X Marks the Spot - A Nintendo and Microsoft console timeline
- Thread starter the_idiot
- Start date
Depends, if anything Depend on what Nintendo does with Bandai ITTL, long story short, after Nintendo attempted Bandai purchase failed, Nintendo was working with Namco at the time on an exclusive rpg ended up baten kaitos, when Namco wasn't happy with the game, Nintendo loved it, loved so much helped to launch a prequel, that is the main reason they got Monolithsoft, they believed so much in Honne talent and he and Takahashi convinced iwata to get them before Namco dismantled them. Sadly Namco was greedy and unwillingly to give neither baten kaitos or xenosaga IP(that is why we got Xenosaga i &ii in DS, an attempt of monolithsoft to get the IP for Nintendo that failed) meaning working from scratch
Depending what happened, Monolithsoft and Nintendo might not work together, more Nintendo Already having Enix and level-5 in collaborations
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Boxing the dolphin?(ie how the dolphin become more like Xbox) or something like that?
I think fasa might have happened, so mechassault might have been released in 02 as OTL them
to be completely honestly with you, I didn't even know Mechassault was a thing until you told me, but I'll try to integrate FASA somehow
and right now I'm thinking of "X Marks the Spot" as a potential title
The advantage owning an original Xbox, i've that game and his sequel, his sequel was fully translated and dubbed into Spanish, that made it so unique, so that is why remember a lot of the OG Xbox
That is a nice title too
Perfect Dark Crisis
Perfect Dark Crisis
Perfect Dark Crisis is a 2003 first-person shooter developed by Rareware and published by Nintendo exclusively for the Nintendo X. As the name implies, it is the sequel to Rareware’s Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64, which itself is a spiritual successor to the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye 007. Returning from Perfect Dark is the deathmatch mode and its various customizable options, which can now be played both locally and with online multiplayer, with up to 28 players being able to connect and play together in a single match. Players can set up their own lobbies with their own rules, and set said lobbies to either friends only or open to everyone.
The story picks up in 2033, ten years after the events of the first game. Joanna Dark is now working for the Skedans, and is sent to infiltrate the Carrington Institute. When she confronts Elvis, an ally from the previous game, she shoots him dead.
The story then goes back to 2027, four years after the events of the first game. The Carrington Institute and the Maians receive word that the Skedans have returned, with their reemergence being the result of cloning facilities located on the planet Kayos, which is in the neighboring galaxy of Alpha Centauri. Joanna Dark is sent to destroy the cloning facilities on Kayos, but after doing so, discovers that Murdoch Inc., one of the Carrington Institute’s largest benefactors, was a client of the Kayoan cloners. Returning to the Carrington Institute, Joanna questions their leadership about this connection, only to be branded a fugitive. She manages to escape from the Carrington Institute, but is shot by an unknown assassin.
Joanna awakens from a coma five years later. In that timeframe, she had been tended to by a benefactor named Morrison, and their A.I. assistant, Jean. She is then sent to Mars’ moon Deimos, to rescue a contact of Morrison from a Maian prison facility. who is revealed to be Elvis. Once rescuing Elvis, it’s reveals that it was the Maians imprisoned Elvis after Joanna’s assassination attempt in order to silence any allies of Joanna. They also learn that dataDyne has resumed its activities, with a seemingly-alive Cassandra de Vries still leading it. They raid dataDyne and encounter Cassandra, who reveals that she is a clone of the original Cassandra. She also reveals that Joanna and Elvis had been replaced by the Carrington Institute through clones of their own. Cassandra then offers Joanna and Elvis to form an alliance with dataDyne and the Skedans.
Joanna still has questions, however, and secretly infiltrates Murdoch Inc.’s HQ, and learns that both the Maian and Skedan clones has microchips in their brains that allow Murdoch Corporation to control them. She then encounters the founder and CEO of Murdoch Inc., Devilin Murdoch, who then activates the microchips. It is then revealed that Devilin is Morrison, and that the Joanna being played as is also a clone; the real Joanna died in 2027, and the clone was produced with the intent of infiltrating Murdoch Inc. and giving Devilin the excuse to activate the Maian and Skedan, using Joanna’s defection as an excuse.
Joanna overcomes her programming with the help of Jean, who as it turns out, was created by the Skedan leadership as a means of spying on Murdoch. Joanna then catches up to Murdoch and kills him, but not before fighting an army of genetically-enhanced Murdoch clones. Once she defeats Murdoch, she turns off the programming for the Maian and Skedan clones, thus forcing Joanna, the Skedans, and dataDyne into hiding. A year later, Joanna infiltrates the Carrington Institute and shoots the Elvis clone dead, and then fights the other Joanna clone, both of whom were left without microchips by the request of the Carrington Institute. As she leaves with the Skedans, Devilin Murdoch is shown watching her through security cameras, and the game’s story ends there on a cliffhanger.
Perfect Dark Crisis is also one of the first console games to feature downloadable content, receiving two storyline expansions; The dataDyne Archives, which chronicles Joanna’s adventures in between the first game and Crisis, and Velvet Dark, which focuses on the titular second-player character from the original Perfect Dark’s multiplayer mode. In it, Velvet is established to be Joanna’s long-lost sister, working for the United States Government and investigating the Carrington Institute herself. The end of her expansion shows her learning about Joanna’s alliance with the Skedans, and vows to bring her to justice, setting up a sequel hook for the next game.
Perfect Dark Crisis was released on March 14th, 2003, and was a commercial success, moving over 4 million units over its lifetime, with both DLCs being downloaded around 2 million times each. Critically it fares well, but reception to the story mode is muted, whereas everyone still agrees that the multiplayer remains top-notch. The Velvet Dark DLC campaign is also positively-received for expanding the Perfect Dark universe beyond the Maians and Skedans, and for providing Joanna with a proper rival, with many even saying that Velvet should’ve been integrated from the start.
Rareware working on new RPG game, tentatively titled Project Elements
“Insider reports from people who work at Nintendo of Europe and Rareware have confirmed that Rareware is working on a Zelda or Dark Cloud-inspired RPG, currently known as Project Elements. According to the reports, it is said to be reusing concepts from unused Rareware games such as Project Dream and Dinosaur Planet, being set in a fantasy world with many monsters, as well as pirates, genies, and ninjas. Described as Rareware’s most ambitious title yet, Project Elements is in full production for a release around 2005 or 2006. When reached out for comment, Rareware provided no answer.”
Pandemic Studios pass on Star Wars project, studio departures signal tensions with Konami?
“Pandemic Studios, after months of deliberation, has decided to not sign onto a publishing deal with LucasArts to make an online-focused Star Wars shooter. Presumably, this would’ve covered both the Galactic Civil War and the Clone Wars, and was due to be released on macOS, Nintendo X, and the PlayStation 2. However, Pandemic decided to continue work with Konami on their untitled Contra project, something that resulted in several workers departing from Pandemic. Sources close to them say that communications with Konami are strained, but Pandemic didn’t reply to us when we asked for any comment on the matter.”
Perfect Dark Crisis is a 2003 first-person shooter developed by Rareware and published by Nintendo exclusively for the Nintendo X. As the name implies, it is the sequel to Rareware’s Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64, which itself is a spiritual successor to the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye 007. Returning from Perfect Dark is the deathmatch mode and its various customizable options, which can now be played both locally and with online multiplayer, with up to 28 players being able to connect and play together in a single match. Players can set up their own lobbies with their own rules, and set said lobbies to either friends only or open to everyone.
The story picks up in 2033, ten years after the events of the first game. Joanna Dark is now working for the Skedans, and is sent to infiltrate the Carrington Institute. When she confronts Elvis, an ally from the previous game, she shoots him dead.
The story then goes back to 2027, four years after the events of the first game. The Carrington Institute and the Maians receive word that the Skedans have returned, with their reemergence being the result of cloning facilities located on the planet Kayos, which is in the neighboring galaxy of Alpha Centauri. Joanna Dark is sent to destroy the cloning facilities on Kayos, but after doing so, discovers that Murdoch Inc., one of the Carrington Institute’s largest benefactors, was a client of the Kayoan cloners. Returning to the Carrington Institute, Joanna questions their leadership about this connection, only to be branded a fugitive. She manages to escape from the Carrington Institute, but is shot by an unknown assassin.
Joanna awakens from a coma five years later. In that timeframe, she had been tended to by a benefactor named Morrison, and their A.I. assistant, Jean. She is then sent to Mars’ moon Deimos, to rescue a contact of Morrison from a Maian prison facility. who is revealed to be Elvis. Once rescuing Elvis, it’s reveals that it was the Maians imprisoned Elvis after Joanna’s assassination attempt in order to silence any allies of Joanna. They also learn that dataDyne has resumed its activities, with a seemingly-alive Cassandra de Vries still leading it. They raid dataDyne and encounter Cassandra, who reveals that she is a clone of the original Cassandra. She also reveals that Joanna and Elvis had been replaced by the Carrington Institute through clones of their own. Cassandra then offers Joanna and Elvis to form an alliance with dataDyne and the Skedans.
Joanna still has questions, however, and secretly infiltrates Murdoch Inc.’s HQ, and learns that both the Maian and Skedan clones has microchips in their brains that allow Murdoch Corporation to control them. She then encounters the founder and CEO of Murdoch Inc., Devilin Murdoch, who then activates the microchips. It is then revealed that Devilin is Morrison, and that the Joanna being played as is also a clone; the real Joanna died in 2027, and the clone was produced with the intent of infiltrating Murdoch Inc. and giving Devilin the excuse to activate the Maian and Skedan, using Joanna’s defection as an excuse.
Joanna overcomes her programming with the help of Jean, who as it turns out, was created by the Skedan leadership as a means of spying on Murdoch. Joanna then catches up to Murdoch and kills him, but not before fighting an army of genetically-enhanced Murdoch clones. Once she defeats Murdoch, she turns off the programming for the Maian and Skedan clones, thus forcing Joanna, the Skedans, and dataDyne into hiding. A year later, Joanna infiltrates the Carrington Institute and shoots the Elvis clone dead, and then fights the other Joanna clone, both of whom were left without microchips by the request of the Carrington Institute. As she leaves with the Skedans, Devilin Murdoch is shown watching her through security cameras, and the game’s story ends there on a cliffhanger.
Perfect Dark Crisis is also one of the first console games to feature downloadable content, receiving two storyline expansions; The dataDyne Archives, which chronicles Joanna’s adventures in between the first game and Crisis, and Velvet Dark, which focuses on the titular second-player character from the original Perfect Dark’s multiplayer mode. In it, Velvet is established to be Joanna’s long-lost sister, working for the United States Government and investigating the Carrington Institute herself. The end of her expansion shows her learning about Joanna’s alliance with the Skedans, and vows to bring her to justice, setting up a sequel hook for the next game.
Perfect Dark Crisis was released on March 14th, 2003, and was a commercial success, moving over 4 million units over its lifetime, with both DLCs being downloaded around 2 million times each. Critically it fares well, but reception to the story mode is muted, whereas everyone still agrees that the multiplayer remains top-notch. The Velvet Dark DLC campaign is also positively-received for expanding the Perfect Dark universe beyond the Maians and Skedans, and for providing Joanna with a proper rival, with many even saying that Velvet should’ve been integrated from the start.
Rareware working on new RPG game, tentatively titled Project Elements
“Insider reports from people who work at Nintendo of Europe and Rareware have confirmed that Rareware is working on a Zelda or Dark Cloud-inspired RPG, currently known as Project Elements. According to the reports, it is said to be reusing concepts from unused Rareware games such as Project Dream and Dinosaur Planet, being set in a fantasy world with many monsters, as well as pirates, genies, and ninjas. Described as Rareware’s most ambitious title yet, Project Elements is in full production for a release around 2005 or 2006. When reached out for comment, Rareware provided no answer.”
Pandemic Studios pass on Star Wars project, studio departures signal tensions with Konami?
“Pandemic Studios, after months of deliberation, has decided to not sign onto a publishing deal with LucasArts to make an online-focused Star Wars shooter. Presumably, this would’ve covered both the Galactic Civil War and the Clone Wars, and was due to be released on macOS, Nintendo X, and the PlayStation 2. However, Pandemic decided to continue work with Konami on their untitled Contra project, something that resulted in several workers departing from Pandemic. Sources close to them say that communications with Konami are strained, but Pandemic didn’t reply to us when we asked for any comment on the matter.”
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Yeah, those were very bold plot twist, so bold did end up being a little too much, still seems was a fine game(far better Zero ended up being) but yeah some fans might have been put off that twist, even if the DLC helped a little at the end.
Kameo? well them, hope to see how this end up(it was demoed otl in gamecube and box, but here seems will be a far different animal than OTL)
Classic Konami here, seems that game will be the make or break project for Pandemic ITTL. good luck guys, you're going to needed it
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/fatal-frame-is-coming-back-but-as-a-pachinko-machine.1605062/ this made me remind...maybe Fatal Frame is more popular ITTL or just the same?
Got an Idea with it..Maybe the Use the Dolphin(Flipper) GPU as a low cost GPU for ATI? well enough would be a very cheap yet competent entry GPU and could do wonder for ATI, more if they make a second one based on the second GPU for Nintendo and Microsoft(ATI got a wank here, as they got privileged access to directX over Nvidia ITTL meaning a massive advantage on API market too)
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That make me wonder.. and the original version of too human? Still working on it or got into development hell too?
Well right now Eternal Darkness is being completely rebuilt and scheduled for 2004 to make it a better demonstration of the X's power, so Too Human is definitely still in development hell.
That game never have any luck in any TL. Still hope that gamble works as Nintendo might be losing their pacience too( did they developed twins snakes too?)
E3 2003
- Nintendo/Microsoft
- The conference begins with gameplay footage of Mario Kart: Double Dash, with is shown off in full for the first time. Like with OTL, the main gimmick of the game is that players choose teams of two characters, which they can switch between during races. One key different from OTL's game is the addition of proper online, as OTL's game only had online functionality via a LAN adaptor. The game is scheduled for release on December 5th, 2003 worldwide, setting itself up as Nintendo's big holiday title. An arcade port utilizing the Triforce board is also announced, scheduled for release in 2004. F-Zero AX and Wave Race Typhoon's console ports are also unveiled, with F-Zero GX (which, like IOTL, is the console port of AX) releasing in North America on August 25th, 2003. Wave Race Typhoon's console port is scheduled for 2004, with more information promised later that year.
- Nintendo also announces the latest title to use the Triforce board: Excitebike, a reboot of the classic series for the NES and N64. The game looks better than any other Excitebike game to that date, and features a wide variety of motorcycle brands and models that the players can use. The console port is also revealed here, which also advertises an open-world for the player to explore outside of races. In a first for the series, the game also has tracks based off of real-world locations, such as the Australian outback, the Sierra Nevadas, the Acacia savannah, and the Amazon Rainforest, as well as urban areas like New York City, London, and Tokyo. It too is scheduled for a vague 2004 release date.
- Tecmo shows a story trailer for Ninja Gaiden, revealing that it is a prequel to the Dead or Alive games by showing Ryu Hayabusa and Hayate fighting against Raidou, the main antagonist of the first Dead or Alive game. The trailer also confirms that it takes ten years after Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, tying together the Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden continuities in a way that OTL's didn't, at least in the beginning. The game is pegged for an early 2004 release, like with OTL's game. Tecmo also formally announces their partnership with Camelot Software, announcing Tecmo Golf for a late 2003 release date, as well as revealing Galaxy Ark, a JRPG original to TTL. Nothing is revealed for Galaxy Ark beyond the title, though JRPG fans, particularly those of Golden Sun, are intrigued. Tecmo also announces Tecmo Bowl '04 for release later that year, capitalizing on the revival's success.
- Rareware takes to the stage to announce Banjo-Ghoulie, the third installment of the Banjo-Kazooie series. Unlike the first two, this one takes a more survival horror-esque approach to its gameplay, having Banjo and Kazooie separated for most of it while solving puzzles and exploring a castle, instead of collecting jiggies in a variety of areas. This game receives the most mixed reaction, as fans of the series wanted a more traditional Banjo-Threeie and dismiss it as a Luigi's Mansion copycat, while others are intrigued the freshness of the idea, welcoming the change in gameplay and genre. However, the announcement from Rareware that did excite many people was the announcement of Killer Instinct: 10th Anniversary Collection, a compilation rerelease of the Killer Instinct games featuring the first game, its SNES port, the second game, and Killer Instinct Gold. Each game features polished graphics and textures, as well as the addition of an online mode for each game. It is set for release in January of 2004, but Rareware announces that a playable version of the game will be available for attendees to try out at EVO 2003.
- FASA Studio reveals a wholly original game to this timeline, a mecha game named Vulcan. Unlike their previous works that were set in the BattleTech universe, which tended to lean into simulation or real-time tactics, Vulcan focuses a great deal on the moment-to-moment combat, offering two different gameplay modes; a third-person perspective mode that resembles the Dynasty Warriors games, and a first-person mode that takes inspiration from Halo, though neither mode is limited to melee weapons or projectile-based weapons. It is set for release on October 3rd, 2003.
- Level-5 re-announce Gold Chronicle, now titled Gold Empire, their exclusive MMORPG for the Nintendo X. It utilizes a top-down perspective as opposed to the third-person perspective of games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy Online, while utilizing a cel-shaded artstyle. Like with Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle, city-building mechanics play a key role in the gameplay, and the combat still takes on a hack and slash form. However, the leveling system is different in that both the player character and their equipment can be leveled up, with the equipment instead enhancing certain skills and actions. Gold Empire still goes without a release date, but Level-5 assures fans that they will hear about it more as time goes on.
- Capcom takes the stage to show off a final look at Viewtiful Joe, their exclusive action-adventure brawler for the Nintendo X. They also show off more of Dino Crisis 3, now showing off a different version of the game that utilized a first-person perspective as opposed to the static camera angles found in OTL's game (because of Halo, Battlefield 1942, Metroid Prime, and Perfect Dark Crisis all releasing within a short timespan ITTL and impressing Capcom with their first-person perspectives), as well as the Resident Evil series and Devil May Cry. Dino Crisis 3 has been delayed to 2004, but Capcom assured fans that the game would be worthwhile. Finally, Shinji Mikami took to the stage to address the rumors that been circulating for years at this point: Resident Evil 4 was coming to the Nintendo X, and it was going to be an exclusive. They showed a gameplay sequence that covered the first five minutes of the game, showing Leon arriving and investigating the outskirts of the village, as well as having an encounter with a zombie inside of a cabin.
- Silicon Knights takes to the stage to present a new demo of Eternal Darkness that is meant to showcase the graphical prowess of the Nintendo X, with the game still scheduled for a 2004 release. They also announce that they were developing a remake of Metal Gear Solid for the Nintendo X in conjunction with Hideo Kojima and Konami, subtitled The Twin Snakes and due for release in early 2004. Graphically it's even more impressive than OTL's game, due to the increased power of the Nintendo X.
- Lastly, Yoshiaki Koizumi takes to the stage to announce EAD Tokyo's next game: a fully-3D title in the Donkey Kong series, titled Donkey Kong Tour. The trailer shows Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong exploring a variety of environments, such as a village in the treetops of a rainforest, a wild west-themed desert area, a grassy area with Stonehenge-esque structures, a mining rig inside of a volcano, and most notably, a city with Kremling motifs. The final shot of the trailer shows Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong staring up at a recreation of 25m from the original Donkey Kong, but with King K. Rool and Donkey Kong's banana horde at the very top, instead of Donkey Kong and Pauline.
- Sony
- Sony's conference opens with a trailer for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Underground by Activision. The customization features of the game are shown off extensively, as well as an online mode that wasn't present in OTL's game, something that was heavily requested ITTL, and the inclusion of Spider-Man, returning from Pro Skater 2. It is scheduled for release on October 27th, 2003, and in a first for the series, Sony is financing and distributing a Japan-exclusive arcade port in an attempt to compete with Nintendo's Triforce titles.
- Legacy of Kain: Defiance receives a story trailer, and the game is more or less the same as OTL's game. The end of the trailer however, identifies the game's publisher as being Sony Computer Entertainment, and not Eidos Interactive, like with the previous games in the series. Immediately after this, Crystal Dynamics president Scot Amos comes onto the stage and announces that Eidos Interactive has sold off Crystal Dynamics to Sony Computer Entertainment amid Eidos' financial troubles. This means that the Legacy of Kain and Gex IPs are now PlayStation exclusives, mirroring Sony's acquisition of Squaresoft and the exclusivity of Final Fantasy. Crystal Dynamics also announces that they were starting two new studio in Providence, Rhode Island and Austin, Texas, name Crystal Dynamics Providence and Crystal Dynamics Austin respectively.
- Squaresoft reveals Front Mission Fourth, the latest installment in their tactical RPG series. This one is being developed primarily with western audiences in mind, due to Sony wanting to push Squaresoft's back catalogue of IPs, and as such it features more streamlined gameplay, and will be the first game in the series to receive a simultaneous worldwide release. Squaresoft also reveals the first Final Fantasy Online expansion, Legends of St. Ivalice, which is more or less the plot of OTL's Final Fantasy Tactics Advance adapted to Online, EDIT: and brings Namco's Monolith Soft onstage to show off Xenogears - Episode II, which heavily resembles OTL's Xenosaga Episode I, but also containing aspects from OTL's Episode II and Episode III, namely story elements that were cut from the final game.
- Konami shows off more of Silent Hill 3, and formally shows off the Contra title developed by Pandemic. It is an FPS with an online multiplayer focus, titled Contra: Shifter, and it is set in outer space, millennia after the events of the previous games. The game focused on the forces of Earth fighting against an extraterrestrial race called the Leronians, shapeshifters that take on the forms of soldiers from past human conflicts, such as World War I and II. Shifter's reveal receives mixed reactions, as the switch from a 2D-focus run and gun to a 3D first-person shooter doesn't satisfy many fans who has been hoping for a proper Contra title. Konami also announces Metal Gear Solid 3, but shows nothing else outside of that.
- Aside from Contra, other notable shooters present at Sony's conference are SOCOM II, Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, and Killzone, with Rising Sun receiving the most positive reception, but it's a multiplatform release anyways. Generally it's agreed on that with the exception of that year's Snowblight, the PlayStation 2 is lacking in the online shooter department that Nintendo and Microsoft have on hold with Halo, Battlefield 1942, and Perfect Dark: Crisis, as while SOCOM II and Killzone look interesting, Contra: Shifter hasn't been received with the most positive reception, and EA refuses to make the Medal of Honor series a PlayStation-exclusive series for now. Because of this, Sony has Bend Studio delay the next Syphon Filter game to better suit it for online multiplayer, despite the series being more stealth-based.
- Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Jak II, and Sly 2: Band of Thieves are all shown off and scheduled for release in late 2003, serving as the system's holiday titles, likely due to being more family-friendly than the rest of Sony's output. Everybody's Golf 4 is scheduled for a worldwide release on October 21st, 2003, and Siren is scheduled for early 2004. With the Nintendo X gaining more traction than the GameCube did ITTL and Resident Evil going Nintendo-exclusive, Sony feels more pressured to put out their own marquee horror title, and pushes Siren hard. While not adopting the B-tone aesthetic of Resident Evil, the Japanese setting and themes help distinguish it in previews so far.
- Twisted Metal: World Tour is formally shown off, keeping the darker aesthetic of Black and introducing online play. It is scheduled for a tentative 2004 release date, but it received very positively, becoming one of the most anticipated titles for the PlayStation 2. A demo of Twisted Metal: World Tour is also announced to be included with copies of Legacy of Kain: Defiance, which is cited as the reason why Defiance saw a large increase in the amount of preorders for it.
- Finally, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is revealed and shown off by Rockstar, promising an open-world larger than any other game in the series, as well as even more freedom than III or Vice City, and a more expansive narrative and story, featuring celebrity voice actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Fonda, Ice-T, and Willian Fichtner. It too, is scheduled for 2004, but the incredibly positive reception of the previous two games, plus the escalation in scope for the game, is enough to convince fans that the wait will be worth it.
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So they beat Enix and co on that regard? Well them.
Amazing idea buddy. Amazing update too
So No mechassault them?
Wait a minute..no 1080 2 or avalanche/white storm? Did was cancelled or still happened? That was a LAN capable game otl
It is an FPS with an online multiplayer focus, titled Contra: Shifter, and it is set in outer space, millennia after the events of the previous games.
In few words, otl meme of everything becoming a FPS happened here... who knew hat was the side effect of MS and Nintendo working together.(Zelda and Mario are next,
)
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Nintendo Software Technology (the developers who did the 1080 games) also did Wave Race: Blue Storm IOTL. ITTL, they instead chose to make Wave Race: Typhoon.
It exists (it still came out in late 2002), but the series was cut short in favor of Vulcan ITTL.
Only in regards to Crystal Dynamics. Eidos Interactive is still hanging around for just a little longer, though who ends up acquiring them will likely be something of a surprise. All I'm gonna say is that they're not getting rid of their golden goose (Tomb Raider) so there's definite interest in them.
lol, I'd say that it's more or less the same as the seventh generation FPS obsession, except it just happens years earlier ITTL
I see I thought they got eidos but seems eidos sold that piece trying to stay at float.
Vulcan
Vulcan is a 2003 mecha game developed by FASA Studio and published by Microsoft for the Nintendo X. It is the first original IP made by FASA Studio after spending most of their early career working on games set within the BattleTech universe. Gameplay-wise, the game takes two different forms in terms of combat; from a first-person perspective, there is more emphasis placed on shooting and using projectiles, thus taking inspiration from Halo. From a third-person perspective however, the gameplay more closely resembles Dynasty Warriors or Devil May Cry, utilizing melee weapons and allowing for the player to use hack and slash-like combat to swath through hordes of enemies.
The game has a science fantasy setting, being set on a fictional world named Karne, for which the game is titled after. Humans have been living in colonies located inside of mountains for thousands for years, after the surface of Karne was devastated by the Atom Wars, a conflict that resulted in weapons of mass destruction rendering the surface of Karne uninhabitable, and the only way to travel on the surface of Karne is to use Rooks, which are mechas designed for exploration and combat. There are four continents on this world, named Suveria, Solitan, Naturos, and Leganir, with the game taking place on and near the continent of Suveria. The story of the game revolves around Silas, a teenager living inside the mountains of Suveria. He pilots a Rook called the Vulcan, and is part of the Zeta Unit, which is part of the larger S.E.D.C. group (the Suverian Exploration and Defense Corps). The Zeta Unit specifically is the teenager division, where new recruits under the age of eighteen can sign up for service and begin careers in S.E.D.C. years earlier than others.
The story begins with Silas piloting the Vulcan in the ruins of an old city on the coast of Suveria, where the Zeta Unit is taking their final exam before becoming part of the Sigma Unit. However, they are attacked by a group of monsters called Nightcrawlers, winged spider-like creatures who had been thought to have gone extinct years before. The Vulcan is damaged as it flees the Nightcrawlers’ attack, and crash lands in the ocean. However, when Silas regains consciousness, he finds himself on an island named Perolis, which is populated by humans who seemingly aren’t affected by Karne’s toxic atmosphere. Silas tries to exit the Vulcan, but he still remains affected by the atmosphere of Karne. He meets and befriends the Parolian chief, Riyos, as well as his daughter, Akai, and learns that the island has also been attacked by the Nightcrawlers. While the Vulcan is too damaged to travel back to Suveria, it is strong enough to help assist the Perolians in fighting the Nightcrawlers, and Silas agrees to help defend Perolis with the Vulcan.
After defending Perolis from several Nightcrawler attacks, it is discovered that the Nightcrawlers have human bodies inside of them, positioned in a way that makes them look as if they’re piloting the Nightcrawlers. Silas also bonds with Akai during this time, despite the fact that he cannot leave the Vulcan. He opens up to her about his past and through it, it’s revealed that the Suverians are a genetically-bred species by way of cloning, as natural reproduction became unfeasible after the Atom Wars, so for generations, the Suverians have been grown inside laboratories from conception to birth. When a Suverian ship arrives at the island looking for him, Silas impulsively deactivates the Vulcan and prevents the Suverians from detecting it, choosing instead to stay on the island, feeling that he belongs there more. It’s revealed through the Suverians’ interactions with Riyos that Silas wasn’t the first Suverian to have ended up on the island, as Dr. Geimer, the head scientist of the Suverians and the overseer of the genetic breeding of the Suverians, had found the island years before. Silas is suspicious of this, but doesn’t reveal himself to the Suverians.
One night, Perolis is attacked by another wave of Nightcrawlers. However, these Nightcrawlers demonstrate human-level intellect and speech, and are far more strategic and cunning than the previous waves. They end up taking everyone prisoner and overpower the Vulcan, bringing them to the city in which the game started. It’s revealed then that the Nightcrawlers had been working with Dr. Geimer, and that the Perolians originally started out as an experiment by the Suverians to create naturally-breeding humans who were also immune to the atmosphere of Karne. However, they rebelled against the Suverians and disappeared centuries before, until Dr. Geimer found the island five years prior to the events of the story. Because of this, Dr. Geimer began using the cloning technology of the Suverians to resurrect the Nightcrawlers, whom he hoped to use to wipe out the Perolians and wipe out any chance of a threat that they posed; the newest wave of Nightcrawlers have human-level intelligence because they were bred from humans, possessing the same amount of intellect and allowing them to think and talk like humans.
The S.E.D.C. appears just as Geimer is about to destroy the Vulcan and kill Silas, and a battle breaks out between them and the Nightcrawlers. Silas fights alongside S.E.D.C. and instructs the Zeta Unit to safely transport the Perolians to the Suverian colony, while Dr. Geimer uses the chaos to try and escape. Silas follows Geimer, and eventually confronts him in a one-on-one fight, where Geimer injects himself with an experimental serum and transforms into a mutated human-Nightcrawler hybrid, and after a long battle with Silas, falls to him and the Vulcan. After this, Silas returns to the Suverian colony and reunites with Akai, who sees him in-person for the first time. The Suverian scientists develop a vaccine with the blood of the Perolians that provides the Suverians with immunity to the effects of Karne’s atmosphere, and Silas returns to Perolis with Akai and Riyos, taking the Vulcan with him and beginning a relationship with Akai. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone else, a group of human scientists on a space station above the surface of Karne instruct the surviving Nightcrawlers to attack and conquer the other continents before returning to Suveria, and mention that now with Dr. Geimer dead, no other human knows about them anymore, revealing that they have been influencing events on Karne in secret for decades.
Vulcan is released on October 3rd, 2003. It receives favorable reviews, citing the combat, the gameplay and feel of controlling the mechas, the setting, and the plot twists as highlights of the game, while the game’s short length receives more mixed reviews. It sells a million units by the end of the year, and would go on to sell two million units in lifetime sales, establishing it as a strong new IP for Microsoft, and causing them to put more focus on FASA Studio as a result, not only immediately greenlighting a sequel to the game, but also raising Microsoft's interest in games within genres outside of first-person shooters like Halo and Battlefield, with them beginning to greenlight more projects outside of the niche that they established themselves in.
Xenogears - Episode II shown off by Sony and Namco at Tokyo Game Show; Sony announces reacquisition of Tenchu license
“While Microsoft’s Vulcan arrives on store shelves, Sony has not taken their challenge of a mecha game lying down, showcasing Xenogears - Episode II at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Developed by Namco’s Monolith Soft, a studio composed of former Squaresoft employees, Episode II is set to be released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, and is a distant prequel to the original PlayStation game from 1998. Additionally, Sony announced that they have reacquired the rights to the Tenchu series from Activision, which most people are likely pointing towards being because of Tecmo releasing Ninja Gaiden as an exclusive for the Nintendo X in 2004. While what we’ve seen of Ninja Gaiden looks stunning so far, we’d be very curious to see how Sony returns the punch with a new Tenchu game, and how much influence it’ll take from other action games, such as Devil May Cry.”
The game has a science fantasy setting, being set on a fictional world named Karne, for which the game is titled after. Humans have been living in colonies located inside of mountains for thousands for years, after the surface of Karne was devastated by the Atom Wars, a conflict that resulted in weapons of mass destruction rendering the surface of Karne uninhabitable, and the only way to travel on the surface of Karne is to use Rooks, which are mechas designed for exploration and combat. There are four continents on this world, named Suveria, Solitan, Naturos, and Leganir, with the game taking place on and near the continent of Suveria. The story of the game revolves around Silas, a teenager living inside the mountains of Suveria. He pilots a Rook called the Vulcan, and is part of the Zeta Unit, which is part of the larger S.E.D.C. group (the Suverian Exploration and Defense Corps). The Zeta Unit specifically is the teenager division, where new recruits under the age of eighteen can sign up for service and begin careers in S.E.D.C. years earlier than others.
The story begins with Silas piloting the Vulcan in the ruins of an old city on the coast of Suveria, where the Zeta Unit is taking their final exam before becoming part of the Sigma Unit. However, they are attacked by a group of monsters called Nightcrawlers, winged spider-like creatures who had been thought to have gone extinct years before. The Vulcan is damaged as it flees the Nightcrawlers’ attack, and crash lands in the ocean. However, when Silas regains consciousness, he finds himself on an island named Perolis, which is populated by humans who seemingly aren’t affected by Karne’s toxic atmosphere. Silas tries to exit the Vulcan, but he still remains affected by the atmosphere of Karne. He meets and befriends the Parolian chief, Riyos, as well as his daughter, Akai, and learns that the island has also been attacked by the Nightcrawlers. While the Vulcan is too damaged to travel back to Suveria, it is strong enough to help assist the Perolians in fighting the Nightcrawlers, and Silas agrees to help defend Perolis with the Vulcan.
After defending Perolis from several Nightcrawler attacks, it is discovered that the Nightcrawlers have human bodies inside of them, positioned in a way that makes them look as if they’re piloting the Nightcrawlers. Silas also bonds with Akai during this time, despite the fact that he cannot leave the Vulcan. He opens up to her about his past and through it, it’s revealed that the Suverians are a genetically-bred species by way of cloning, as natural reproduction became unfeasible after the Atom Wars, so for generations, the Suverians have been grown inside laboratories from conception to birth. When a Suverian ship arrives at the island looking for him, Silas impulsively deactivates the Vulcan and prevents the Suverians from detecting it, choosing instead to stay on the island, feeling that he belongs there more. It’s revealed through the Suverians’ interactions with Riyos that Silas wasn’t the first Suverian to have ended up on the island, as Dr. Geimer, the head scientist of the Suverians and the overseer of the genetic breeding of the Suverians, had found the island years before. Silas is suspicious of this, but doesn’t reveal himself to the Suverians.
One night, Perolis is attacked by another wave of Nightcrawlers. However, these Nightcrawlers demonstrate human-level intellect and speech, and are far more strategic and cunning than the previous waves. They end up taking everyone prisoner and overpower the Vulcan, bringing them to the city in which the game started. It’s revealed then that the Nightcrawlers had been working with Dr. Geimer, and that the Perolians originally started out as an experiment by the Suverians to create naturally-breeding humans who were also immune to the atmosphere of Karne. However, they rebelled against the Suverians and disappeared centuries before, until Dr. Geimer found the island five years prior to the events of the story. Because of this, Dr. Geimer began using the cloning technology of the Suverians to resurrect the Nightcrawlers, whom he hoped to use to wipe out the Perolians and wipe out any chance of a threat that they posed; the newest wave of Nightcrawlers have human-level intelligence because they were bred from humans, possessing the same amount of intellect and allowing them to think and talk like humans.
The S.E.D.C. appears just as Geimer is about to destroy the Vulcan and kill Silas, and a battle breaks out between them and the Nightcrawlers. Silas fights alongside S.E.D.C. and instructs the Zeta Unit to safely transport the Perolians to the Suverian colony, while Dr. Geimer uses the chaos to try and escape. Silas follows Geimer, and eventually confronts him in a one-on-one fight, where Geimer injects himself with an experimental serum and transforms into a mutated human-Nightcrawler hybrid, and after a long battle with Silas, falls to him and the Vulcan. After this, Silas returns to the Suverian colony and reunites with Akai, who sees him in-person for the first time. The Suverian scientists develop a vaccine with the blood of the Perolians that provides the Suverians with immunity to the effects of Karne’s atmosphere, and Silas returns to Perolis with Akai and Riyos, taking the Vulcan with him and beginning a relationship with Akai. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone else, a group of human scientists on a space station above the surface of Karne instruct the surviving Nightcrawlers to attack and conquer the other continents before returning to Suveria, and mention that now with Dr. Geimer dead, no other human knows about them anymore, revealing that they have been influencing events on Karne in secret for decades.
Vulcan is released on October 3rd, 2003. It receives favorable reviews, citing the combat, the gameplay and feel of controlling the mechas, the setting, and the plot twists as highlights of the game, while the game’s short length receives more mixed reviews. It sells a million units by the end of the year, and would go on to sell two million units in lifetime sales, establishing it as a strong new IP for Microsoft, and causing them to put more focus on FASA Studio as a result, not only immediately greenlighting a sequel to the game, but also raising Microsoft's interest in games within genres outside of first-person shooters like Halo and Battlefield, with them beginning to greenlight more projects outside of the niche that they established themselves in.
Xenogears - Episode II shown off by Sony and Namco at Tokyo Game Show; Sony announces reacquisition of Tenchu license
“While Microsoft’s Vulcan arrives on store shelves, Sony has not taken their challenge of a mecha game lying down, showcasing Xenogears - Episode II at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Developed by Namco’s Monolith Soft, a studio composed of former Squaresoft employees, Episode II is set to be released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, and is a distant prequel to the original PlayStation game from 1998. Additionally, Sony announced that they have reacquired the rights to the Tenchu series from Activision, which most people are likely pointing towards being because of Tecmo releasing Ninja Gaiden as an exclusive for the Nintendo X in 2004. While what we’ve seen of Ninja Gaiden looks stunning so far, we’d be very curious to see how Sony returns the punch with a new Tenchu game, and how much influence it’ll take from other action games, such as Devil May Cry.”