AH Challenge: Nintendo remains the most populer video game company

well the only thing i can really think of is the 64 adopting discs so that squenix would stay with them instead of going to the PS
 
This is all corporate stuff, and let's face it, if Microsoft wants to play, it can play. Figure that all this would take is Microsoft deciding to enter the gaming market by buying Nintendo (as well as pushing the whole industry around by virtue of their colossal size). Microsoft owns Nintendo now, but because Nintendo has a pretty good idea of what they are doing they are generally left alone, except for one critical point.

Microsoft throws big $$$ at them, and tells them to dominate the market. Figure this would all be happening at towards the end days of the Super Nintendo Era, and now Microsoft shows up and decides to bet on the winner, putting massive investment into Project: Dolphin.

Dolphin, or the "Nintendo 256" as it would be known as it reaches the market, is the result of having a stronger machine with better technology than its rivals. It follows a CD format like Playstation, but it is a higher quality system all-around, with major games emerging to support it. Sega is already struggling, and in this situation, Sony's fortunes are also failing--they fail to wrestle control of Square-Enix away from Nintendo, which is emerging as a massive market leader. The Playstation is all-around weaker than the N256, and the Saturn is a pushover.

The Next generation of consoles makes the disparity even worse. The Sega Dreamcast and Sony PS2 can not compete against Microsoft's (Anti-competitive) efforts. Third Parties face massive pressure from Microsoft, which seeks to augment a rising fortune in the VG industry by tying third parties into its own system. The Nintendo Gamecube reveals some of the best series' in the VG industry--Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Super Smash Brothers, MegaMan. Sega, now starving for money and facing a system with very little gaming potential and obsolete hardware, ends up becoming Microsoft-Nintendo's "Frenemy", a piece of controlled competition kept afloat, ironically, by Microsoft's own investment in it. Sony, on the other hand, keeps just a toehold in the market by allowing the PS systems to read DVDs, turning its once gaming consoles into DVD players with fun accessories. It's enough for Microsoft to once again avoid a monopoly charge.

The Nintendo Hardware, however, is no longer pushed as hard as it used to be. The Gamecube, a formidable system six years ago, is still around as the premiere system in the gaming sector today, and R&D has been relaxed in the absence of strong competition. Still, with third parties all vying to "Serve the Master" better than the others and with Microsoft using control of Windows AND the games industry to great advantage, the console market becomes similar to the OS market--few choices, but the choice offers essentially everything.
 
A bit of history.

In order to get a successful console, you need third party support. What killed this for Nintendo is the company's own president. He would only allow third party companies to make games for Nintendo with explicit permission. That lead to Nintendo and Square falling out post-SNES, and why all the third parties flocked to the Playstation. Nintendo was able to survive this drought because it still had strong first-party titles that sold by the millions, as well as the handheld market to bolster their bank account. It wasn't until he resigned midway through the life of the Gamecube did Nintendo's situation start improving.

So, you need to find a way to get him to resign earlier.
 
This is all corporate stuff, and let's face it, if Microsoft wants to play, it can play. Figure that all this would take is Microsoft deciding to enter the gaming market by buying Nintendo (as well as pushing the whole industry around by virtue of their colossal size). Microsoft owns Nintendo now, but because Nintendo has a pretty good idea of what they are doing they are generally left alone, except for one critical point.

Microsoft throws big $$$ at them, and tells them to dominate the market. Figure this would all be happening at towards the end days of the Super Nintendo Era, and now Microsoft shows up and decides to bet on the winner, putting massive investment into Project: Dolphin.

Dolphin, or the "Nintendo 256" as it would be known as it reaches the market, is the result of having a stronger machine with better technology than its rivals. It follows a CD format like Playstation, but it is a higher quality system all-around, with major games emerging to support it. Sega is already struggling, and in this situation, Sony's fortunes are also failing--they fail to wrestle control of Square-Enix away from Nintendo, which is emerging as a massive market leader. The Playstation is all-around weaker than the N256, and the Saturn is a pushover.

The Next generation of consoles makes the disparity even worse. The Sega Dreamcast and Sony PS2 can not compete against Microsoft's (Anti-competitive) efforts. Third Parties face massive pressure from Microsoft, which seeks to augment a rising fortune in the VG industry by tying third parties into its own system. The Nintendo Gamecube reveals some of the best series' in the VG industry--Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Super Smash Brothers, MegaMan. Sega, now starving for money and facing a system with very little gaming potential and obsolete hardware, ends up becoming Microsoft-Nintendo's "Frenemy", a piece of controlled competition kept afloat, ironically, by Microsoft's own investment in it. Sony, on the other hand, keeps just a toehold in the market by allowing the PS systems to read DVDs, turning its once gaming consoles into DVD players with fun accessories. It's enough for Microsoft to once again avoid a monopoly charge.

The Nintendo Hardware, however, is no longer pushed as hard as it used to be. The Gamecube, a formidable system six years ago, is still around as the premiere system in the gaming sector today, and R&D has been relaxed in the absence of strong competition. Still, with third parties all vying to "Serve the Master" better than the others and with Microsoft using control of Windows AND the games industry to great advantage, the console market becomes similar to the OS market--few choices, but the choice offers essentially everything.

Um... Dolophin was the Gamecube. Look it up on ign if you need to
 
REMAINS the most popular company?
You would have to go way back for that, the NES was the only nintendo console (minus handhelds) that was the most popular. The Mega Drive was better then the SNES during the main 16-bit era (the SNES only overtaking once Sega were busy moving onto the next generation).

But to make nintendo remain popular in general...I guess the N64 CD thing is a big deal. Also don't make the n64 come out so damn late. The 32 bit era was a straight contest between Sega and Sony. Nintendo showed so late that Sony had already won by then.
 
Perhaps in thsi scenario, the Wii would be the best selling platform?

You're being sarcastic, right? The Wii is the best selling platform with the global lead in installed base and a projected pass-the-Xbox360-in-the-US install base sometime this year.

REMAINS the most popular company?
You would have to go way back for that, the NES was the only nintendo console (minus handhelds) that was the most popular. The Mega Drive was better then the SNES during the main 16-bit era (the SNES only overtaking once Sega were busy moving onto the next generation).

In the US, yes, and the Sega Genesis led in Europe throughout but looking at global install bases (i.e. adding Japan, where the Genesis fizzled) the SNES was the most popular worldwide for most of its existence.
 
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