Player Two Start: An SNES-CD Timeline

[Neoteros]

-Can we talk about Lissa Fielding's boobs plz guyz?!1 (240 posts)
-oh no samus shouldnt talk this games gonna suk (38 posts)

ATL internet at its most classy.







On the other hand, doing worse than Other M simply isn't possible.

Squad Four: Rebellion gave me some Freedom Fighters vibes. Yes, that cheesy but fun 2003 game about a Soviet invasion of the United States.

Chaos City sounds like a lame Race'n'Chase self-parody/spin-off, but NYPD: Narcotics Squad seems promising. Rockstar won't get to its OTL heights anytime soon, though.

The only thing cooler than Laguna Loire: Laguna Loire piloting a mech.

I bet a thousand Gil and my Yuffie dakimakura on The Victorian Legacy becoming the best Tales of the Seven Seas game ever.

Speaking of Colony-themed games... what about a sequel to Sid Meier's Colonization?

With playable Danish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Couronian and Scottish colonies.

And playable native civilizations, too. TAWANTINSUYU SHALL GROW LARGER!

 

[RySenkari]

Mario RPG 2 incorporating the Brooklyn background for the plumbers, which was only found in Western adaptations? How will Yoshi's Island fit in? Hopefully it'll be just as lighthearted in tone like OTL's Mario RPGs.

I've had this one in mind for a while, so trust me, the answers to all those questions are forthcoming

What of Pokémon Yellow? Is it still a thing?

It is, it's playable at Nintendo's booth but doesn't show up much in coverage. It's coming in October.

I wonder Pokémon Sun and Moon can fit all that in the maximum cart size for the Nova. Heartgold and Soulsilver was 128 MB in size. Pokémon Black and White were 256 MB. It's gonna need a lot of compression.

It'll be on a 32MB cart, so yes, it'll have to be compressed somewhat.

ATL internet at its most classy.

Yeah, some things never change

Squad Four: Rebellion gave me some Freedom Fighters vibes. Yes, that cheesy but fun 2003 game about a Soviet invasion of the United States.

Interesting, it's actually meant to be a bit more serious but knowing Squad Four there will be plenty of lighthearted moments.

Chaos City sounds like a lame Race'n'Chase self-parody/spin-off, but NYPD: Narcotics Squad seems promising. Rockstar won't get to its OTL heights anytime soon, though.

Narcotics Squad isn't Rockstar actually, I can see how you might think that though considering where it came in the presentation.

The only thing cooler than Laguna Loire: Laguna Loire piloting a mech.

Hehehehe, yes we will indeed see Laguna and his friends show up during TTL Final Fantasy VIII.

I bet a thousand Gil and my Yuffie dakimakura on The Victorian Legacy becoming the best Tales of the Seven Seas game ever.

It's different from the other two, in some ways yes it will be the best TotSS game, in other ways it's a bit contentious, you'll see more of it in the coming months.

Speaking of Colony-themed games... what about a sequel to Sid Meier's Colonization?

Could be possible in the coming years, sure.

 

[ANARCHY_4_ALL]

After that read all I can say is... now I am hungry

 

[Nivek]

I wonder Pokémon Sun and Moon can fit all that in the maximum cart size for the Nova. Heartgold and Soulsilver was 128 MB in size. Pokémon Black and White were 256 MB. It's gonna need a lot of compression.

I
It'll be on a 32MB cart, so yes, it'll have to be compressed somewhat.
.

Well, we have the right man to do the job: Turn on HAL Signal

In theory as less pokemon and the game will be optimized for Nova, specially as botth Ninty and Sony will funnel lionshare to make the killer app keep killing it

 

[Golden Darkness]

It'll be on a 32MB cart, so yes, it'll have to be compressed somewhat.

Huh.

All the GBA Pokémon games were 16 MB in OTL.

Anyway, when is the Japan launch, and is the anime synced to launch alongside it? And for that matter the GBN launch in Japan.

 

[Nivek]

Huh.

All the GBA Pokémon games were 16 MB in OTL.

Anyway, when is the Japan launch, and is the anime synced to launch alongside it? And for that matter the GBN launch in Japan.

Yeah OTL GBA and those game just standback on features each one(neither have true day-night cycle, berries were iregular, irregular post game content,etc) letts sayt here thing are interesting and if see previous answer make sense how will be.

Well Anime is something with pop update or when the game comes, not mayor suprises yet...

GBN launch in japan this holidays(as decemeber 1999 because japan did not celebrated christmas fully) and march 2000 for the 'west'.

 

[TheAngryMan]

O...

M...

G...


There were so many amazing moments in this update that I literally don't know where to start, but I'll give it my best shot.

The Sega Presentation was awesome. I've said before that this timeline made me sympathize with Sega, but this presentation was the first time I've really wanted to own their console. Sonic 5 looks just as good as it's predecessors, and the other upcoming games on the system look to be no slouches either, with Commander Keen and NYPD sticking out as ones I'm interested in. As for everyone in universe ragging on Sega for not showing the Katana, I feel like that was a "damned if you do, damned in you don't" situation. Sure, it's reveal would have given Sega a leg up on Nintendo, but at the same time that could have killed what momentum the Saturn still had, which, combined with the fact that the Katana was at least a year away from release, means that Sega could have seen even worse sales as potential new buyers decide to simply wait for the new system instead of buying the current one. There was no real good way to avoid that double edged sword.

Now on to Nintendo-Sony's conference...

Absolute-Brilliance.

I don't even know what to say aside from that. They certainly earned the accolade of having the single greatest E3 Presentation of all time. I'm struggling to even remember everything that was revealed, So i'll try and stick to the basics. The UNES has got an amazing lineup of games coming up. Squad Four: Rebellion, Ultra Donkey Kong Country, Velvet Dark, Final Fantasy VIII, Super Mario RPG 2, Tales of the Seven Seas: The Victorian Legacy, and so many more. But the title I'm hyped for the most is Metroid: Darkness. I have been patiently awaiting this ever since it was first teased back in 1995-1996, And it's looking to be everything I could have ever hoped it to be. But how can I talk about the Nintendo Presentation without talking about the Nova. I have to say, I was worried for a time that it would be a bridge to far for Nintendo and Sony to handle, but it's looking to be absolutely amazing. The fact that there will be numerous SNES titles ported to the system with graphical updates is just the icing on the cake. The only thing I could even find to complain about is that there's no confirmation for or against Cyndaquil still being the fire starter in Sun and Moon, even though Totodile and Chikorita were both confirmed.

And, to top it all off, a bunch of excellent PC games that barely got any mention, from what Irrational Games is making instead of System Shock 2, Junction Point, or as I jokingly called it Heart of Darkness...IN SPACE, to the epic Space RTS Homeworld, and, of course, the multiplayer classic Team Fortress.

This was probably the best update in the entire TL so far. All i have to say, is thank you. Thank Your for one of the most enjoyable Timelines i have ever had the pleasure of reading on this site.

 

[Pyro]

Just wanted to let you guys know, I'm working on finishing the second part to TTL's Power Rangers Turbo. I might do a write up on their version of In Space, but I would probably leave Lost Galaxy onward to someone else.

 

[Electric Monk]

No time tonight alas for long comments, but I wanted to say how happy I am in the expanded role of women heroes and characters in video games as you've presented it. (This timeline I feel is a (very mild) utopia, which I'm cool with given the forum's usual slant lol, but Nintendo certainly needs a comeuppance )

I never realized until (well, guess (GG), ugh) how bad some video gaming culture is today--being a Canadian insulates you in odd ways from America despite overall closeness--and it is super awesome to see how many more female characters exist in video games ITTL. So congrats!

(If you put some zombies in as well my friend/ex would go wild, she loves COD zombies: so depressing the fall of couch co-op for so many games IOTL.)

 

[Roger Redux]

First and foremost I must congratulate you on creating a teaser that makes OTL Sonic Adventure 1 sound lame! Sonic 5 sounds absolutely incredible! Like the best of SA1 and Sonic Unleashed put together!
Chaos City sounds like something I would play the hell out of; NYPD sounds like a game changer, sleeper hit indeed; Troublemakers 2 sounds awesome, just the mental image of someone THROWING A MOON at a giant robot put a huge grin on my face; so Turok has a sister now, cool, it seems like everyone has a sister ITTL except Sonic. I wonder if I have a sister ITTL?

That having been said, even I can admit to being damn impressed with Nintendo's show. Squad Four sound's epic; Tales of the Seven Seas 3 is one that I look forward to a full write-up on later; Metroid, just METROID! Fire Emblem sounds cool; Final Fantasy VIII sounds really cool, I can't help but wonder if TTL Spoony likes this one? Will they release a physical Magic: the Gathering/Yu-Gi-Oh/PokeMon style Triple Triad card game as a promo/tie-in?

When I first started reading the write up for Outfoxed, I expected it to be a StarFox spin-off Also Primrose Soldier and Rise A Knight sound like they could be really cool.

Also I agree with The Angry Man, whether or not to mention the Katana was a no-win scenario, and I think they made the best (or the least bad) choice that they could've.

Lyssa: ….*begins rapidly shoving the burger in her mouth to make the evidence disappear* ...no!

If my TTL self were at all on the fence in the 'Brittany or Lyssa' debate, that moment probably would've put me in the Lyssa camp

otl genesis name was because mega drive trademark issues

Yeah, I finally found out the details of that. There was a small manufacturer of hard disk drives and such in Arizona (or maybe it was New Mexico, but I think it was Arizona) called Mega Drive Inc. If you didn't work there or buy from them, you've never heard of them. They existed from late 1988 to 1992. So literally just long enough to screw SEGA out of their name, because some idiot at the trademark office thought there would be confusion. *SIGH* Bureaucrats. Not that Genesis is a bad name, and it is what I'm used to calling it, but (now that I know the name exists) Mega Drive was a cool name too, it just annoys me that they would have to change it over some pissant company whose ONLY lasting achievement is making SEGA rename their console.

 

[woweed]

First of all: I am a firm believer in Mario & Luigi being from Brooklyn and i'm happy it's canon ITTL! Secondly, Jesus Christ Nintendo, you have a lot of good games coming! I can barely remember all of them, and it's probably why I only just now finishing reading the update though, as a Nintendo loyalist, i'm not complaining. I'm happy as fuck, in fact. If I lived in TTL's upcoming 1999 and early 2000, i'd probably die of sleep deprivation from playing all these games Also, correct my math, but next is the June update then Pop Culture Update, right? I'm really looking forward to the Pop Culture this year, given what we've heard on Man of Tomorrow and Fantastic Four.

 

[RySenkari]

Well, we have the right man to do the job: Turn on HAL Signal

In theory as less pokemon and the game will be optimized for Nova, specially as botth Ninty and Sony will funnel lionshare to make the killer app keep killing it

Correct, if anyone could bring the Nova Pokemon games down to a reasonable size, it's Iwata

Anyway, when is the Japan launch, and is the anime synced to launch alongside it? And for that matter the GBN launch in Japan.

The Nova and Pokemon Sun and Moon both launch in Japan in the fall of 1999. As for the anime, we'll get back to you on that.

This was probably the best update in the entire TL so far. All i have to say, is thank you. Thank Your for one of the most enjoyable Timelines i have ever had the pleasure of reading on this site.

Thank you very much, I'm really glad you're enjoying it so far

No time tonight alas for long comments, but I wanted to say how happy I am in the expanded role of women heroes and characters in video games as you've presented it. (This timeline I feel is a (very mild) utopia, which I'm cool with given the forum's usual slant lol, but Nintendo certainly needs a comeuppance )

I never realized until (well, guess (GG), ugh) how bad some video gaming culture is today--being a Canadian insulates you in odd ways from America despite overall closeness--and it is super awesome to see how many more female characters exist in video games ITTL. So congrats!

Glad you're enjoying it! The increased role of women in games has definitely been a recurring theme ITTL, starting with the popularity of Carmen Sandiego and the early Western launch of Final Fantasy V (featuring a majority female playable cast), so from there it just snowballed. That along with the bigger emphasis on storyline/characters due to CD-ROM coming to prominence early on I think pushed games ahead several years. As for Nintendo's comeuppance, Nintendo/Sony will have some problems later on but right now it'd be spoilers to say when and how big those problems would be. ^_^;;

I'm not sure how long the improvement in video game culture will last, what with the rapid rise of the internet and online gaming, which I think has contributed somewhat to that problem. I do think GameTV and its prominent female hosts Brittany and Lyssa have significantly helped, the two of them are probably higher in profile than any female game journalist has ever been IOTL (even Morgan Webb, since G4 was a digital cable channel). That said, despite being insulated from it somewhat by their fellow hosts, and despite being two of the most highly respected figures in gaming by this point, Brittany and Lyssa have undoubtedly faced a staggering amount of sexism from the gaming community at large (that GAF topic about Lyssa being an example of that). Still, the two of them have been hugely impactful in helping girls get into gaming and have inspired the creation of some female characters in games as well.

(If you put some zombies in as well my friend/ex would go wild, she loves COD zombies: so depressing the fall of couch co-op for so many games IOTL.)

Zombies, hmm? In which game?

First and foremost I must congratulate you on creating a teaser that makes OTL Sonic Adventure 1 sound lame! Sonic 5 sounds absolutely incredible! Like the best of SA1 and Sonic Unleashed put together!
Chaos City sounds like something I would play the hell out of; NYPD sounds like a game changer, sleeper hit indeed; Troublemakers 2 sounds awesome, just the mental image of someone THROWING A MOON at a giant robot put a huge grin on my face; so Turok has a sister now, cool, it seems like everyone has a sister ITTL except Sonic. I wonder if I have a sister ITTL?

Believe it or not, Turok had a sister IOTL! And she's introduced in Turok 3.

That having been said, even I can admit to being damn impressed with Nintendo's show. Squad Four sound's epic; Tales of the Seven Seas 3 is one that I look forward to a full write-up on later; Metroid, just METROID! Fire Emblem sounds cool; Final Fantasy VIII sounds really cool, I can't help but wonder if TTL Spoony likes this one? Will they release a physical Magic: the Gathering/Yu-Gi-Oh/PokeMon style Triple Triad card game as a promo/tie-in?

There won't be physical Triple Triad cards released with the game but I imagine they'll show up as memorabilia later on.

Also, correct my math, but next is the June update then Pop Culture Update, right?

That's correct!

 

[Golden Darkness]

Well, this interview from Sakurai just came up: http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/12/13/sakurai-fe25/

Basically it's all about how Fire Emblem got to be represented in Smash.

 

[Lavanya Six]

That was why, ignoring the advice from his friend Shinobu Toyoda, he'd decided that Sega would not be making any mention of the Katana at the show. The Katana would be formally announced for the first time at the fall trade shows in Japan, but not here at E3. The focus at E3 would be on the Sega Saturn and its killer fall lineup. The Saturn still had a bright future ahead of it, and Kalinske didn't want to undermine that future by showing off the next big thing.

Tom Kalinske's ill-fated decision not to show the Katana at E3 1999 has been cited as one of the industry's biggest mistakes, though knowing what he knew at the time, it's hard to blame him. The Saturn still had more than a pulse, it had a strong heartbeat, and the Saturn was on the verge of entering one of its strongest stretches of games. Kalinske clearly wanted to keep the Saturn alive, and announcing a $149.99 Saturn price cut at Sega's booth on the last day of the show did stop the bleeding at least a little bit. The Ultra Nintendo, however, was still going strong at twice the price of the Saturn, and its first price cut, to $249.99, wouldn't happen until November of that year (to coincide with the release of Squad Four: Rebellion). Whether or not Kalinske's decision was a mistake or not, Sega's continued declining sales inevitably created internal pressure at the company, and that call would come to haunt him sooner rather than later...

I'm guessing that this will be Kalinske's last E3. He's been laying off high- and mid-level staff. The Ultra has totally dominated the Saturn despite them doing basically everything right this generation. It'd also make sense that Sega would try new blood with a new system inbound, and it'd feel like a natural end to his arc in Player Two Start.

That said, I do wonder how Sega will market itself going forward. I'm not sure if it was intentional but, from the way this TL has been written, it has seemed like Sega has had confused branding ever since they announced the Saturn's price point (high compared to the SNES-CD). They're not the most powerful console anymore. They tried online stuff but the infrastructure wasn't quite developed enough to support it yet. They're not really pushing more 'mature' content than Nintendo anymore (read: gore and tits). They're cheaper than the Ultra, but they look cheaper too, unless you shell out extra money for the Ring. They've got an air of being more "arcade-y" but only on certain titles, and even then that seems like more of a Japan-centric marketing strategy given that arcades are fading away at this point in North America. There's been no really consistent narrative to the Saturn's marketing.

 

[Pyro]

Yeah, that seems to be a problem. Yet if that is the case then I could see Kalinske's successor reviewing what went wrong in the fifth generation, and applying those lessons to the sixth. In regards to online infrastructure, it should really coming into its own by the sixth generation and I believe there was an implication that the Katana will still have an online strategy. Furthermore, Bill Gates mentioned that Microsoft found a niche in the market in that interview with Forbes in 2005. Depending how to interpret that, Microsoft's entry into that market may have a more detrimental effect on Nintendo/Sony than it would Sega.

 

[Lavanya Six]

Depending how to interpret that, Microsoft's entry into that market may have a more detrimental effect on Nintendo/Sony than it would Sega.

...an odd thought just occurred to me. We've been assuming that Microsoft would enter the home console market, but what if they focused on mobile instead? That one phone call teased a Microsoft/Apple alliance. While Jobs wasn't keen on getting into gaming, an earlier ATL iPhone could make a lot of sense.

 

[woweed]

Yeah, that seems to be a problem. Yet if that is the case then I could see Kalinske's successor reviewing what went wrong in the fifth generation, and applying those lessons to the sixth. In regards to online infrastructure, it should really coming into its own by the sixth generation and I believe there was an implication that the Katana will still have an online strategy. Furthermore, Bill Gates mentioned that Microsoft found a niche in the market in that interview with Forbes in 2005. Depending how to interpret that, Microsoft's entry into that market may have a more detrimental effect on Nintendo/Sony than it would Sega.

I think there might personal reasons as to why you, specifically, would interpret it that way

 

[GeorgeUK]

Is it too early to speculate on TTL's Railworks/Train Simulator?

 

[TheAngryMan]

One last E3 question, this time about voice actors. First, is Jaleel White going to reprise his role as Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 5, and second, will Anna Gunn be voicing Samus in Metroid: Darkness. I'm especially interested in the second one since you kept your lips sealed about it when I was speculating about such a development when it was first revealed that Gunpei Yokoi was planning a new Metroid game for the UNES and that Gunn was Samus' voice actor by 2015 in rapid succession.

 

[Pyro]

...an odd thought just occurred to me. We've been assuming that Microsoft would enter the home console market, but what if they focused on mobile instead? That one phone call teased a Microsoft/Apple alliance. While Jobs wasn't keen on getting into gaming, an earlier ATL iPhone could make a lot of sense.

Yeah, I was thinking that too. Though I wonder how much a hybrid handheld gaming device/cellphone would cost and how capable it would be compared to a first-generation iPhone... I'll be quiet now.

I think there might personal reasons as to why you, specifically, would interpret it that way

Uh oh, busted.