I wish you went with my therapy suggestions, but this is fine (kinda). Its not like Michael was the main plot point of this timeline
Changing the Game
- Thread starter StomperYoshi
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My original plan before Leaving Neverland released was to have Jackson use Neverland Ranch as a theme park as opposed to his living quarters, found a record label, and the only children he would spend time with would be his own.
If the controversy blows over, I'd be open to use that idea in another timeline.
Within the next few days expect the computing side of 1985 to be posted.
Gaming in 1985 - An Overview, Part III: The Computers
The GUI Wars
The Macintosh was a spark in the computer industry. By the end of 1984, the graphical user interface was in, and it wasn't long before competing firms would adapt to this new breakthrough. In 1985, Apple would have a major shakeup in management. John Sculley was not impressed with Steve Jobs's refusal to actively develop and release upgrades for the Macintosh, and, as a result, Jobs left Apple due to tension between him and Sculley.
Jobs would soon found NeXT as a potential competitor to Apple. He would contact his old teammate Steve Wozniak to see if he was willing to join him, but Wozniak told Jobs he no longer had interest in the business section of the computer industry. Jobs would spend the next few years eager to patch things up with Wozniak, willing to find at least some way to get working with his old friend again.
Commodore quickly made the move to GUIs with the release of the Amiga 1000, which ran on Amiga OS. It served as an underdog to the Macintosh in terms of popularity, but it would eventually spawn a computer gaming scene equivalent to that of its predecessor, the Commodore 64.
Compaq would follow the steps of Commodore, only this time using a variation of Digital Research's GEM operating system, which Compaq simply named COS (Compaq Operating System). This GUI was introduced alongside the computer that ran it - The Compaq ST.
And finally, the first version of Windows was released. Despite being the first of a line of software that would continue to be developed for decades, it was not very well-received.
The Macintosh was a spark in the computer industry. By the end of 1984, the graphical user interface was in, and it wasn't long before competing firms would adapt to this new breakthrough. In 1985, Apple would have a major shakeup in management. John Sculley was not impressed with Steve Jobs's refusal to actively develop and release upgrades for the Macintosh, and, as a result, Jobs left Apple due to tension between him and Sculley.
Jobs would soon found NeXT as a potential competitor to Apple. He would contact his old teammate Steve Wozniak to see if he was willing to join him, but Wozniak told Jobs he no longer had interest in the business section of the computer industry. Jobs would spend the next few years eager to patch things up with Wozniak, willing to find at least some way to get working with his old friend again.
Commodore quickly made the move to GUIs with the release of the Amiga 1000, which ran on Amiga OS. It served as an underdog to the Macintosh in terms of popularity, but it would eventually spawn a computer gaming scene equivalent to that of its predecessor, the Commodore 64.
Compaq would follow the steps of Commodore, only this time using a variation of Digital Research's GEM operating system, which Compaq simply named COS (Compaq Operating System). This GUI was introduced alongside the computer that ran it - The Compaq ST.
And finally, the first version of Windows was released. Despite being the first of a line of software that would continue to be developed for decades, it was not very well-received.
So Compaq remplace Atari in that regard, and seems we're moving the GUI/windows like interface now, not bad, computers are evolving.
Addendum: Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 - March 13, 1984
When filming a Pepsi commercial, pop superstar Michael Jackson was accidentally burned in a pyrotechnics accident, and was rushed to the hospital. Suffering third-degree burns, he was not expected to love long. On March 13, 1984, the news broke that Jackson had passed. The world mourned.
The Jackson family held a private funeral a few weeks later. Despite the privacy, several high-profile friends of Michael attended the funeral, such as James Brown and Paul McCartney. Even Madonna and Prince, two figures who seemed to rival Jackson in popularity, attended to share their condolences to the grieving Jackson family.
The Jacksons would eventually continue to make music, though not immediately after their brothers death. Jermaine Jackson stated in a magazine that the decision to continue was due to the brothers' belief that Michael was watching them from above, and they wanted to make their brother proud by carrying on his musical legacy. The two sisters of the Jackson family, Janet and LaToya, would later form a group of their own. An album of unreleased demos, entitled Making the Whole World Move, was released in 1985.
The news hit PepsiCo hard. After the incident, Pepsi had laid off its advertising branch and fired the pyrotechnicians who were filming the commercial. However, the company and its soft drinks would be the subject of public blame once Jackson was declared dead. By the end of 1984, PepsiCo lost a significant portion of its market share in the cola industry. This also shook up the Coca-Cola Company, which was planning to change its recipe for Coca-Cola due to its decline in market share. Once Pepsi began to lose steam, however, this caused a major shakedown in the company, as the cause of its new project was no longer an issue.
PepsiCo was not the only company to be hit by the megastar's death. Sega, which had planned to sell its home arcades in North America, caught the interest of Jackson as he was willing to invest in the business. Jackson was hospitalized before a deal could be made. Gene Lipkin, President of Sega of America at the time, stated that he didn't feel like going to work the day Jackson died. After Jackson's passing, a myriad of other companies and firms looked into partnering with or purchasing Sega, but ultimately none would do so. By 1985, it was thought that Sega would end up only selling home arcades in Japan.
I hope that Sega still ends up in the American console market at some point, even if it is pretty crowded. Maybe they can still release the Mega Drive at some point?
Michael Joseph Jackson
August 29, 1958 - March 13, 1984
When filming a Pepsi commercial, pop superstar Michael Jackson was accidentally burned in a pyrotechnics accident, and was rushed to the hospital. Suffering third-degree burns, he was not expected to love long. On March 13, 1984, the news broke that Jackson had passed. The world mourned.
The Jackson family held a private funeral a few weeks later. Despite the privacy, several high-profile friends of Michael attended the funeral, such as James Brown and Paul McCartney. Even Madonna and Prince, two figures who seemed to rival Jackson in popularity, attended to share their condolences to the grieving Jackson family.
The Jacksons would eventually continue to make music, though not immediately after their brothers death. Jermaine Jackson stated in a magazine that the decision to continue was due to the brothers' belief that Michael was watching them from above, and they wanted to make their brother proud by carrying on his musical legacy. The two sisters of the Jackson family, Janet and LaToya, would later form a group of their own. An album of unreleased demos, entitled Making the Whole World Move, was released in 1985.
The news hit PepsiCo hard. After the incident, Pepsi had laid off its advertising branch and fired the pyrotechnicians who were filming the commercial. However, the company and its soft drinks would be the subject of public blame once Jackson was declared dead. By the end of 1984, PepsiCo lost a significant portion of its market share in the cola industry. This also shook up the Coca-Cola Company, which was planning to change its recipe for Coca-Cola due to its decline in market share. Once Pepsi began to lose steam, however, this caused a major shakedown in the company, as the cause of its new project was no longer an issue.
PepsiCo was not the only company to be hit by the megastar's death. Sega, which had planned to sell its home arcades in North America, caught the interest of Jackson as he was willing to invest in the business. Jackson was hospitalized before a deal could be made. Gene Lipkin, President of Sega of America at the time, stated that he didn't feel like going to work the day Jackson died. After Jackson's passing, a myriad of other companies and firms looked into partnering with or purchasing Sega, but ultimately none would do so. By 1985, it was thought that Sega would end up only selling home arcades in Japan.
I'm more keen on them releasing it on their own and seeing how the road goes from there, but then again, this is your timeline so I guess you do you.
Gaming in 1986 - An Overview, Part I
Nintendo AVS
After a surprisingly successful launch in New York, Nintendo would release the NES nationwide in 1986. The home arcade was available in multiple "packs", so to speak, ranging from a simple pack with just the control deck, controllers, and Super Mario Bros. as an inexpensive option, to a full-sized pack including the keyboard, cassette recorder, and a few BASIC cartridges.
As for games, the launch titles were now available nationwide, as well as ports of Nintendo's previous arcade hits such as Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Third-party games such as Gradius and Ghosts 'n Goblins also saw a rise in popularity.
However, Nintendo of America had a bit of catching up to do - across the Pacific, Nintendo of Japan released a disk-based add-on for the Famicom, and from what was demonstrated, the games on that were more of an experience compared to those on the vanilla Famicom. Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln were quick to greenlight the Famicom Disk System's statewide equivalent.
Vectrex
"So one day this kid showed up to class with a Vectrex. And it amazed the rest of us, you know? We challenged each other with all the games he had for it, and had a damn good time. Naturally, the teacher called it a distraction and it was banned from our school by the end of the week."
- Interviewee on VH1's "I Love 1985"
Hasbro had a hit on their hands. The Vectrex sold 3 million units in 1986 alone, and Hasbro owes it to games based on their properties such as My Little Pony and Transformers.
Intellivision III
The Intellivision III was planned to be a continuation of its predecessors, but the surprising success of the Nintendo AVS led the development of the Intellivision III to a more modular system. The controllers are now wireless, and features such as three-channel sound, 8-bit graphics, and speech synthesis are now built-in. The high launch price of $300 in 1986 put off plenty of potential customers, but Mattel would be quick to provide price cuts during the holiday season.
After a surprisingly successful launch in New York, Nintendo would release the NES nationwide in 1986. The home arcade was available in multiple "packs", so to speak, ranging from a simple pack with just the control deck, controllers, and Super Mario Bros. as an inexpensive option, to a full-sized pack including the keyboard, cassette recorder, and a few BASIC cartridges.
As for games, the launch titles were now available nationwide, as well as ports of Nintendo's previous arcade hits such as Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong. Third-party games such as Gradius and Ghosts 'n Goblins also saw a rise in popularity.
However, Nintendo of America had a bit of catching up to do - across the Pacific, Nintendo of Japan released a disk-based add-on for the Famicom, and from what was demonstrated, the games on that were more of an experience compared to those on the vanilla Famicom. Minoru Arakawa and Howard Lincoln were quick to greenlight the Famicom Disk System's statewide equivalent.
Vectrex
"So one day this kid showed up to class with a Vectrex. And it amazed the rest of us, you know? We challenged each other with all the games he had for it, and had a damn good time. Naturally, the teacher called it a distraction and it was banned from our school by the end of the week."
- Interviewee on VH1's "I Love 1985"
Hasbro had a hit on their hands. The Vectrex sold 3 million units in 1986 alone, and Hasbro owes it to games based on their properties such as My Little Pony and Transformers.
Intellivision III
The Intellivision III was planned to be a continuation of its predecessors, but the surprising success of the Nintendo AVS led the development of the Intellivision III to a more modular system. The controllers are now wireless, and features such as three-channel sound, 8-bit graphics, and speech synthesis are now built-in. The high launch price of $300 in 1986 put off plenty of potential customers, but Mattel would be quick to provide price cuts during the holiday season.
I knew Vectrex would be massive, this a single game gameboy years before that one...
Gaming in 1986 - An Overview, Part II
"You know what? Let's just do this ourselves."
- Bruce Lowry, President of Sega of America
Atari ProSystem
Atari's third cartridge-based home arcade made it to shelves in May 1986. Given the relatively high costs of the Nintendo AVS and the Intellivision III, Atari tried to accommodate consumers by making it comparatively more affordable.
Performance-wise, it was a small step above the SuperSystem. The home arcade launched with a lineup of arcade game ports, but, thanks to games like Super Mario Bros., gamers were more interested in original home arcade titles. As a result, the ProSystem started off lagging behind the competition.
"The ColecoVision 2, originally announced for a winter 1986 release, has suddenly been delayed to summer 1987 instead. Arnold Greenberg, CEO of Coleco, has stated that this delay is so that Coleco can "catch up with the competition." At this point, this move is a bit of a risk, as more and more home arcade enthusiasts are flocking to said competition, so the ColecoVision 2 would have to be a smash hit if Coleco wants it to be a success."
- Business article in The Hartford Courant
Sega Master System
Sega would finally throw their hat in the ring. After a few years of failed partnerships, Sega had no choice but to release the Master System on their own in September, with an introductory price of $200. One of the launch games, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, was heavily marketed as Sega's response to Super Mario Bros., and would end up being their best-selling game by the end of the year as a result.
- Bruce Lowry, President of Sega of America
Atari ProSystem
Atari's third cartridge-based home arcade made it to shelves in May 1986. Given the relatively high costs of the Nintendo AVS and the Intellivision III, Atari tried to accommodate consumers by making it comparatively more affordable.
Performance-wise, it was a small step above the SuperSystem. The home arcade launched with a lineup of arcade game ports, but, thanks to games like Super Mario Bros., gamers were more interested in original home arcade titles. As a result, the ProSystem started off lagging behind the competition.
"The ColecoVision 2, originally announced for a winter 1986 release, has suddenly been delayed to summer 1987 instead. Arnold Greenberg, CEO of Coleco, has stated that this delay is so that Coleco can "catch up with the competition." At this point, this move is a bit of a risk, as more and more home arcade enthusiasts are flocking to said competition, so the ColecoVision 2 would have to be a smash hit if Coleco wants it to be a success."
- Business article in The Hartford Courant
Sega Master System
Sega would finally throw their hat in the ring. After a few years of failed partnerships, Sega had no choice but to release the Master System on their own in September, with an introductory price of $200. One of the launch games, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, was heavily marketed as Sega's response to Super Mario Bros., and would end up being their best-selling game by the end of the year as a result.
RCA struck lightning by entering the camcorder industry, so they're not in the dire financial situation they were IOTL. GE may buy them in the 90s, though.
Given how badly PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company were hit by Michael Jackson's death and New Coke respectively, RC Cola has emerged as a strong third pillar. However, the soft drink industry took a dive in general as consumers are now looking for alternative drinks instead.