Tons of Bits and Bytes - A Gaming TL

[Deleted member 100251]

Thoughts on the Ultra

Sony executives were surprised that Nintendo chose to use CDs for their console, following the SNES-CD debacle. Seeing the power and support the Ultra received they knew it was going to be an upward battle from then on. Feeling threatened by Nintendo, in order to ensure their own survival, SCEI started to branch out.
The Sony ZN-1 was nice but executives weren’t satisfied. So… they reached out to Namco. This in turn offended Capcom, whom was starting to sway towards Nintendo.
While SEGA ruled console edutainment with the Pico, that was soon going to change.


SEGA was in a sticky situation. The PS1 was already outselling the Saturn, and the Ultra was just a nail in the coffin. With the Saturn proving unsatisfactory, they began work on their next console.
Another interest was in the handheld market, which was pretty stagnant in terms of new hardware. Although the Game Boy dominated, SEGA wanted to try again.


The 3DO console died because of Panasonic. Panasonic had betrayed them for Nintendo. Now, 3DO saw why the major companies made consoles themselves. And that’s exactly what they were going to do.


SNK’s Neo Geo line proved to fail in comparison to the PS1 and Ultra. But, Neo Geo had plans to revitalize it, by taking it one step further. It all mattered on one key component…

 

[Nivek]

Well if Namco-Sony goes together would be nice, specially as Capcom is pretty agonistc but would favour nintendo via butterflies(otl capcom always favoured nintendo) and sony did got into serious mode now, this gen will be a long and dfficult battle for both.

SEGA...seems they are just close to admit defeat, if they can make something good maybe would bounce back but the saturn would be a more bitter pill ITTL that otl as will be a bigger collapse from Genesis-Mega Drive Glory,

3DO well at least trip hawkings will try something.

SNK...umm that might be something ITTL.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Oh yes. This is going to be a long and difficult battle. Who will win? No one knows...

SEGA is definitely on their last straw thanks to the Ultra. Who knows maybe their handheld will finally break through. I am going to say its going to be part of the Game Gear line.

3DO is going to try something. Sanyo and GoldStar maybe be steamed though...

What SNK is going to do is one of my favorite parts of the differences ITTL.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

November 1996

Over three months after its original release in Japan, the Ultra was released in North America at a price of $300.

While critics were concerned for the system due to its sparse amount of launch titles in Japan (being only 3), this time around it launched with 7. These being Ultra Mario World, Pilotwings Ultra, Tobal No. 1, Wave Race Ultra, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, and Killer Instinct Gold.

Killer Instinct Gold is a console port of Rare’s Killer Instinct Gold 2. It remains true to the original arcade title keeping its FMV sequences and voiceovers. While also adding new camera functions, auto zooming, a new practice mode, and a new knockout tournament mode.

By the end of the month, the Ultra had sold 200,000 units in North America.


Bandai also released their virtual pet mini-console, Tamagotchi. In the midst of the Pokemon craze, it did decently enough. Enough for Nintendo to try their own.

The PlayStation was handling the Ultra’s might pretty decently, although a dip in sales occurred, they remained stable.
On the other hand, the Ultra was causing the Saturn some troubles. The console had already lost most of its fanbase thanks to the 32X debacle. And without a major title from their mascot, Sonic, things didn’t look any better. But… a major Sonic title was in the works. Would it even succeed against Ultra Mario World or Crash Bandicoot? Only time will tell.

Other major titles released this month include of:

• Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn)
• Contra: Legacy War (Saturn, PS1)
• Virtua Cop 2 (Saturn, Arcade)
• Fighting Vipers (Saturn, Arcade)
• FIFA Soccer 97 (PS1, Saturn, PC)
• Tomb Raider (Saturn, PS1, PC)
• Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES)

 

[Nivek]

Nice North American Debut for ultra and seems Rare got better time making Killer Instint Gold, still not as good as the original port in snes but a massive improvement over OTL.

Seems Sony is weathering the strom well but sega...well let's wait how that sonic game unfold..

 

[Deleted member 100251]

December 1996


The Ultra’s library still kept growing, with the titles Cruis’n USA, NBA Hangtime, Mega Man 8, and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire is a 19 level game taking place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The game started development in 1994 on the Ultra. This allowed the developers to get used to the controls and camera angle, and perfect it. While it is not the best Star Wars game, and has many minor flaws, it does get decently positive reception.

Midway’s franchises found popularity on the Ultra, from gamers and Nintendo alike. Nintendo wanted to keep Midway with them and decided to start by buying a 10% stake of the company. This was only the start of Nintendo bringing their “Dream Team” to life. As a result, Nintendo managed to keep NBA Hangtime Ultra-exclusive.



Ending the year off was a release by SEGA. A “Christmas” gift for their fans alike. What game did they release? The first 3D game for the mascot, Sonic.

Sonic Extreme was a collaboration between STI and POV. It is the first major 3D Sonic title. It follows Sonic saving the jungle planet of Jadegully from Dr. Robotnik’s rebuilt Death Egg (dubbed by the fans as the “Death Egg II”). What makes this Death Egg different from the original version, is this one has enough gravity to rip planets out of their orbits; causing armageddon. In order to save the planet, Sonic must first free the Mips (the planet’s inhabitants) from captivity.
While doing so, he meets a refugee from a Death Egg II victim planet, Tiara Bobowski. The player can switch between Sonic and Tiara during levels.
After the two rescue all the Mips, they are sent on a ship to the Death Egg II to defeat the doctor in one action-packed showdown. Once Robotnik is defeated, he initiates the Death Egg II’s self-destruct sequence and escapes through an escape pod. Leaving one left behind. Tiara pushes Sonic into it, and sends him back to the planet below. An emotional scene in which Tiara goes down with the Death Egg II as it explodes. (But, some have speculated that she survived.)
There are 20 levels in total, 15 taking place on Jadegully, 5 on the Death Egg II.
While people have praised the gameplay, they have noted that its graphics are not as good as its competitors (Ultra Mario World and Crash Bandicoot).
While failing to match the sales of Ultra Mario World or Crash Bandicoot, it got mostly positive reviews from fans and critics alike and later a 7.7/10 on IGN.
By the end of the month it had sold 50,000 copies.




Other titles released this month include:

• Diablo (PC)
• Terranigma (SNES)

 

[Nivek]

Seems Sonic Xtreme did was released..but was divisive to say at least among fans and seems is not pushing saturn as sega is wanting....OUCH, that is a massive hit for the company, wonder what they will do now.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Yeah.
SEGA's going to have a tough time and will have to rely on their next console and next Game Gear. They might get a success out of one of them.
Their revenue is going down hill. They might be sold even earlier than OTL.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Colors of the Ultra

There are many different colors of the Ultra system. The main ones being Atomic Purple, Charcoal Gray, Ash Gray, Snow White, and InfraRed.
There are also Clear Black, Clear Blue, Clear Red, Daei Hawks, Extreme Green, Gold, Midnight Blue, Pikachu Blue, Pikachu Orange, and Pokemon.
The Funtastic series include of Smoke, Jungle, Fire, Grape, Ice, Lemon, and Watermelon.

 

[Nivek]

Something i loved the N64 and gamecube was that, that colour diversity and styles, give a nice vibe to the consoles(even if people called it childish with gamecube..that is why we can't have nice things) and nice here we've that variation too.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Thanks! I agree.
I thought I'd add some more.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

The Start of the Second Stage

While in earlier console war years, it had been Nintendo vs. SEGA, it has now evolved to become Nintendo vs. Sony. SEGA had been left behind in their dust. The Saturn was defeated by the PS1 and Ultra, and was on its last legs. It had been viewed as a failure by third-parties and especially new SEGA of America executive Bernie Stolar. Its only support, beside SEGA themselves, had been from minor third-parties Camelot and Treasure. Whom were interested in the Ultra themselves.

Now third parties had to choose between Nintendo and Sony. Nintendo already had the support of Square and Rare. And thanks to the relaxation of their policies, even more companies seemed interested. Companies like Capcom who had shown support for the PS1 now flocked to Nintendo.

Sony still had the support of Namco and Konami, but was losing developers to Nintendo. Companies like Ubisoft and Enix were multi-platform at this time, supporting both Nintendo and Sony. But, soon one of them would go exclusive to a certain platform.

 

[Nivek]

Enix comeback home, we might make Dragon Quest Popular in the west someway somehow...still pretty nice update, SEGA is collapsing like a plane in a wing and on a prayer...and that prayer might not get answered...

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Thanks.
Dragon Quest might become popular in the west. Let's wait and see
SEGA is going down hill fast. They might take decently drastic measures to stay afloat.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

January 1997


The Ultra still stayed strong, and even grew in strength. It even received some new titles to its library. These being Mario Kart R, and Final Fantasy VII.

Mario Kart R is the second title in the Mario Kart series, and the first 3D one. It features a roster of 10 playable characters including Kamek and Daisy. It has 6 cups, and 24 courses in total. The Cape Feather, an item from the original game, makes a return, and can be used as a hang glider that traverses faster than the normal carts. When playing multiplayer, it uses a split-screen.

2 of the cups include:

The Leaf Cup is the second hardest cup, the courses are Run Fast Forest, a 3D adaptation of Donut Plains, a 3D adaptation of Vanilla Lake, and Tanooki Forest (a forest level with Tanooki).

The One-Up Cup is the hardest out of all of the cups. The courses include of an altered Rainbow Road, Dino Dino Jungle, Jumpman Sewers (a sewer like course with red scaffold piping, and references to Donkey Kong), and a 3D adaptation of Ghost Valley.



A surprising event was the buying of Novotrade International by Bandai. Bandai announced this was part of their efforts to get into the gaming business and that Novotrade International will still support SEGA with the Ecco the Dolphin series.

 

[Nivek]

Nice for the Extra Content in Mario Kart R, those two cups and the cape feather would bring too much insanity to the game, i played a lot as young.

So FFVII is as otl just maybe better graphics?

So Bandai is working in something....good luck, you will need it.

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Thanks!

FFVII is basically the same w/ better graphics, as you said.

Bandai is in the works of something... hehehe... and they will need it...

 

[Deleted member 100251]

February 1997

Two titles, Blast Corps and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, were released for the Ultra.
Blast Corps is a puzzle action video game by Rare, in which players use different vehicles to destroy buildings of a runaway missile center. There are 75 levels and around 10 main vehicles in total (4 extras for racing levels).
Its competitors failed to keep up with titles.



SEGA’s financial troubles started to catch up to them. They could not handle their own weight. To shrink their assets, they spun AM3 and AM4 into their own separate companies. AM3 became Hitmaker and AM4 became Mechatronics. These two, while being their own companies, still worked with SEGA very closely.
Bandai kept their eyes on Hitmaker and Mechatronics. They seemed interested in the two companies.

 

[Nivek]

Nice Blast Corps and turok were all time N64 Classic and would be pretty nice as otl.

Umm Sega...would be ironical if Bandai ended snatching sega as was sega who tried a merger otl..still depends how this tl unfolds...

 

[Deleted member 100251]

Yeah. Those two classics stay on the Ultra. They also may have more of a following then OTL.
It would be ironic if Bandai snatches SEGA, wouldn't it