game involves a threat called the 'Creators' an unknown group that threatens all of humanity by sending alien abominations and intergalactic machine weaponry. The game also has English and Japanese voice acting. It also features co-op mode and leader boards.

Gameplay credited to Kirgeez-Gaming.

As the new Nintendo titles were coming out something big was happening at Sony.

Kazuo Hirai: "What do you mean we are losing Mortal Kombat? Doesn't Nintendo see that Blue-Ray is the future of gaming?"

PlayStation board member: "Nintendo is still releasing Mortal Kombat to the PC and XBox 360."

Kazuo Hirai: "Interesting. Contact all the game developers we have done business with including D.I.C.E. and E.A. and give them development kits. We must not fall behind in the Western Market."

Butterflies: Sony is losing ground to the XBox 360 due to titles such as Mortal Kombat staying off their platform. Sony hopes that the momentum of Call of Duty and E.A.'s sports titles will help with sales. The PlayStation Portable (PSP) may be Sony's ticket to coast the 7th generation should the PS3 not meet sales expectations. XBox360 is doing better in this timeline due to Mortal Kombat staying exclusive and appealing to more demographics like Nintendo has. The Western Gaming Market is stronger due to Nintendo seeing that Mortal Kombat has even better polish than IOTL.

Future Threadmark Teasers:
Primal Rage: Age of Extinction
Duo of Growing Pains
Gaming in the Palm of your Hands

 

[Jaiken]

E3 2008 has come and Nintendo's Wii Console was turning huge profits and sales.

Rumors had been speculating about Nintendo acquiring Konami. Was Nintendo going to invest in Pachinko services while making video games or did the Big N have something else in mind?

As usual, Reggie Fils Aime took the stage to discuss Nintendo's plans for the upcoming year and years to come.

"Welcome to our E3 in 2008. We are glad to hear that gamers young and old are enjoying the Nintendo Wii. There are more titles to come such as a certain title from our new friends at Monolith Soft".

The screen fades to black and has British voice acting and is accompanied by gameplay resembling that of an Action RPG.

Concept art by Monolith Soft

Xenoblade Chronicles
Developed by Monolith Soft
Published by Nintendo
Coming Fall 2009

"But that is not the only title from our friends at Monolith Soft, please take a look."

video provided by omegastone

Artwork by Monolithsoft

Soma Bringer is a title that plays like a mixture of Secret of Mana and Diablo 2. Players are able to choose up to 3 characters each with their own unique classes to take on multiple challenges by themselves or with other players. Due to Nintendo's improved online it sells 660,000 copies.

"But that is not the only title releasing this year."

The screen opens up and shows multiple dinosaurs fighting each other in arcade like fashion.
Developed by Kaiju Productions, NetherRealm Studios
Published by Nintendo
Coming September 2008

"That title you just saw was Primal Rage: Age of Extinction. It includes online tournament and roll back net code thanks to our friends at NetherRealm Studios. We have one last title to show you before the day ends."

Different types of robots are seen fighting each other with guns and appendages in what seems to be death matches.

Concept art pieces by Retro Studios

The other robots are scene being torn apart and mixed together to form an eldritch abomination robot.

Developed by Retro Studios and Inevitable Entertainment
Published by Nintendo
Coming December 2008
Rated Teen

"This game is called Scrap Heap. In it players try to take each other down and take defeated parts of their enemies to upgrade and become stronger."

Scrap Heap releases to mixed reviews and sells 425,000 copies.

"Before we at Nintendo leave today, we would like to answer some questions. Yes, we are acquiring 100% shares in the gaming division of Konami. This will broaden the types of games we at Nintendo can bring to gamers of all ages and types."

And with that E3 2008 was finished.

Butterfly Effects: Nintendo has acquired the gaming division of Konami and with that new details at the table below:

Nintendo First Party Studios

Changes

1-UP Studio EPD HeadStrong Games Hudson Soft Inevitable Entertainment Jam Blitz Kaiju Productions Kojima Productions Midway Games Monolith Soft Mystical Ninjas NetherRealm Next Level Games NST Retro Studios Silicon Knights Sumner's Tower Surreal Software Team Silent Hill Twisted Productions Vampire Slayers

Konami Games has been merged with Midway Games to help Nintendo with HD game development and whatever else the Big N needs Konami's gaming division has broken up into 4 parts: 1) Kojima Productions makes Metal Gear 2) Mystical Ninjas makes Ganbare Goemon 3) Team Silent Hill makes Silent Hill 4) Vampire Slayers makes Castlevania NDCube has been folded into Hudson Soft. Brownie Brown has been turned into 1-Up Studio, a Support studio that assists Nintendo's EPD developer team with anything it needs.

Butterfly Effects Continued: Upon hearing the acquisition of Konami Games, Microsoft decides to acquire Activision earlier than our timeline. Sony's PS3 is on its way out by 2010 forcing Sony to focus fully on the PSP and its successor. Google Atari and Sega Sammy are both gearing up to (re)join the console market.

Note: Flipped a coin 3 times to determine what direction Nintendo should take since the vote was tied and acquiring Konami won. Next time will show the effects of Google Atari and Sega Sammy joining the console business. No more voting is needed in this timeline.

As for Smash Brothers:
High A Tier: Scorpion, SubZero
B Tier: Kos-Mos, Telos, Mike Jones
C Tier: Mewtwo, Megaman, George

 

[Jaiken]

The year is 2011 and Nintendo is set to reveal their newest console that follows up to the Nintendo Wii.

Reggie Fils Aime hits the stage: "Many of you have questions regarding our newest console and today those questions will be answered."

Reggie pulls out a console.

"This is the Nintendo Duo, our first entry in HD consoles at Nintendo. And of course no console is without games so here are some launch titles for the console."

The screen shows Super Mario 3d World and Nintendo Land.

Developed NetherRealm Studiios
Published by Nintendo

Developed by Kojima Productions
Published by Nintendo

Developed by Team Silent Hill
Published by Nintendo


Images courtesy of Warner Brothers and Konami.

"There is one last title we are here to show today:"

The screen fades to black and some otherworldly music begins to play.

"Long have I known the ancient abomination known as 'Mantorok', but mother never told me what his vision or plan was."

Image Credited to TwilightMystics

Eternal Darkness 2 Wii Box Art Cover by TwilightMystics

Custom Eternal Darkness 2 Wii box art cover

vgboxart.com

Developed by Silicon Knights and Midway Games
Published by Nintendo

Eternal Darkness 2 focuses on Alexandra Roivas' son whom comes across the tomb of Eternal Darkness and instead of reading it has questions regarding its origin and what relations that his mother's study has to it.

"Before we leave we have heard rumors about using a gamepad to enhance the experience for the Nintendo Duo. The Game Pad for the Nintendo Duo will be sold separately; instead, we will be showing you a controller that holds over 50 hours of battery life on a single charge and retails for $49.99"

Reggie pulls out a controller

"The name 'Duo' represents the passion we have for video games both as game developers and video game players. The console will retail for $299.99 with your choice of launch title."

Microsoft is up next and talks about how always online DRM is what gamers want and the Kinect is shown as a must have accessory for the XBox one.

Here is a list of how each console is powerful to the XBox One.

Name of Company	Name of Console	Power in Relation to XBox One	Pros and Cons of console
Nintendo	Duo	7.7	Pro: Can play HD games, strong netcode and online connectivity and free online. Con: Not as powerful as the XBox one.
Sega Sammy	Phoenix	7.5	Pro: Has Chao Garden Haven built into the console. Free Online Con: Not as powerful as the XBox one.
Google Atari	Sabertooth	8.2	Pro: Has Western must have titles . Strong netcode and online connectivity. Con: Paid Onilne. Not as powerful as the XBox One.

Butterfly Effects: More classic Nintendo titles are back and starting as launch titles due to Midway Games learning HD Console development. Sega Sammy and Google Atari have entered the console market due to Sony dropping out. Sony's latest game 'The Last of Us' does not garner the same critical acclaim due to the graphical limitations of the PSP Go.

Next Time: Sega Sammy shows their plans and more Nintendo titles hit the Nintendo Duo.

 

[Jaiken]

Later half of E3 2011 was here and Sega Sammy was going to put rumors to rest

Ian Curran starts to speak: "We at Sega Sammy are re-entering the gaming market with our latest titles."

Ian Curran pulls out a console that from his jacket and shows it to the crowd.

Image of Sega Phoenix console credited to unknown source since I cannot find the original poster

"This is the Sega Phoenix. It comes pre-installed with Sonic Chao Garden that can be played on the console and phone and retails for $250.99" "And here is the controller you will be playing on."

Image edited and created by me.

"This controller retails for $45.99 at retail stores, but most importantly here is a list of games that are coming out for the Sega Phoenix.":

Sega Phoenix Titles (Launch)

List of Partners and Subsidiaries.

2k Sports Series (Launch) Bayonetta (Launch) Blazblue Continum Shift (Launch) Chao Garden Haven (Launch) Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires (Launch) Etrian Odyssey Guilty Gear Xrd Hatsune Miku Rhythm (Launch) King of Fighters XIII (Launch) Metal Slug Arcade Collection 1-3 (Launch) Monster Hunter (Launch) Persona 4 Golden (Launch) Phantasy Star Online 2 (Launch) Puyo-Puyo Tetris (Launch) Ratchet and Clank River City Ransom Sega Arcade Collection Shin Megami Tensei Sonic Generations (Launch) Super Monkey Ball HD Valkyria Chronicles D (Launch) Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown Yakuza (Launch)

First party subsidiaries: Arc System Works Atlus Valkyrie Productions Hardlight Insominac Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio Sega AM Sonic Team Third Party Partners Capcom Koei Tecmo Platinum Games S.N.K.

"You heard that right. We at Sega have acquired Arc System Works and own 51% shares in the Atlus video game corporation."

"Online will be free and the console has 28 GB of storage for those who want digital copies of games."

Sega was back and it was coming back with a venegance.

As for Nintendo titles:

Image credited to Konami

Developed by Mystical Ninjas and Midway Games
Published by Nintendo

Ganbare Goemon 2 is the sequel to Goemon's Great Adventure for the Nintendo 64 and supports up to 4 players simultaneously like New Super Mario Brothers Wii U.

Image credited to Konami
Developed by Hudson Soft
Published by Nintendo

With the declining sales of the PlayStation portable, Konami moved production of Bomberman Ultra to the Nintendo Duo.

Both titles release mid 2013.

Next Time: Google Atari takes a crack at their latest console and establishes their partners to take some part of the industry pie.

Edit: All titles that are launch titles have (Launch) next to the title.

 

[Jaiken]

The second day of E3 was taking place and Google Atari was taking the stage.

Atari's spokesperson took the stage: "We know you are wondering what Atari can bring to the gaming market. Microsoft's XBox is too expensive for the common consumer and gaming must be more affordable. Not only that but we must bring all types of gaming experiences to the consumer that they cannot find anywhere else."

An image flashes on screen to show the console:

image credited to Atari

"This is the Atari Sabertooth. It retails for $339.99, has paid online for $20 dollars per year and comes with two controllers. The Atari Sabertooth Pro Controller retails for $50. But enough about that lets hear about who our partners are in the industry."

Google Atari Titles (Launch)

Subsidiaries and Partners

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy (Launch) BattleField 3 (Launch) BioShock HD (Launch) Clay Fighter Digimon Dragon Age Earthworm Jim Elder Scrolls Fallout 3 HD (Launch) Infamous Klonoa Little Big Planet Minecraft (Launch) Mirror's Edge Modder Racers (Launch) Namco Museum (Launch) Resident Evil 5 HD Soul Calibur Sly Cooper 1-3 (Launch) Street Fighter 4 Ultra Arcade Edition Tamagotchi (Built into Console) Tales of Series collection HD (Launch) Tekken HD collection (Launch)

Subsidiaries Bethesda D.I.C.E. Interplay Mojang Sucker Punch Sumo Digital Partners Bandai Namco Capcom E.A.

"All titles will retail for $50 and Tamagotchi is built into the console. We at Google Atari hope you look forward to using our console."

And with that Google Atari's E3 demonstration was over.

Butterfly Effects: Bandai Namco is working with Google Atari to bring titles to the Sabertooth and D.I.C.E. is enjoying the amount of attention their title is getting on the console.

Next Time: Microsoft attempts to get market share with what gamers want: Always Online DRM.

 

[Jaiken]

For the second half of the second day of E3 Microsoft was up to bat.

Phil Harrison took the stage: "Many have asked us, 'Microsoft what do gamers really want?' Well, I will tell you. Always Online DRM. Our data has shown that online games are played at a higher rate than single player games. Gamers also buy new games more than ever before so used games will be a thing of the past.

Here are the titles to look forward to the XBox One”:

Microsoft XBox One Titles (Launch)

List of Subsidiaries and Partners

Banjo and Kazooie 3 (Launch) Call of Duty Black Ops 2 (Launch) Conker's Other Bad Fur Day Crash Bandicoot Triology Dead Rising 3 (Launch) Diablo 3 (Launch) Flight Simulator Forza (Launch) Gears of War Judgement (Launch) Guitar Hero Halo 4 (Launch) Hearthstone (Launch) Heroes of the Storm Jet Force Gemini HD Killer Instinct 2012 Overwatch (Launch) Perfect Dark 2 (Launch) Pirates Dream Psychonauts HD (Launch) Skylanders Spyro the Dragon Reignited (Launch) StarCraft Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD (Launch) Warcraft (Launch)

Microsoft Subsidiaries 343 Studios Activision Blizzard Double Fine Productions inXile Entertainment Ninja THeory Obsidian Entertainment Playground Games Rare The Initiative Toys for Bob Toys for Bob Turn 10 Studios Undead Labs World's Edge Xbox Game Studios Partners Capcom Square Enix Ubisoft Zenimax

"Our console will launch for $399.99 and each XBox One controller retails for $50. XBox One will come preinstalled with World of Warcraft and Hearthstone with one years online subscription to XBox Live. Pay an additional $20 for another year once the free year runs out. All new games retail for $60."

"We at Microsoft believe you will love the games at launch and will look forward to what is to come."

And with that Microsoft's E3 was over.

Next Time: We learn what the new company holds and what they bring to the table as the 'Budget Console'.

 

[Jaiken]

It was the last day of 2011 E3 and the last company was ready to present.

The spokes person reaches into his pocket and pulls out a console and controller.

image credited to gamerant

"This is the iGame. It comes with 32 GB of storage for digital games and retails for $99. The controller costs $30 and each game costs $40.

"These are our partners and developers for the console:"

Franchises (Launch)

Partners and Subsidiaries

Assassin's Creed Dark Cloud 1 & 2 (Launch) Dead or Alive 4 Far Cry 3 God of War Collection Jak & Daxter HD Collection Kill Zone Collection Legend of Dragoon HD (launch) MedEvil HD Megaman Collection HD (Launch) Megaman Legends Collection HD Ninja Gaiden Collection Parapa the Rapa HD Rayman HD collection (Launch) Resistance Splinter Cell Street Fighter 2 & 3 collection (Launch) The Last of Us (Launch) Twisted Metal HD Wipeout HD (Launch)

Partners Capcom Guerilla Koei Tecmo LiverPool Sony Computer Entertainment Ubisoft

"We believe what matters are games that are accessible price wise to the consumer. Not everyone can fork out hundreds of dollars for consoles and we hope our console delivers on that aspect."

And with that E3 was over.

Butterfly Effect: Sony Computer Entertainment is a third party developer and is working with Apple to deliver their newest console the 'iGame'.

Next Time: We learn about the rest of the titles that Nintendo is developing and how each game works.

Threadmark Teasers:

Gaming in the Palm of your Hands
Smash Bros Mayhem
Slice of Gaming Pie

 

[Jaiken]

After E3 was over many gamers were wondering what other titles Nintendo was releasing. Luckily Nintendo had no issue stating what games were coming out in the near future.

image by Konami

Castlevania Lords of Shadow was to be the next installment in the Belmont adventures. It focuses on a new protagonist that vows to take down Alucard as well as Dracula himself.

Developed by Vampire Killers and Published by Nintendo
Releases October 2014

image by Konami

Contra Elite uses the run and gun action as the original but uses extra weapons like flame thrower and rockets. Up to two players can play at once and there are three players to choose from.

Developed by Midway Games and Published by Nintendo
Releases spring 2014

image by Ocean

Fighter's Destiny HD is the rerelease high definition version of Fighter's Destiny from the original Nintendo 64. The game uses a point based system with fights. It also has online play with great netcode.

Developed by Midway Games and Published by Nintendo
Releases January 2014

image credited to Midway Games

Gauntlet Dark Legacy Paths of Evil focuses on destroying the cult followers of Garm by rescuing the 8 realms from their influence. The game has character customization akin to that of Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires and features online play:

video credited to wonderpierrot and Koei Tecmo

Developed by Sumner's Tower and Published by Nintendo
Releases Summer of 2014

Golden Sun The Lunar Nation focuses on where Dark Dawn last left off. Descendants of the cast of 'The Lost Age' take center stage as they investigate Light and Dark Psynergy to combat the Golden Sun's eclipse over the land. There they learn about the Wise one and how he came into creation. The game has online link battles where players can challenge each others teams for prizes and rare loot.

Developed by Camelot Software Planning and Published by Nintendo
Releases September 2014

image credited to Nintendo

Return to Murasame Castle is a Musou beat em up game that focuses on stealth and combos to overwhelm your opponents. It is developed by Nintendo Software Technology and has no online functionality.

Releases October 2014

Nintendo also released a new time block and app for their system called the 'Nintelevision' shows and movies are listed below.

Name of Nintendo's Shows Battalion Wars Bomberman Castlevania Contra Soliders Famicom Detective Club Gauntlet Dark Legacy Golden Sun Kid Icarus Machine X Mysterious Murasame Castle Star Fox Xenoblade

Name of Nintendo's Movies Movies for all ages Animal Crossing Legend of Zelda Metroid Pikmin Pokemon Super Mario Yugioh Adult Movies Eternal Darkness Silent Hill Metal Gear

These shows take over the Cartoon Network block of Friday night from 7 PM to 2 AM and the Movies take place at 2 time slots

9:00 P.M. for all ages movie 1:00 AM for Adult Movies.

Nintendo was serious about bringing new games and to spread their franchises influence and these efforts were shown via the Nintelevision.

 

[Jaiken]

E3 2012 was upon Nintendo and they had some big announcements.

The room went dark and multiple character silhouettes started showing up on the screen.

First it was Villager going into his mail box to retrieve a smash invite and as he ran off more characters showed up.

Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu, Pit, Link, Fox, Samus and Sub-Zero all entered in the television screen representing the Duo Console.

Mario was fighting Bowser in a boxing ring until Villager caught him in a net; however, someone cut Mario out of the net.

All images credited to Evilwaluigi on deviantart.

'Takamaru makes the cut.'

Takamaru starts throwing shuriken until a gold coin knocks his away. Takamaru looks up and sees a certain Blue Haired Ninja.

'Goemon sneaks in'.

The screen moves to Goemon and shows him fighting all the other characters until he tries to hit Bowser. and is stopped by a magic spell.

'Kamek conjures up Mayhem'.

Kamek starts attacking Mario, Goemon and Takamaru with his magic spells he goes to attack Donkey Kong until a certain barrel hits him.

'Dixie Kong breaks in'

Dixie Kong is seen attacking Bowser after knocking out Kamek.

The fighting continues until Master Hand shows up and starts turning characters into trophies. A lone hand stops Master Hand

'Isaac stands his Ground.'

Isaac shows off his Psynergy attack against Master Hand whilst saving Mario and the other characters.

The screen fades to black and Reggie Fils Aime is seen on stage.

"What you just saw is the newest title in the Super Smash Brothers series." "The game is called Super Smash Brothers Mayhem and only releases for the Nintendo Duo."

"Not only that but we have DLC characters for the game. Take a look."

The screen shows a Bear with a packback on with a Bird inside it. 'Banjo and Kazooie and raring to go.'

With that Nintendo's E3 concludes.

Dataminers got ahold of the game and discovered what the full roster looks like:

Blue squares are starting characters
Red squares are unlockable characters
Yellow squares are DLC characters.

Surprising most people was the inclusion of Goro from Mortalk Kombat, Snake from Metal Gear, Jester from Gauntlet Dark Legacy and Talon from Primal Rage. Super Smash Brother Mayhem released in late 2014 and is met with critical acclaim but critics and fans both lamented the absence of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Butterfly Effects: Due to Sega getting back into the gaming market and making their own Smash Brothers, Sonic is no longer in Super Smash Brothers. Without Bandai-Namco co developing the game series Pacman is no longer in neither is Kos-Mos nor T-Elos. Due to the popularity of Xenoblade (the original sold 2 million copies) Riki is added as a character into Mayhem's roster.

 

[Jaiken]

With Super Smash Brothers mayhem coming out in mid 2014 one title shook the Duo Community:

image credited to Nintendo
Developed by Nintendo EPD and Midway Games
Published by Nintendo

That was not the only title to be released though a certain title by Monolith Soft was shown off and its online capabilities was phenomenal.

video credited to kingddd

Developed by Monolith Soft
Published by Nintendo

Xenoblade Chronicles X takes place on the planet Mira after Earth is destroyed in an alien conflict. Humanity must survive on the hostile alien planet and colonize it to survive.

As for console sales.

Nintendo Duo	48, 342,127 units sold
Sega Phoenix	45, 744, 454 units sold
Atari Sabertooth	34, 550, 789 units sold
XBox One	44, 210, 171 units sold
Apple IGame	20, 1273, 100 units sold

Despite the tight race between all gaming consoles Nintendo's Duo was coming out on top with its latest titles helping it push over the edge.

Top selling Titles of Nintendo's Duo
1) Super Smash Brothers Duo
2) Mario Kart 8
3) Splatoon
4) Mortal Kombat 9
5) Metal Gear Revengance
6) Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
7) Super Mario 3d World

Next Time we learn what Nintendo will due in the next generation of consoles.

 

[Jaiken]

With Nintendo and Midway Games riding high on sales it was obvious the next step would be to capitalize the success.

The Late Satoru Iwata had one final idea, a portable home console hybrid, a game system that could be taken anywhere the user desired.

Video credited to Nintendo of America

Sega with their 'Nitro' pushed Sonic into the limelight of which he had never seen and the Chao Garden proved more popular than ever.

Atari's Wildcat continued selling consoles with the release of Fall Out 4 despite the bugs and Mincecraft.

Microsoft's XBox Series X/S wowed gamers with its graphical fidelity and improvements on what families could bring to the table.

And the Apple IGame S12 continued to wow gamers with its affordable gaming price.

Nintendo was riding high with its launch titles of:

1) Breath of The Wild
2) Super Mario Odyssey
3) Mach Rider 2112
4) Splatoon 2
5) Mortal Kombat 10
6) Castle Vania Dark Judgement
7) Metal Gear 5
8) Ganbare Goemon 3 Ghost Exterminator
9) Takamaru's Shogun Adventure
10) Rampage: Kaiju Brawlers
11) NBA Jam Switch
12) NFL Blitz Dream Match

With all these titles in the running Nintendo was pleased with quality sales.

Final Butterfly Effects:

Nintendo's name is known as the one stop for gaming of all ages. Sega is back in business as the alternative to anyone wanting Nintendo's console. Those who wish to cost with top tier graphics go with Microsoft. Atari fulfills the need for Minecraft and Open World Gaming. And Apple provides the budget console for families that just want something affordable. With Mortal Kombat as Nintendo's traditional fighter ARMS doesn't get created.

Nintendo had solidified their place in gaming and was not going to go away anytime soon.

Nintendo Developers	Important Franchises	Partners
1-UP Studio EPD HeadStrong Games Hudson Soft Inevitable Entertainment Jam Blitz Kaiju Productions Kojima Productions Midway Games Monolith Soft Mystical Ninjas NetherRealm Next Level Games NST Retro Studios Silicon Knights Sumner's Tower Surreal Software Team Silent Hill Twisted Productions Vampire Slayers	Animal Crossing Battlaion Wars Bomberman Castlevania Gauntlet Goemon Golden Sun Mach Rider Mario kart Metal Gear Metroid Mortal Kombat Mysterious Murasame Castle NBA Jam NFL Blitz Nintendogs Pokemon Rampage Star Tropics Super Mario Switch Sports Zelda	Capcom Good Feel Grezzo Hal Laboratory Intelligent Systems Koei Tecmo Level-5

Final Smash Ultimate Roster:

Nintelevision swept Cartoon Network with a flurry of popularity that Disney nor Nick could rival. Famicom Detective Club showed that old cartoons could work and Ganbare Goemon was popular for Saturday morning cartoons alongside Pokemon. Other channel holders clamored for Nintendo’s shows but Nintendo stuck with Cartoon Network replacing Teen Titans Go’s Saturday Block. Nintendo’s last acquisition was Dynamo Pictures which had made the Pikmin Shorts and was renamed to ‘Nintendo Pictures’.