Blue Phoenix: How Sega Won the War
- Thread starter Huehuecoyotl
- Start date
Holy crap you're alive Hey so I'm sorry for getting this whole thing locked while you were away My apologies
Is it possible that Sega will start fumbling the bag by the sixth or seventh generation? Maybe not to the point of vowing out of making consoles like OTL, but rather correcting and changing course like Nintendo and Sony IOTL? And will Microsoft still enter the console business like OTL, or will they collaborate with Sega for TTL's Dreamcast (or whatever it will be called ITTL)? A 4-way war between Nintendo, Sega, Sony and Microsoft could be interesting. And will this TL cover things outside of video games as well, like pop culture, politics, etc.?
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
I won't speak much about my 6th and 7th gen plans at this time, but I can tell you that Microsoft will never become a competitor in the console war in this timeline. Other companies will try it out in their place.
I do plan for this to go outside of video games and extend to other pop culture media, but I've decided to avoid any mention of political events in this timeline.
Update 9: Early 1996
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
It’s Out There: The Story of Saturn (cont.)
excerpt from the book, published August 2017
excerpt from the book, published August 2017
As the holiday season disappeared into the rear view mirror, Sega and Sony sized each other up and prepared for the next phase of their unfolding battle. There were already warning signs that Sony would not meekly accept Saturn’s continuing lead, but Sega, riding high on its 1995 successes, was not too inclined to notice at first. Their aura of invincibility seemed to be backed up with the praise of the gaming press for their exclusives released in the first three months of 1996, including the excellent beat ‘em up “Guardian Heroes”, developed by Treasure, the same team who brought “Gunstar Heroes” to the Genesis two years before.
They received a shot across their bow at about the same time, however, as Sony published “Rapid Reload” in North America just a month later, a game somewhat aping the formula Treasure had perfected. Comparing each 2D sidescroller to the other, the gaming press was hard pressed to say which they preferred. Although most agreed that “Guardian Heroes” was the more visually beautiful and graphically complex game, owing to the Saturn’s strength with sprite graphics, many reviewers found “Rapid Reload” more exciting to play. Both games would ultimately sell more or less on parity with each other, performing well in early 1996.
The RPG market, which had been such a sore point for PlayStation in 1995, would see Sony begin to fight back. One of the first PS1 RPGs, “King’s Field” by FromSoftware, went up against “Terranigma” by Enix for the Saturn. In the duel between the 3D dungeon crawler and the sprite-based JRPG, it was hard to say which one really succeeded in swaying more hearts. The graphics of “King’s Field” were a major hit, while the music and world of “Terranigma” ensnared the imaginations of many gamers whose appetites were whetted on the previous year’s JRPG releases. Both games would enjoy commercial success.
Sony had no particular answer to “Panzer Dragoon II Zwei” from Team Andromeda at Sega, the sequel to the immensely popular launch title for the Saturn. Perfecting what many saw as the mechanical shortcomings of its predecessor, “Zwei” impressed the gaming press with its infinitely scrolling backdrops, dense environments, and creative enemies. Encouraged by the success of their titles so far, it was announced that a third mainline “Panzer Dragoon” game would be developed. However, development would first be shifting to the tentatively titled “Panzer Dragoon RPG”, which was expected to release in late 1997.
As the spring months turned to summer, the release of the Nintendo 64 loomed large, and the eyes of the gaming public turned to the sophomore E3 conference. Anticipation was high as the fifth-generation console war prepared to enter a new stage…
----
Just a short and sweet update to help me get back into the swing of things. E3 '96 is coming up next.
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
Hey, I was only gone 6 months this time, that might as well be a coffee break by my standards. 
Good to have you back Hue.Hey, I was only gone 6 months this time, that might as well be a coffee break by my standards.
In a way yeah but I genuinely forgot about this but once saw the thread up the forum that was a genuine surpriseHey, I was only gone 6 months this time, that might as well be a coffee break by my standards.
Update 10: E3 1996
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
E3 1996
excerpts from a Sega fanblog, retrieved 21 April 2024
If its inaugural year had set the stage for the fifth generation of consoles, E3’s sophomore outing, also at the LA Convention Center, would forecast its expansion into the most heated console war to date. Spanning May 16 - 18, 1996, the show took place during the immediate leadup to the Japanese launch of the Nintendo 64. The gaming public was deeply interested in the effect that Nintendo’s long-awaited console would have on what had already proved to be a vigorous competition between the Saturn and the PlayStation.excerpts from a Sega fanblog, retrieved 21 April 2024
Nobody was surprised that Nintendo would have an outsized appearance at the expo, a display which included hired acrobats and circus performers. The bombast paled in comparison to the public’s first good look at “Super Mario 64”, which sent the hype to stratospheric levels. Sega reps, sulking in the wings around the Nintendo booths, may have grudgingly acknowledged what the visitors from the public were saying: Sonic made it to 3D first, but Mario had certainly arrived with a bigger splash.
Following in the footsteps of Sony and Sega, who had slashed the prices of their consoles in January-February of that year, Nintendo announced its new machine would launch at a $199 MSRP to general approval from the audience.
As well as the ever-reliable plumber, Nintendo showed off a new game in the “DOOM” franchise, a game based on the James Bond film “Goldeneye”, and “Blast Dozer”, impressing the crowds with its 3D graphics as well as the analog stick sported by its controller.
[...]
On its own side of the hall, Sega had plenty of upcoming games to show off. “Nights into Dreams” by Yuji Naka of Sonic fame took pride of place, and its graphics left an impression on visitors. [1] In action games, there was no shortage of excitement on display, including the arcade game “Sonic the Fighters”, due for a home release before the end of the year, “Fighting Vipers”, and “Virtual On: Cyber Troopers”. Attendees would note that, with the possible exceptions of “Fighting Vipers” and “Virtual On”, Sega’s first-party offerings for the expo were very pretty but somewhat lacking in the gameplay department compared with their competitors.
However, the presence of a console port for “The Elder Scrolls: Arena” by Bethesda Softworks, which was advertised as a console-exclusive for the Saturn, turned more than a few heads. 3D RPGs on consoles were still very new, and this conversion of the popular MS-DOS game certainly blew the likes of “Virtual Hydlide” out of the water. This seemingly marked a shot across the bow of Sony, who were hoping to recruit western RPG developers to fulfill the PlayStation’s seeming deficiency in the genre compared with Saturn. Clearly they were not safe from Sega courting developers of their own. [2]
The biggest hit on Sega’s showfloor for the year was unquestionably “Star Wars: Alien Hive”, developed by LucasArts as an exclusive for Saturn. With a primary focus on vehicle combat, it was not the most revolutionary game at the show that year, but Star Wars would prove an attention draw nevertheless. [3]
[...]
Sony was not shy to boast its own upcoming exclusives, including “Ridge Racer Revolution” and “Tekken 2”, both from Namco. It placed considerable emphasis on “Crash Bandicoot” from up-and-comers Naughty Dog, posing the spunky orange marsupial as a mascot of sorts for their show presence. Although “Super Mario 64” drew some attention away, attendees were still impressed by the game and eager to get hands-on with Crash that autumn.
[...]
While the three console superpowers dominated the show, lesser competitors like 3DO and Atari, which had been seen at trade shows in years past, were nowhere to be found. What was once a crowded playing field had more or less been culled down to just the big three. The Jaguar would be quietly discontinued later that year, and while Trip Hawkins was still cheering on his M2 system – which would have a second lease on life away from the brand soon enough – it was clear that 3DO would soon follow suit.
Nevertheless, one other company did have a strong presence at E3 that year: Microsoft, who would represent the PC gaming market with a number of games for Windows, including “Close Combat” and “Hell Bender”.
Although it is not a matter of public record, persistent rumor would have it that E3 1996 was the backdrop for Sega and Microsoft representatives, meeting at the local bars after hours, to lay the foundations for a long-lasting partnership. Sega had just attained a greater interest in the PC gaming market after its recent deal with NEC, and for its own part, Microsoft was sniffing around the increasingly lucrative console market to explore further avenues for profit.
It is clear that the two companies had much to gain from working together, but whether or not this partnership truly began at E3 1996, we cannot say for certain…
----
[1] - Because of the development of “Sonic the Hedgehog 4”, “Nights” was delayed by several months to November 1996 in Japan and early 1997 in North America.
[2] - Believe it or not, this almost happened IOTL. “Arena” was planned for a console release on Saturn and PSX but seemingly never materialized. Here, Sega opts to make Bethesda a generous offer and secure it as a console exclusive as they become more interested in integrating the console and PC sides of their market presence.
[3] - This Saturn exclusive was famously canceled in real life. We don’t know very many details about what sort of game it would have been, but I’ll go into a bit more detail on this timeline’s version in a future update.
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
I pretty much had all the info written down already, just had to organize it.
That's why was so fastI pretty much had all the info written down already, just had to organize it.
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
Hm, I've only specified that its CPU is a customized NEC processor, similar to the early chips in the V850 series. It clocks at around 28 MHz. That puts it short of the PS1 in terms of core processing, but it makes up for the difference in some of its other components. It's comparable in terms of RAM and VRAM to its OTL counterpart, and of course has the capability of extending RAM through its cartridge slot. It has its own built-in system memory, just like the OTL Saturn, not requiring memory cards as the PS1 and N64 did. Broadly speaking, it's comparable in its capabilities to the OTL Saturn, just based on a single CPU architecture instead of a dual one.
Apologies for not offering more numbers, I lack a foundation in electronics hardware and didn't want to step outside my wheelhouse.
I'm surprised you didn't remove that, seeing as it would be an easy way to lower the cost. But yeah, the CPU change alone should make it a lot better, even though the devs still have to deal with 2 GPUs.
Honestly, I've always felt that the real problem with otl's Saturn's hardware is that they didn't make simple enough developers tools for the third party studios. It was expected for everyone to figure it out on their own or later as the money rolled in.
Also, has anyone here watched Sega Lord X's Let's save Sega consoles series?
Last edited:
Huehuecoyotl
Monthly Donor
Oh yes, I adore his channel. His videos, as well as Pandamonium's series about every released American Saturn game, have been inspiring influences for me during this project.