X Marks the Spot - A Nintendo and Microsoft console timeline

could see EA and Sony having a closer relationship ITTL as a result of Tecmo Bowl and Battlefield prioritizing Nintendo consoles.
Possible but I doubt EA would not say no another console can run port easily but If anything would help Sony a lot as now MS got games are direct rivals to their own.
 
2003 - Namco, Konami, Tecmo, EA, and Eidos
So here's some updates for what some third-party developers have been up to, and hopefully I'll be able to expand some of these into their own posts
  • Namco
    • Soulcalibur II still sees a multiplatform release, though ITTL it releases on the PS2, Nintendo X, and PC. The Nintendo version still has Link, while the PS2 version, due to Sony now owning Final Fantasy, gets Cloud Strife. The PC version comes later, but it gets Gordon Freeman from the Half-Life series as its guest fighter.
    • Tales of Symphonia sees a multiplatform release outside of Japan rather than being a Nintendo exclusive, as limiting itself to one console would mean competing directly with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
    • Namco opens negotiations with Enix for a merger or for the latter to acquire them, as with Squaresoft not in the picture, Enix has to either look elsewhere or stay independent. Namco also considers merging with Sega, but like in OTL, Sammy's execs nearly cut ties with Sega as a result, forcing them to turn down Namco's offer. Namco eventually chooses to merge with SNK, who was also in financial troubles, thus butterflying away their respective mergers with Playmore and Bandai.
  • Konami
    • Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance releases on the Nintendo X, instead of the Xbox, and the Twin Snakes remake still happens. The sales of both games are boosted by Snake getting into Melee ITTL, with leads to Konami choosing to make Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater multiplatform at launch.
    • Konami enlists Pandemic Studios to develop an online-focused Contra FPS, inspired by the likes of Halo and Battlefield. While this news is at first positively received, the development of the game becomes something of a mess for both.
  • Tecmo
    • The success of Tecmo Bowl '03 lead to Tecmo deciding to expand into other sports titles. Impressed by Camelot's work on the PS1's Hot Shots Golf and the N64's Mario Golf, they approach them to make a new series for them called Tecmo Golf. They also look into proposals for Tecmo Court (a baseball simulator), Tecmo Rink (a hockey simulator), and Tecmo Football League (a football/soccer simulator).
    • Tecmo also has Camelot set a smaller team to work on an original series called Galaxy Ark, a turn-based JRPG series set in a sci-fi setting, similar to Phantasy Star or Star Ocean, but with the production values of a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game, as unlike most Japanese developers, Tecmo had no RPG series to call their own, and hoped to make Galaxy Ark their marquee JRPG series.
  • EA
    • With the Nintendo X getting exclusives like the Tecmo Bowl series and Battlefield, Sony approaches EA for timed exclusivity on Madden NFL and Medal of Honor titles. EA refuses outright exclusivity, but they do agree on a co-marketing deal with Sony that would allow Sony to advertise the games and bundle PS2 units with games in the Madden NFL and Medal of Honor series.
    • EA does however, give Sony exclusivity for Def Jam Vendetta, a new IP by EA. The game becomes a killer app for the PS2, and while EA reaps the game's actual profits, Sony becomes interested in the Japanese AKI Corporation, and met with them to collaborate on an exclusive fighting game IP for Sony.
  • Eidos
    • ITTL, Microsoft passes over publishing of Fable, so Lionhead Studios turns to Eidos instead. With Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness still being unsuccessful ITTL, Eidos is desperate for any sort of hit and funds Fable instead for a release in 2003, believing they could advertise it to the Deus Ex audience. However, it ends up being developed with the PS2 in mind, leading to less impressive graphics than in OTL, and it ends up releasing as multiplatform game, which makes it less desirable than if it was an exclusive and resulting in a larger amount of backlash towards Peter Molyneux and Lionhead ITTL, which results in the game being a financial failure for Eidos, and causing them to seek out a buyer earlier.
 
Tecmo also has Camelot set a
Nice Camelot getting another sponsor, specially with golden sun finished for the time being ( dunno what happened that next gen RPG they were working on and collapse OTL)


and causing them to seek out a buyer earlier.
Go for it Enix, better then that Activision or EA.


Wonder if Nintendo would still try to buyout Bandai, or with MS partnership might not be needed?
 
I've never heard of this game in my life (I know what Yu-Gi-Oh is though), so I'm gonna have to read through that lol
Worked as for me was a home version of Eternal Duelist(i owned an OG Xbox so here I would own a Nintendo X if got the same luck as OTL, was a prize btw), but in hindsight feel too limited(maybe as live wasn't that massified and seems was just a North America exclusive) here as Nintendo X/S have a market in Japan, would be something to Konami to exploit, specially as they did released the Falsebound Kingdom in Gamecube too, if that was online powered and added more content could sold well among anime and card game fans
 
Def Jam Vendetta/Super Smash Bros Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee

Super Smash Bros. Melee is a fighting game released for the Nintendo X on November 15th, 2002. Originally intended to launch alongside the Nintendo X, the game was delayed by a year in order to make room for an online mode, as it was a component that both Nintendo and Microsoft were pushing hard for the console’s games in general. Graphically, the game is somewhere in between OTL’s Melee and Brawl, featuring character models closer to Brawl in terms of design and proportion, but with Melee’s color palette.

The extra year of development given to Melee also gave Sakurai and the team working on it to add more content that would’ve otherwise been cut. Archanea, a Fire Emblem-themed stage that was cut from OTL’s game, ends up making it into Melee ITTL. Additionally, Roy is replaced by Lyndis from the then-upcoming Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, who plays as a combination of Marth (who’s a default character ITTL) and OTL’s Pit from Brawl-onwards. Like with OTL, Fire Emblem would become popular as a result of the Melee appearances.

Aside from her, there are three other fighters appearing ITTL’s version of Melee that are absent from OTL’s version; Wario, Snake, and Sonic. Out of the three, Snake is the most similar to OTL’s version, although he carries a gun ITTL. Sonic’s moveset is a mix of OTL’s moveset and some completely original moves, such as utilizing Chaos Emeralds and such. Wario is the most different, with his moveset being modeled after his Wario Land appearances rather than WarioWare, which isn’t out yet ITTL. They each come with their own stages, with Sonic getting a City Escape stage from Sonic Adventure 2, Snake getting Big Shell from Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, and Wario getting Rice Beach from Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.

An interview with Sakurai ITTL reveals that has he been given more time, he would’ve added Banjo-Kazooie and Joanna Dark, and they had even begun thinking up potential movesets for them. He also mentioned that there were some characters that had reached the consideration phase but didn’t go further, such as Ayumi from Detective Club, Takamaru from Murasame Castle, the Battletoads, Master Chief from Halo, Mega Man, Dante from the Devil May Cry series, and Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive. He also shot down the idea of a Final Fantasy representative, as the series was now owned by Sony ITTL.

Super Smash Bros. Melee is met with the same amount of acclaim as OTL, and managed to sell even better as a result of the Nintendo X’s greater success, moving 13 million units worldwide and becoming a fixture at fighting game tournaments. Its success as a crossover also makes other publishers look at their catalogues and consider leveraging them in their own crossover games, to varying levels of success.

Def Jam Vendetta

Def Jam Vendetta is a fighting game released on April 1st, 2003. Like with OTL, it is developed by EA Canada and the AKI Corporation, but with one major difference; the game ITTL is a PlayStation 2 exclusive title rather than a multiplatform one, as a result of Sony trying to leverage exclusivity deals with EA. EA refused to give them exclusivity on the Medal of Honor and Madden NFL franchises, them being established series that have mostly seen multiplatform releases, even though the first Medal of Honor had been a PlayStation exclusive.

However, EA did decide to give them Def Jam Vendetta as a consolation prize of sorts, believing that the success of the Tekken series could be replicated, as it was a Sony-exclusive series at the time. To further follow in Tekken’s footsteps, EA also contracted Namco to distribute an arcade port of Def Jam Vendetta exclusively for Japan, as arcades were more popular over there than they were in wester regions.

Def Jam Vendetta received rave reviews and sold even better than OTL’s version, at over 4 million copies, and enjoying popularity in Japan that the series didn’t achieve IOTL. However, one key feature that people criticized was the lack of online play. To rectify this, EA released Def Jam Vendetta: Online Edition in early 2004, which also saw the inclusion of two new fighters: Tommy Vercetti from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (with Ray Liotta reprising the role) and Heihachi Mishima from Tekken, as a result of the partnership between EA and Namco. Online Edition is by far considered to be the definitive version of the game, boasting the aforementioned guest fighters and online play, two stages based off of Vice City and the Arena from Tekken 4, and a longer list of songs, including tracks from the Grand Theft Auto and Tekken games. Online Edition sells over 3 million copies, thus bringing Def Jam Vendetta’s total sales up to 7 million units.

One last impact on the game is the relationship between Sony and EA, as Vendetta’s success marked the start of a closer and much more long-lasted relationship between the two than with OTL. Additionally, Sony also takes an interest in AKI Corporation, being impressed by the engine they used for Vendetta. Motivated by the success of Vendetta, Sony pursues AKI and eventually signs a deal with them for their own exclusive fighting game series...
 
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So here's some updates for what some third-party developers have been up to, and hopefully I'll be able to expand some of these into their own posts
  • Namco
    • Soulcalibur II still sees a multiplatform release, though ITTL it releases on the PS2, Nintendo X, and PC. The Nintendo version still has Link, while the PS2 version, due to Sony now owning Final Fantasy, gets Cloud Strife. The PC version comes later, but it gets Gordon Freeman from the Half-Life series as its guest fighter.
    • Tales of Symphonia sees a multiplatform release outside of Japan rather than being a Nintendo exclusive, as limiting itself to one console would mean competing directly with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
    • Namco opens negotiations with Enix for a merger or for the latter to acquire them, as with Squaresoft not in the picture, Enix has to either look elsewhere or stay independent. Namco also considers merging with Sega, but like in OTL, Sammy's execs nearly cut ties with Sega as a result, forcing them to turn down Namco's offer. Namco eventually chooses to merge with SNK, who was also in financial troubles, thus butterflying away their respective mergers with Playmore and Bandai.
  • Konami
    • Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance releases on the Nintendo X, instead of the Xbox, and the Twin Snakes remake still happens. The sales of both games are boosted by Snake getting into Melee ITTL, with leads to Konami choosing to make Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater multiplatform at launch.
    • Konami enlists Pandemic Studios to develop an online-focused Contra FPS, inspired by the likes of Halo and Battlefield. While this news is at first positively received, the development of the game becomes something of a mess for both.
  • Tecmo
    • The success of Tecmo Bowl '03 lead to Tecmo deciding to expand into other sports titles. Impressed by Camelot's work on the PS1's Hot Shots Golf and the N64's Mario Golf, they approach them to make a new series for them called Tecmo Golf. They also look into proposals for Tecmo Court (a baseball simulator), Tecmo Rink (a hockey simulator), and Tecmo Football League (a football/soccer simulator).
    • Tecmo also has Camelot set a smaller team to work on an original series called Galaxy Ark, a turn-based JRPG series set in a sci-fi setting, similar to Phantasy Star or Star Ocean, but with the production values of a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest game, as unlike most Japanese developers, Tecmo had no RPG series to call their own, and hoped to make Galaxy Ark their marquee JRPG series.
  • EA
    • With the Nintendo X getting exclusives like the Tecmo Bowl series and Battlefield, Sony approaches EA for timed exclusivity on Madden NFL and Medal of Honor titles. EA refuses outright exclusivity, but they do agree on a co-marketing deal with Sony that would allow Sony to advertise the games and bundle PS2 units with games in the Madden NFL and Medal of Honor series.
    • EA does however, give Sony exclusivity for Def Jam Vendetta, a new IP by EA. The game becomes a killer app for the PS2, and while EA reaps the game's actual profits, Sony becomes interested in the Japanese AKI Corporation, and met with them to collaborate on an exclusive fighting game IP for Sony.
  • Eidos
    • ITTL, Microsoft passes over publishing of Fable, so Lionhead Studios turns to Eidos instead. With Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness still being unsuccessful ITTL, Eidos is desperate for any sort of hit and funds Fable instead for a release in 2003, believing they could advertise it to the Deus Ex audience. However, it ends up being developed with the PS2 in mind, leading to less impressive graphics than in OTL, and it ends up releasing as multiplatform game, which makes it less desirable than if it was an exclusive and resulting in a larger amount of backlash towards Peter Molyneux and Lionhead ITTL, which results in the game being a financial failure for Eidos, and causing them to seek out a buyer earlier.
Isnt eidos the one who made hitman?
 
Isnt eidos the one who made hitman?
ITTL, Eidos splurges a shitton on Fable, and without the appeal of being an exclusive, it sells far less and receives far more backlash against Peter Molyneux for basically hyping the game up

and IO Interactive wasn't acquired until 2004, which ITTL is after Fable ends up failing, so the acquisition of IO Interactive by Eidos is butterflied away, and IO Interactive looks for other distributors
 
ITTL, Eidos splurges a shitton on Fable, and without the appeal of being an exclusive, it sells far less and receives far more backlash against Peter Molyneux for basically hyping the game up

and IO Interactive wasn't acquired until 2004, which ITTL is after Fable ends up failing, so the acquisition of IO Interactive by Eidos is butterflied away, and IO Interactive looks for other distributors
Maybe they here remain Independent, OTL they got a management buyout,here could stay that way, maybe ubisoft or someone else being their distributors/publishers
 
Did you've some ideas in mind?
I could foresee some port of Fate/Stay Night being released to the Nintendo X or its successor consoles. Problem is, I don't exactly know what circumstances are required for it to exactly happen. Maybe a Sony executive boast on how they are in need of blockbusters (in a reference to their OTL preference for huge teams rather than taking risks with upstart developers) and rants on how niche titles are unable to provide the competitive edge needed, resulting in some independent developers rubbing the statement the wrong way and likely butterflying away the Realta Nua release (refers to the PS2 port of F/SN) and indie devs looking forward to the Nintendo X not unlike how certain indie devs are looking forward to the Switch OTL. It sounds a bit off, but it's probably my mind rambling during the night.
 
I could foresee some port of Fate/Stay Night being released to the Nintendo X or its successor consoles. Problem is, I don't exactly know what circumstances are required for it to exactly happen. Maybe a Sony executive boast on how they are in need of blockbusters (in a reference to their OTL preference for huge teams rather than taking risks with upstart developers) and rants on how niche titles are unable to provide the competitive edge needed, resulting in some independent developers rubbing the statement the wrong way and likely butterflying away the Realta Nua release (refers to the PS2 port of F/SN) and indie devs looking forward to the Nintendo X not unlike how certain indie devs are looking forward to the Switch OTL. It sounds a bit off, but it's probably my mind rambling during the night.
Maybe they just straight port it as using an Intel CPU a port would be a piece of cake, more just showing how popular the X is on Japan
 
Battlefield 1942/Final Fantasy Online
Battlefield 1942

Battlefield 1942 is a 2003 first-person shooter developed by Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, more colloquially known as DICE. Unlike OTL’s game, Battlefield 1942 is published by Microsoft ITTL as an exclusive for the Nintendo X, in a move that while at first seems counter-intuitive due to Microsoft also publishing the immensely-popular Halo, ends up paying off, due to Halo and Battlefield 1942 both being substantially different in terms of setting.

Like OTL’s game, the five classes are still present, those being Scout, Medic, Assault, Anti-tank, and Engineer, but with a Sniper class also added in. The two sides of the game, the Allied Forces and Axis Powers still remain as well, but with the Kingdom of Italy also being part of the Axis Powers ITTL. However, unlike contemporary shooters like Halo, Snowblight, and Metroid Prime, the game lacks any sort of single-player campaign.

Battlefield 1942 is released on January 10th, 2003, ends up seeing a lot more success ITTL both critically and commercially as a result of being released on consoles, selling around 5 million units total, and is favorably-received as a competitor to EA’s Medal of Honor series, though the lack of an original story in the single-player campaigns is somewhat criticized in comparison to Halo and Medal of Honor. The game is successful enough to also warrant a PC port, which sells an additional 3 million units, and becomes home to a host mods, like in OTL. As a result of this, Microsoft purchases a 40% investment in DICE, which will be greatly expanded upon in the future...

Final Fantasy Online

Final Fantasy Online is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Squaresoft and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the first major Final Fantasy release to occur after Sony’s acquisition of Squaresoft, and is heavily marketed as a demonstration of the PlayStation 2’s online capabilities.

Unlike OTL, where Final Fantasy XI is set in an original setting called Vana’diel, Online is set in the familiar world of Ivalice from Final Fantasy Tactics (albeit centuries earlier than the events of Tactics), a setting which was retooled for Online after Sony’s acquisition of Squaresoft caused the cancellation of a sequel to Tactics, as said sequel was in development for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance. The player character of the game is fully customizable, and has the six classes from OTL’s XI as default options, with more classes being added through expansions.

In terms of story, Online’s story is a deliberate throwback to earlier Final Fantasy games, revolving around a dark warlock named Nemiodas who seeks to corrupt the four crystals of Ivalice. Major side characters include Cid Landon, a blacksmith and chocobo handler who is the main source of exposition in the game, Anathema Regis, a knight from a possible future where Nemiodas succeeded in corrupting the legendary crystals (who becomes the face of the game in spinoffs and crossovers), Julius Highwind, a dragoon who instructs the character through combat tutorials, and Gilgamesh, the legendary warrior who is an optional boss encounter. Online also features full-voice acting like with Final Fantasy X, with Michael Bell as Nemiodas, Alyson Court as Anathema Regis, Paul Dobson as Julius Highwind, Keith Szarabajka as Gilgamesh (as with OTL, albeit happening earlier ITTL) and most surprisingly, Steve Buscemi as Cid Landon, who has been part of the voice cast of Final Fantasy: Spirits Within, and was chosen at the behest of Sony in order to have a “big name” as part of the voice cast for Online.

Like with OTL’s XI, Online is released alongside a hard drive and e-adapter to allow for expansions to be downloaded more easily via the internet, with several retailers even being supplied with special editions of Online that come with the hard drive and e-adapter. Online is released to lots of fanfare critically and commercially, and ships around 6 million units in its launch period, with the yearly expansions providing a steady flow of money for Squaresoft and Sony.

Sony and Squaresoft announce two game partnership with Namco and Monolith Soft, for Xenogears II and III

Monolith Soft, the Japanese developer owned by Namco and formed by former Squaresoft employees best known for their work on the 1998 cult hit Xenogears, has announced a two game partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment and Squaresoft, along with Namco, to develop and release two sequels for Xenogears. According to them, Xenogears II is further along in development than most may release, and is scheduled to be shown off at E3 2003. Originally, Monolith Soft were planning on producing a spiritual successor to the series with Namco alone, but as part of Sony’s plan to leverage Squaresoft’s back catalogue of IPs, they were able to strike a deal with Namco and Monolith Soft to produce two games that would fulfill the original vision planned for Xenogears.”

Eternal Darkness delayed to 2004, Denis Dyack desires to fully take advantage of the Nintendo X’s power

Eternal Darkness, the Nintendo-published and Silicon Knights-developed survival horror game, has seen yet another delay to 2004. Originally scheduled for release on the Nintendo 64, the game was shifted to the Nintendo X for a 2002 release, only to be first delayed to 2003, and most recently, delayed again to 2004. An interview with Silicon Knight’s Denis Dyack reveals that the main reasoning for all these delays is that they want to fully harness the power of the Nintendo X, a console far exceeding the Nintendo 64 in terms of power, and felt that a simple port of the original game with touched up graphics and textures would’ve been insufficient. Dyack said that the added graphical detail would only further enhance the atmosphere of the game, aiming to make a game as frightening and scary as Konami’s Silent Hill 2.”
 
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Eternal Darkness delayed to 2004, Denis Dyack desires to fully take advantage of the Nintendo X’s power
At least is not too human level of delays... Yet

Sony and Squaresoft announce two game partnership with Monolith Soft, for Xenogears II and III
There a problem with that, monolith was a fully owned namco subsidiary, wasn't a third party at all, OTL Nintendo got them as part of a stock swap with bamco when they got bandai first over Nintendo attempted purchase otl.
As a result of this, Microsoft purchases a 40% investment in DICE,
Hope Microsoft doesn't force frostbite engine into everything unlike certain other.

I do know Sony Music is involved with it IOTL

That is with the mobile game onward and Sony music is independent of sony tech to begin with too
 
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There a problem with that, monolith was a fully owned namco subsidiary, wasn't a third party at all, OTL Nintendo got them as part of a stock swap with bamco when they got bandai first over Nintendo attempted purchase otl.
changed it to mention Namco; Namco had a good relationship with Sony ITTL, so I assume this would be possible if both sides could come to an agreement
 
changed it to mention Namco; Namco had a good relationship with Sony ITTL, so I assume this would be possible if both sides could come to an agreement
I'm more surprised Monolith accepted, unlike Brownie Brown, their divorce with Square was messy and with a lot of bad blood, again Nothing a good moneyhat and apologize can solve. Yeah too much they boycotted Nintendo attempted purchase of Bandai in Sony benefit.
 
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