I had a strange dream last night about an ATL:
Firstly, console gaming is more popular in Europe than it was/is in OTL.
In a time period spanning approximately from 1986 to 2004, various European countries start state-owned companies that each develop a uniquely constructed video game console for domestic consumption that is intentionally made incompatible with any other console and has a unique, domestically made library of video games usually inspired by the country's culture and history, also contaning some Nationalist propaganda.
The companies use various tricks, such as writing parts of the code purely in Assembly, and constructing game cartridges containing expansion hardware for games that require it, to get the most out of the consoles, most of which are somewhere between the NES and the Super Nintendo in hardware performance.
The consoles are advertised on state-owned television channels, in schools, sometimes handed out as gifts to children for good academic performance etc. and usually pushed by the State to have a relatively low price, while various tricks are used to keep international consoles like Sega and Nintendo out of the country as much as possible.
One of the most unique of these consoles was made by Russia as late as 2005. At the start-up of each game the Russian flag is displayed while the Russian National Anthem is heard and images of people like Peter the Great, Lenin, Yuri Gagarin, and Putin pop up in the background.
How possible do you think is this ATL? What would need to change in history in the 80s or even earlier for it?
Firstly, console gaming is more popular in Europe than it was/is in OTL.
In a time period spanning approximately from 1986 to 2004, various European countries start state-owned companies that each develop a uniquely constructed video game console for domestic consumption that is intentionally made incompatible with any other console and has a unique, domestically made library of video games usually inspired by the country's culture and history, also contaning some Nationalist propaganda.
The companies use various tricks, such as writing parts of the code purely in Assembly, and constructing game cartridges containing expansion hardware for games that require it, to get the most out of the consoles, most of which are somewhere between the NES and the Super Nintendo in hardware performance.
The consoles are advertised on state-owned television channels, in schools, sometimes handed out as gifts to children for good academic performance etc. and usually pushed by the State to have a relatively low price, while various tricks are used to keep international consoles like Sega and Nintendo out of the country as much as possible.
One of the most unique of these consoles was made by Russia as late as 2005. At the start-up of each game the Russian flag is displayed while the Russian National Anthem is heard and images of people like Peter the Great, Lenin, Yuri Gagarin, and Putin pop up in the background.
How possible do you think is this ATL? What would need to change in history in the 80s or even earlier for it?