X Marks the Spot - A Nintendo and Microsoft console timeline

Especially since this is early on in Steam's lifespan - it only launched in 2003.
Yeah and during the third PC revolution when gaming and PC become closer than ever, now apple is pushing to be back the dominant gaming platform in PC as was in 80's, that will be fun
 
Elemancia
Elemancia

Elemancia
is an action-adventure game developed by Rareware for the Nintendo X. It takes inspiration from a variety of games, such as The Legend of Zelda, Ico, and Banjo-Kazooie, with the former inspiring the world and level design of the game, while the latter two influenced the game "two characters in one" mechanic. It is developed by many from the same team that worked on titles like Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie, and as such, it has a more cartoonish look than games like Killer Instinct or Perfect Dark, though its artstyle is more comparable to things like the Monkey Island series or OTL's Kameo: Elements of Power than towards Banjo-Kazooie or Conker's Bad Fur Day.

The setting is Elemancia, an island that is home to the Diamond of Life, a large gemstone that grants its wielder power over all of the elements of the island. However, Ancient, a Lovecraft-inspired cosmic entity who tried to absorb the Diamond of Life, but was sent into a slumber while trying to do so, with the Diamond rebelling against Ancient and harnessing all of the elements to defeat it. The Diamond, then weakened by the ordeal with Ancient, separated itself in six separate shards that were scattered across the island, which then created six unique biomes that corresponded to each of the six elements; fire, wind, earth, lightning, ice, and water. The six regions can be traversed in any order, and can be travelled to at any time with the help of Regional Gates (portal-like structures that transport the player to different regions instantaneously). Their names are:
  • Aquilie - The water region, a lush and tropical area and the place in which the game begins.
  • Electrille - The lightning region, a mountainous region caught in the midst of an eternal thunderstorm.
  • Frostevis - The ice region, a cold and harsh glacier-filled terrain with lots of blizzards and ice storms.
  • Gustlade - The wind region, which is a large valley with lots of plains and fields.
  • Infernia - The fire region, covered in volcanoes and molten rock.
  • Subterrus - The earth region, a desert area home to many mining colonies.
The player controls two characters, an amnesiac boy named Edan, and a fairy companion named Kameo. Kameo can either be controlled as a duo, or separately without the other. Controlling the two separately is essential for the game, as the world and levels are designed in a way that the player must utilize both Edan and Kameo to solve puzzles and complete objectives, with each of them having separate skillsets and abilities. Edan can fight and move/destroy objects, while Kameo can fly (allowing her to access high areas unreachable to Edan or cross gaps that Edan can't jump over) and become transparent in order to pass through indestructible/immovable objects. Throughout the game, both also gain access to elemental powers that can enhance their skills; Edan can use fire abilities to melt ice, Kameo can use water to pass through cracks in stone, etc. As for combat, the game has Edan fighting with a sword, but rather than having combos or weapon swapping like in games such as Devil May Cry, Edan has some fairly basic moves, but they can be enhanced with elemental powers in order to make his moves more powerful. Additionally, Kameo can also fire projectiles (in place of Edan having a bow and arrow or some other kind of projectile-based weapon), which can also be enhanced by elemental powers. The elements that Edan has access to over the course of the game are fire, earth, and lightning, while Kameo's elements are water, wind, and ice.

The story begins with Edan washing ashore on Aquilie. Kameo finds him and takes him to her shelter, where she heals him and restores him to health. However, aside from his name, Edan has no memories of his past life. Kameo offers to take him to Azernath, the oracle of Elemancia, in order to figure out his identity. However, when they arrive at Azernath's temple, they find it under attack from the Leviathans, cephalopod-like creatures that resemble the Shoggoth from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Initially, Edan and Kameo are unable to overwhelm them, and are nearly killed then and there. However, Azernath appears and shaves them from the Leviathans, banishing them to the Umbral World. Azernath explains that the Leviathans are servants of Ancient, the being who battled the Diamond of Life eons before and was defeated by it. Currently, Ancient is supposed to be slumbering in the Umbral Realm, but the reappearance of the Leviathans suggests that he is beginning to reawaken. In order to defeat him and send him back to sleep, the six shards of the Diamond of Life must be retrieved from each region of Elemancia and be reassembled, so that Ancient can be kept asleep or destroyed for good. Azernath then tasks Edan and Kameo with finding the six shards, and gives Edan a sword to fight with.

As they collect the various shards, they begin to wield control over the elements themselves, and the two slowly become more capable of fighting the Leviathans and other monsters. But they face other obstacles aside from the forces of Ancient as well, such as the Relurim and the Oselas, two warring factions of fairies who reside on Elemancia. Kameo, as it turns out, had a Relurian father and Oselian mother, and has been ostracized by both factions since her birth. Both of them desire to reassemble the six shards to annihilate the other, but fail to keep them from Edan and Kameo. Throughout their journey, Edan and Kameo also encounter a group of undead warriors named "The Pitch"; they reanimated corpses controlled by the consciousness of Ancient, and like with the Leviathans, have appeared because of Ancient stirring in his slumber. However, after assembling the sixth shard, Azernath betrays Edan and Kameo, and takes the six shards of the Diamond for himself. Ancient, whose real name is Sorodus, is the brother of Azernath, and the two of them had fought over control of the Diamond of Life centuries ago. However, the Diamond sent Ancient into a slumber and reduced Azernath into a human, and Azernath desires to absorb the power of the diamond in order to do battle with Ancient again.

Edan and Kameo are then rescued by Relurim and Oselas, who agree to a temporary truce in order to defeat both Azernath and Sorodus. To do this, they have Edan and Kameo open a portal in the center of the island that leads to the Void, a realm that exists between Elemancia and the Umbral World, and to trap Azernath and Sorodus inside of that. However, as they do so, the shards of the Diamond surround Edan, drawn to him, and it is here that Edan regains his memories; Edan is the Diamond of Life reborn. When he had initially fought Azernath and Sorodus, he separated himself into seven fragments; the six shards containing the Diamond of Life's elemental powers, and his soul, which would be reawakened the moment Sorodus' slumber began coming to an end. Using his power, Edan fights Azernath and Sorodus, defeating and weakening both of them, but allows himself to be drawn into the portal with them as well. The three of them are then trapped in the Void between worlds, permanently.

Kameo returns to the Relurim and the Oselas, who wish to crown her their queen and unite under her, now worshipping her as a hero. However, Kameo is uninterested, and disappears off of the face of Elemancia, seemingly for good. Centuries later, the legend of the Diamond of Life, Azernath, Sorodus, Edan, and Kameo is being told to a group of younger fairies that exhibit traits of both the Relurim and the Oselas. However, we then see that Elemancia has now become a modern-day city, but powered by magitek and populated by fantastical creatures. As we see a distant view of the city's skyline, a silhouette of Kameo is shown watching over it, with the game ending there.

Elemancia is released on August 10th, 2005. It receives positive reviews for the gameplay and puzzle-solving, but the story isn't considered to be anything special, and a popular opinion voiced in the months to come would be that most players would've preferred a whole game revolving around Kameo, rather than both her and Edan. While Elemancia does have its admirers, it only translates to lukewarm sales, measuring up at around 700,000 copies, though Nintendo and Rareware do manage to make back the money spent on the game's development, so it isn't a bomb by any means. Ultimately, while it's enjoyable, it's not the start of a franchise for Nintendo or Rare, but at some of the creatives at Rare would say years later, it didn't really need to be a franchise, and it was just a fun game that they worked on for a bit.

Take Two facing investigations from SEC, FTC; hostility between shareholders and corporate leaders increase

"While the Grand Theft Auto games are no strangers to controversy, the latest round of happenings seem to indicate that the last straw for media watchdog groups has been met. Not long ago, it was discovered by some modders that within the code of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was a minigame in which the game's protagonist, Carl "CJ" Johnson, could have animated sexual intercourse with a female nurse of the player's choosing. While the minigame isn't present in the finished game itself, it still remains present within the code of the game, and sparked an outpouring of criticism and disapproval from watchdogs and media activists. A few days ago, Rockstar did patch the minigame out on PC, but the damage had been done by this point, as the Federal Trade Commission had announced an investigation into Take Two Interactive and Rockstar Games as a result of this recent controversy.

"But those are not the only troubles that are brewing for Take Two. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Take Two Interactive for artificially increasing the company's earnings, seemingly as a result of a complaint from 2001 in which their earnings were not equal to the amount of game sales from that year, with fraud of as much as up to $60m being suspected on Take Two Interactive's part. All of the above has led to their latest shareholder meeting being charitably described as 'tense' by insiders, with a not-unsubstantial number of shareholders expressing dissatisfaction or resentment at the management of Take Two Interactive. Aside from the SEC filing and the Hot Coffeee controversy, the shareholders also criticized Take Two unsuccessful bid to acquire Firaxis Games, which had been reported on a few months ago. To say that Take Two's future looks rocky would be understating the situation, as it seems that their and Rockstar's golden age is drawing closer and closer to an end."


Valve to expand game development workforce; two new studios formed to develop games exclusively for Steam

"Valve, the publisher that has made a name for itself with the Half-Life and Counter-Strike series of games, as well as the Steam digital storefront, has announced that they will be expanding their game and software development workforce, adding in around 300 new employees to produce and develop games for Valve to publish and distribute. Supposedly, this move is being made as a result of the announcement that several Apple iArcade games will also be releasing exclusively through iTunes on macOS computers; while Steam does support macOS, games like Soulcalibur III, ESPN NBA 2k6, Tomb Raider Arisen, and Epic Games' upcoming Gears of War have all been announced to be distributed exclusively through Apple's iTunes storefront on macOS computers, thus providing competition for Valve's own storefront. It seems like Valve is deciding that in order to compete with iTunes and Apple, they'd need to produce more of their own exclusives beyond titles like Half-Life and Counter-Strike, with two new studios being established with the purpose of developing game for Valve. The studio at Valve's Bellevue, Washington headquarters is now known as Valve North, while Valve's new studios in Atlanta, Georgia and Albuquerque, New Mexico are known as Valve Atlanta and Tite-Reach Studios respectively."
 
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Valve to expand game development workforce; two new studios formed to develop games exclusively for Steam
No worry still no half life 2 episode 3 or half life 3 at all either. Nice this forced Valve to do something rather just living up their 30% share of sales and their name.

Elemancia
Feel ver unique and well done , different but you can feel the kameo base of OTL, very nice work buddy
 
Take Two facing investigations from SEC, FTC; hostility between shareholders and corporate leaders increase
I know the first part is almost completely identical to the OTL "Hot Coffee" incident and the second part is mostly based on the OTL earnings fraud, which IOTL led to the shareholder takeover.

But given that TTL's version of the earnings fraud specifically mentioned the TTL-specific failure to acquire Firaxis, and Visual Concepts was bought by Apple instead of Take Two, are you planning a different fate for Take Two?

P.S. If you are planning for EA's hostile takeover of Take Two to be successful, note that IOTL, EA was apparently trying to eliminate its main competitor in sports games. Without Visual Concepts, Take Two does not have those, so less likely to be an EA target.
 
I know the first part is almost completely identical to the OTL "Hot Coffee" incident and the second part is mostly based on the OTL earnings fraud, which IOTL led to the shareholder takeover.

But given that TTL's version of the earnings fraud specifically mentioned the TTL-specific failure to acquire Firaxis, and Visual Concepts was bought by Apple instead of Take Two, are you planning a different fate for Take Two?

P.S. If you are planning for EA's hostile takeover of Take Two to be successful, note that IOTL, EA was apparently trying to eliminate its main competitor in sports games. Without Visual Concepts, Take Two does not have those, so less likely to be an EA target.
GTA alone is a valuable target for any company if take two have genuine financial issues ittl , but everything so far is otl for them, besides the failed firaxis acquisition
 
Cubios/SimWorld
Cubios

Cubios is a puzzle-platformer game developed by Japan Studio for the PlayStation Portable and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. While sharing similarities with games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Cubios is developed by a different group within Japan Studio, rather than Team Ico. The game follows a boy named Am, who enters a forbidden castle and gets transported to a different dimension when he moves a cube-like device. Am must find his way out of this dimension by navigating cube-like structures and arranging a way to traverse them. The gameplay of Cubios is simple enough; Am is moved around by the left analogue nub, the camera is controlled by the right analogue numb, and every other button corresponds to a command that allows the players to shift the terrain and structures that Am traverses throughout the dimension. The story is fairly minimal, consisting of the summary written above, and contains little traditional enemies or bosses. It's a puzzle game first and foremost, and was intended to be more mind-provoking than intense.

Cubios is released on August 19th, 2005, and received generally positive reviews. While not addictive in the same way as games like Tetris, Puyo Puyo, or Bejeweled, and certainly not as artistically-revered as Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, Cubios fits the portable nature of the console it was developed for, and players can spend hours solving the many puzzles of the game, and it even manages to grow a decently-sized speedrunning community, as the single-player nature of the game coupled with the gameplay of a puzzle game makes it easy fodder for speedrunners. Cubios would also end up being bundled with some PlayStation Portable units in Japan, and while it doesn't make too big of a splash in the USA, it becomes something of a minor killer app for the PlayStation Portable in Japan. Overall, it manages to sell around 2 million in lifetime sales, and is fondly regarded by those who played it.

SimWorld

SimWorld is a life simulator/god game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. As the name implies, it's an installment in the long-running Sim series of games, and SimWorld is much more online-heavy than its predecessors in the series. SimWorld is designed as being a game that one could not only easily take on the go with them, but be encouraged to bring it on the go with them as well. Utilizing the online features of the PlayStation Portable, SimWorld allows for players to connect with one another in a manner similar to OTL's SpotPass and StreetPass software for the Nintendo 3DS. Players can build and design their own cities and structures as normal, but the character's choice of country will influence the material, cosmetics, etc. that they receive when booting up the game. By taking their PSP consoles and SimWorld with them, and by connecting with other people, they not only attract visitors to their cities, but also receive new materials and cosmetics based off of other regions of the world (someone in America starts off with American structures and cosmetics, but they can connect with a French person to receive French structures and cosmetics, for example). Everyone has access to the same basic materials, but landmarks such as Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower depend on which country the player is from.

SimWorld is released on September 1st, 2005. It receives positive reviews for the online integration, with many noting that it encourages the portable aspect of the PlayStation Portable greatly, though these features end up being rather muted in the long run in terms of impact, as most people are just content with having a portable Sim game, and the content received from the game's online features is viewed more or less as a bonus, if anything. SimWorld initially sells 1 million in its first month, but would be bundled with PlayStation Portable consoles during the holiday season of that year, and go on to sell 5 million units worldwide, with a Nintendo DS port coming later in 2007.

Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom developing successor to Triforce

"The partnership of Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom this past generation with the Triforce arcade board has resulted in titles like Bizarre Creations' Excitebike, F-Zero GX and AX, and Wave Race: Blue Storm, as well as arcade ports done by Capcom of home console titles like Halo. With the announcement of Nintendo and Microsoft's Project Next coming out next year and in active development, it shouldn't surprise many people that Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom are already developing a successor to the Triforce arcade board for the upcoming HD generation. According to insiders, it is being developed to fit games within a variety genres, including racing, shooting, fighting, rhythm, and more, which could help narrow down the kinds of games Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom have in their pipeline and are planning to developed and release with the yet-to-be-named arcade board in mind. We would be surprised if a brand-new Killer Instinct didn't show up after the success of the 10th Anniversary Collection, and we'd love to see a true modern fighting game from Capcom as well."

Sony acquires minority stake in Level-5

"Nintendo and Level-5's success with Gold Empire, the exclusive MMORPG for the Nintendo X, has seemed to attract the attention of other parties that have an interest in Level-5. Sony Computer Entertainment, with whom Level-5 has collaborated with for the Dark Cloud games, as well as the upcoming Rogue Galaxy and Jeanne d'Arc games for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable respectively, looks to be desiring to keep Level-5 close to them, as in their latest financial report, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that they have acquired a minority stake in Level-5. While this stake is minuscule in the grand scheme of things and doesn't compare to a controlling investment, it's nevertheless a demonstration of Sony wanting to keep the studios it's close with from straying too far from them."
 
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Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom developing successor to Triforce
Something would help Sega a lot, the same Capcom, having an easier to develop HD arcade board,


While this stake is minuscule in the grand scheme of themes and doesn't compare to a controlling investment
And I doubt hino would want to lose the DS market as at this point he already has Layton and Inazuma ideas in the back burner
 
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Hey,

The next chapter won't be out for a few days, as my computer broke and I can't work on it as much as I'd like to until I get it fixed. I have an appointment Saturday, so this chapter probably won't be out until Sunday at the earliest.

Sorry about the delay, hopefully it'll be worth the wait.
 
Wayfarer Tobias
(AN: I finally got my computer fixed and managed to get back to writing. Originally the chapter was gonna be for Mind|Hunt: Cavalier, but I didn't like how it was turning out and scrapped that in favor of this. Hope you enjoy it, and sorry for the delay.)

Wayfarer Tobias

Wayfarer Tobias is a turn-based JRPG developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable. The development team at Capcom consists of employees poached from Sega, many of whom had worked on Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast and GameCube, though there also some former employees from tri-Ace and Konami, among others. Initially conceived of as a PlayStation 2 title, Sony instead asked for Capcom to develop it for the PlayStation Portable, feeling as if a new JRPG series had more potential for success on the PSP than on the PS2. It is the first original turn-based JRPG series made by Capcom since Breath of Fire, and subsequent entries would establish it as being part of the Wayfarer series, with the title changing to suit the name of each game's protagonist (similar to Gust's Atelier series).

Like Skies of Arcadia, Wayfarer Tobias places an emphasis on open-world exploration, though unlike Skies of Arcadia, the game's setting is instead that of a post-apocalytic flooded world named Kolue, where people live on man-made islands called "islets". While there is organic land present in this world, most of these natural landmasses are spread far apart from each other, which means that seafaring exploration is a necessity. This leads to the game's exploration to resemble a cross of Skies of Arcadia and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, with the player using a number of ships and vessels to navigate the world. The game, while having a post-apocalyptic setting, has a fantasy aesthetic more akin to Squaresoft's JRPGs, though unlike the SNES Final Fantasy games or Skies of Arcadia, there aren't any steampunk or magitek elements to it, instead resembling 16th or 17th century Earth in terms of innovation.

The game has six party members total, which are:
  • Tobias Cunningham - The main protagonist and eponymous character of the game. Tobias Cunningham is a roguish mercenary and treasure hunter in his early twenties, having spent his life by traveling from islet to islet, and has lived by himself since the age of fourteen, ever since his older brother died. He is cocky, and confident, but also reckless and somewhat full of himself, though not to an insufferable level. When the game begins, he is under the employment of the Marauder King Alphos, searching for and delivering treasure and artifacts for him. He is voiced by Doug Erholtz.
  • Jasmine Sorell - The secondary protagonist, she is a disgraced member of the Tide's Watch, a militia dedicating to protecting the high seas and the various islets. Jasmine's reason for her fall from grace is that during a battle against a group of bandits, her ship was sunken and three of the militia members under her command ended up drowning, while the wealth they were transporting was stolen by the bandits. She is snarky and bitter, but also regretful of her misdeeds and seeks to clear to her name and earn back the respect of her fellow militia members. She is voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
  • Regina Venable IV- A young woman who is the heiress to a great fortune and a member of the aristocracy, she is sheltered but adventurous, and has spent most of her life living on her family's private islet, with little interactions with the rest of the world for most of her childhood. This results in her being somewhat naive, though she is good-hearted and approachable, and the emotional center of the group. She is voiced by Cindy Robinson.
  • Edward Tam - A marine biologist and professor at Rondeis Academy, a prestigious academy for researchers and intellectuals. Tam is much more introverted and antisocial than his colleagues, and feels overshadowed by their achievements, wishing to make an accomplishment of his own and measure up to his peers. He is, however, a patient and helpful teacher, and knowledgeable in aquatic life and evolution. Voiced by Ben Diskin.
  • Alastor - A sorcerer who lives on one of the last remaining natural islands. Having lived in isolation for centuries, he is dismayed and disappointed to find out that he had been forgotten, as he was a notorious figure during his glory days. He seeks to assert his reputation by joining the group, and can be summed up as egotistical and brash, though he is sensible enough to not act irrationally and out of emotion. Voiced by Gerald C. Rivers.
  • Miranda - A notorious pirate known for using her looks and charms to steal treasure from others, she is self-serving and and intelligent, knowing to get what she wants how she wants to, but is affable and never tries to hurt anyone with her schemes, preferring to steal what she wants to take and leave without a trace. While untrusted at first, she gradually gains the group's trust as the game goes on. Vocied by Michelle Ruff.
Leveling in Wayfarer Tobias is actually fairly different that most JRPGs, instead resembling the leveling system of WRPGs; with each level gained, the player chooses stats for the characters to enhance, and when each character is initially introduced, they get to choose what areas and stats they excel in. No character has stats that they excel in before they're recruited, so it's entirely possible to make one character a warrior archetype in one playthrough, a healer in another, etc. The battle system is also fairly different from normal JRPGs, featuring two kinds of battles:
  • Ship battles - While exploring the seas and the overworld of Warfarer Tobias, having a random encounter with a monster or a group of bandits out at sea won't result in them appearing on the ship, but rather having the player fight against the enemy using the ship; think of how Aeons are summoned and fight by themselves in Final Fantasy X for a better comparison. These battles make it so that maintaining and fixing the ship being used is as much of a priority as keeping the party members healthy and ready to battle.
  • Regular battles - Like with most other JRPGs, the player chooses three characters to take into a turn-based battle. However, the mechanic that separates Wayfarer Tobias' battle system from those of other JRPGs is a gameplay feature called "Positioning". Each character has a gauge that fills up to four points, and the player can use these points to move characters around the enemies they're facing, with eight different attacking spots in total, including the starting point. When each character's gauge is filled, the player can activate a group attack that operate similarly to an All-Out Attack from the Persona games.
The main premise of the game is fairly simple; Tobias Cunningham, the titular "Wayfarer", learns of a treasure, and wishes to be the one to claim it for himself. Along the way, he meets the aforementioned five characters, who all join his quest for the treasure for their own reasons; Jasmine wants to redeem herself and her reputation, Regina because the treasure belonged to an ancestor of hers, Edward desiring glory and respect among his peers, Alastor in a bid for power and regain his infamy, and Miranda out of her own self-centeredness. However, no one knows where to find the treasure, as its location has been hidden for centuries. Because of this, the group has to explore seven natural landmasses in order to find a number that makes up the coordinates of the treasure. The seven landmasses are:
  • Runicana - A tropical island of ancient ruins and abandoned temples.
  • Dustoris - A dry and humid island, with plantlife and species one would expect to find in a desert.
  • Sunken Tower - An ancient building submerged in water, whose architectural style hints towards the old world being similar to modern-day Earth.
  • Olympiana - An island in the middle of a raging storm that has barely been explored due to how volatile the storms are.
  • Makaru - A volcano rising out of the ocean, with a landscape covered in fire and lava.
  • Glacier Frontier - A glacier rising out of the ocean, it is barren of life, save for several monsters and bandits.
  • Ralipanos - An archipelago full of many monsters and dangerous lifeforms, few people survive traveling through it.
Eventually, after exploring all of the seven landmasses, assembling the coordinates, and leveling up and customizing the characters well enough, the player unlocks the final dungeon of the game; an ancient whale named Pagorus, inside of whom the treasure is located. After traversing the insides of Pagoru, the player reaches the final boss of the game; Yi-ka-ru, an ancient God who guards the treasure from all those who try to steal it, and whom after fighting and defeating, gives the treasure to the player. However, the character who earns the treasure in-game is the one who lands the final blow on Yi-ka-ru, and depending on which character that is, there are six possible endings:
  • If Tobias lands the final blow, he is shown celebrating at a pub with the rest of the group. However, just as he's about to leave, he overhears two patrons talking about another long-lost treasure, and pesters them for information. After they tell him, he heads off in search of the treasure and in search of more wealth.
  • If Jasmine lands the final blow, she is shown at a Tide's Watch naval ceremony being reinstated and having her honor restored. She is then shown taking command of a new ship, and gives a rousing speech to the crew about protecting the high seas from all monsters and ne'er-do-wells.
  • If Regina lands the final blow, she is shown taking her wealth and using it to invest in more construction efforts for islets and artificial landmasses, with the intent of one day building entire continents and establishing a more connected world.
  • If Edward lands the final blow, he is seen giving a lecture to all of his peers at a dinner event, with everyone applauding him. However, the treasure is then stolen from Rondeis Academy's museum by bandits, much to his (and everyone else's) dismay.
  • If Alastor lands the final blow, he is seen performing a summoning ritual that will resurrect an army of the dead to conquer the world in his name. However, the spell goes wrong, and he ends up traveling back in time to the world before the apocalypse, which looks like a modern-day Earth, with him standing in the middle of a crowded street and pedestrians poking fun at his outfit and physical appearance.
  • If Miranda lands the final blow, she is seen surrounded by an entourage of muscular and physically attractive men at her service, while she sits on a throne made of gold eating a bowl of fruit. One of the men tries to steal the treasure, but she commands the rest of them to beat him up for trying to do so, while she sits and laughs at him.
Wayfarer Tobias is released on September 13th, 2005 on the PlayStation Portable, and garners incredibly positive reviews. Many people appreciate it for being a more light-hearted and less heavy JRPG, while still offering an engaging cast of characters, a unique battle system, and other gameplay features that help it stand out from games like Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. Sales for Wayfarer Tobias pick up almost immediately in the east, with a million units sold in Japan alone. It takes more time for it to find an equally adoring audience in the west, but it still sells well enough for Capcom to feel justified in the localization effort. A sequel for the PlayStation Portable would be put into production almost immediately by the same team, and Wayfarer Tobias would eventually be ported to the DS a year later. Overall, it was a successful new IP launch for Capcom, and signified a rare attempt from them at making a JRPG, after having mainly done fighting games and survival horror for so long.

Bethesda signs contract with Valve to distribute The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion exclusively through Steam

"While eastern role-playing games are making their mark on consoles, western role-playing games are planning for the future on PCs. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which was announced several months ago at E3 2005, will now be exclusively distributed through Steam, as per an agreement between Valve and Bethesda. Bethesda had announced at E3 that Oblivion would be seeing a release on both Microsoft Windows and macOS in 2006, but digital copies will only be available on Steam for both platforms. This move can be seen as further retaliation on Valve's part towards Apple, who had announced a number of high-profile games that will be exclusively distributed through iTunes macOS, including Tomb Raider Arisen, ESPN NBA 2k6, Namco's Soulcalibur III, Epic Games' Gears of War, and most recently, id Software's Doom 3. It was reported that Valve had expanded their workforce so that they put more first-party exclusives to compete with Apple, but until those exclusives are released, it seems that Valve will be relying on third-party exclusivity deals with developers like Bethesda for the time being."

Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl delayed to 2006

"At E3 2005, Nintendo and GameFreak unveiled the next generation of Pokemon, confirming that it would be formally begun by the upcoming games Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl, as exclusives for the Nintendo DS. However, earlier this week, Nintendo and GameFreak announced that Diamond & Pearl will be delayed past its initial release date of 2005's holiday season, and will instead be releasing sometime in 2006. Reportedly, GameFreak's developers are still working through several gameplay aspects, likely the online component for the game, though according to insiders, there has also been debates going on behind the scenes on whether to move away from the 2D sprite-based graphics, or to make full use of the DS and had the game built in full 3D. While no definitive answer on the last rumor has been given yet, it seems that Diamond & Pearl will not be ready for this year's holiday season regardless."
 
Bethesda signs contract with Valve to distribute The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion exclusively through Steam
Unironically i think apple will be happy with this, show people have now to properly support Mac as gaming platforms rather an afterthought and show those game are still coming to mac anyway
 
Unironically i think apple will be happy with this, show people have now to properly support Mac as gaming platforms rather an afterthought and show those game are still coming to mac anyway
To put it simply, Apple is trying to sell computers with this, while Valve is trying to keep people from leaving Steam. Valve doesn't care about whether it sells a game on Windows or macOS, but it does care which storefront people buy them through.

Either way, Valve's in for a very different future ITTL.
 
To put it simply, Apple is trying to sell computers with this, while Valve is trying to keep people from leaving Steam. Valve doesn't care about whether it sells a game on Windows or macOS, but it does care which storefront people buy them through.

Either way, Valve's in for a very different future ITTL.
Yeah they know has to make people cared directly for Steam rather just taking advantage being a natural monopoly for so long
 
Enix Anniversary Collection
Enix Anniversary Collection

Enix Anniversary Collection is a compilation rerelease developed by Enix and Hudson Soft, and published by Enix. Intended to celebrate Enix's 30th anniversary, Enix Anniversary Collection is a collection of games from Enix and Hudson Soft's back catalogue, spanning from NES games to PS1 games and even PC Engine titles. Overall, a whopping fifty one games in total are included in the collection, which are:
  1. Door Door (originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in February 1983)
  2. Bomberman (originally released for the MSX in July 1983)
  3. 3-D Bomberman (originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1984)
  4. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (originally released for the NES on 11/29/85)
  5. Dragon Quest (originally released for the NES on 5/27/86)
  6. Star Soldier (originally released for the NES on 6/13/86)
  7. Adventure Island (originally released for the NES on 9/12/86)
  8. Dragon Quest II (originally released for the NES on 1/26/87)
  9. China Warrior (originally released for the PC Engine on 11/21/87)
  10. Victory Run (originally released for the PC Engine on 12/28/87)
  11. Dragon Quest III (originally released for the NES on 2/10/88)
  12. Momotaro Dentetsu (originally released for the NES on 12/2/88)
  13. Military Madness (originally released for the PC Engine on 2/9/89)
  14. Dungeon Explorer (originally released for the PC Engine on 3/4/89)
  15. Tengai Makyo: Ziria (originally released for the PC Engine on 6/30/89
  16. Super Momotaro Dentetsu (originally released for the PC Engine on 9/15/89)
  17. Bonk's Adventure (originally released for the PC Engine on 12/15/89)
  18. Dragon Quest IV (originally released for the NES on 2/11/90)
  19. ActRaiser (originally released for the SNES on 12/16/90)
  20. Bonk's Revenge (originally released for the PC Engine in 1991)
  21. Soul Blazer (originally released for the SNES on 1/31/92)
  22. Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru (originally released for the PC Engine CD-ROM on 3/26/92)
  23. Soldier Blade (originally released for the PC Engine on 7/10/92)
  24. E.V.O.: Search for Eden (originally released for the SNES on 12/21/92)
  25. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (originally released for the SNES on 3/12/93)
  26. Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (originally released for the PC Engine on 4/2/93)
  27. Super Bomberman (originally released for the SNES on 4/28/93)
  28. Illusion of Gaia (originally released for the SNES on 11/27/93)
  29. Mega Bomberman (originally released for Sega Genesis on 12/10/93)
  30. Itadaki Street 2 (originally released for the SNES on 2/26/94)
  31. Wonder Project J (originally released for the SNES on 12/9/94)
  32. Terranigma (originally released for the SNES on 10/20/95)
  33. Saturn Bomberman (originally released for the Sega Saturn on 7/19/96)
  34. Star Ocean (originally released for the SNES on 7/19/96)
  35. Wonder Project J2 (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 11/22/96)
  36. Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku (originally released for the Sega Saturn on 1/14/97)
  37. Mischief Makers (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 6/27/97)
  38. Bloody Roar (originally released for the PlayStation on 7/7/97)
  39. Bomberman 64 (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 9/26/97)
  40. Bust a Groove (originally released for the PlayStation on 1/28/98)
  41. Star Ocean: The Second Story (originally released for the PlayStation on 7/20/98)
  42. Dragon Warrior Monsters (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 9/25/98)
  43. Bloody Roar 2 (originally released for the PlayStation on 1/28/99)
  44. Bust a Groove 2 (originally released for the PlayStation on 4/15/99)
  45. Torneko: The Last Hope (originally released for the PlayStation on 9/15/99)
  46. Valkyrie Profile (originally released for the PlayStation on 12/22/99)
  47. Bomberman Land (originally released for the PlayStation on 12/21/00)
  48. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 3/15/01)
  49. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 4/12/01)
  50. Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart (originally released for the Game Boy Advance on 3/29/03)
  51. Ninja Five-O (originally released for the Game Boy Advance in April 2003)
As one can see, the Enix Anniversary Collection boasted one of the largest collections of games at the time of its release, and needed to use two DVD discs, rather than only one, in order to contain every game (mainly because of multi-disc PS1 games). Many games were also localized for the very first time, such as Door Door, 3-D Bomberman, Wonder Project J and J2, Bomberman Land, among others. Initially, the collection was meant to be much smaller, but after Enix acquired Hudson Soft, they began adding more and more games from Hudson Soft's back catalogue, mainly at the behest of the executives who wanted to emphasize Enix's growing library of properties and games. While this was not known at the time of release, it would later emerge that Enix workers had reportedly been crunched and overworked frequently during the development of Enix Anniversary Collection as a result of this, including localization teams that had to translate multiple games for the first time. While Japan did have a culture that emphasized overworking at the expense of one's health, it was reported that many employees considered their time working on Enix Anniversary Collection as one of the most exhausting projects they've ever worked on, if not the most exhausting. These revelations came about in 2008, and while they didn't affect Enix too badly, their reputation did take a hit as a result of this outside of Japan, due to the difference in work culture in western countries as opposed to Japan.

Enix Anniversary Collection released exclusively for the Nintendo X on September 22, 2005, the day of Enix's 30th anniversary, and is also accompanied by Nintendo X ports of Bloody Roar 4, Itadaki Street 3, and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, all as their own separate releases. It received rave reviews from critics and audiences, with most of the praise going to the large collection of games, both famous and obscure, as well having a mix of older legacy titles and newer titles from the previous and current generations of consoles. In Japan alone, the collection sold 4.6 million units and was marketed extensively, mainly because of Enix's reputation as the company behind Dragon Quest. The rest of the world didn't take to it as much as Japan did, but it sold around 1.7 million units in western territories, leading to a total of 6.3 million units overall, making it not only a tremendous financial success for Enix, but also cementing Hudson Soft as a permanent part of Enix's operations. The money itself would be put to good use as well, as the Enix Anniversary Collection had also shined a spotlight on franchises either long forgotten or obscure in the west, and starting from the next year, Enix would begin reviving older franchises one by one...

Sony and Type-Moon's Mind|Hunt: Cavalier delayed to 2006, Final Fantasy XI gets release date

"At TGS 2005, Sony showed off a number of titles that were present several months earlier at E3 2005, including Final Fantasy XI, which received a release date of April 14, 2006, after having previously been confirmed for a tentative 2006 release date. And it seems as if 2006 will be a larger year for Sony in more than just that, as Type-Moon and Sony announced that Type-Moon's PlayStation Portable-exclusive visual novel, Mind|Hunt: Cavalier, has been delayed from its late 2005 release date and instead been pushed into 2006. While the PlayStation Portable isn't lacking in titles, with Final Fantasy Redivivus, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Cubios, SimWorld, and the recently-released Wayfarer Tobias all keeping interest in Sony's first portable console at a good level, something like Mind|Hunt: Cavalier could've provided an answer to the Nintendo-exclusive Ace Attorney series, which has proven that handheld consoles are a good platform to develop visual novels for. Sony was also asked about their next-generation plans, but declined to comment any further and refusing to commit to any specific release date, at least publicly."

Apple shows off Panzer Dragoon spiritual successor Wyvern's Reach

"Earlier this year, Apple unveiled a spiritual successor to Sega's Panzer Dragoon series named Wyvern's Reach, which also boasts Yukio Futatsugi at the helm of the game, though this time as a member of Apple Virtual Entertainment Tokyo (AVE Tokyo for short). Wyvern's Reach, which set to be released on the Apple iArcade in 2006, is probably the most visually and technically impressive rail shooter we've seen thus far; convention-goers at TGS 2005 reportedly described the gameplay as 'frenetic but familiar', with some citing it as an evolution of the formula that Futatsugi used for Panzer Dragoon. Unlike this year's Star Fox Rogue, the game won't be playing like a flight sim, and will retain the traditional rail shooter gameplay that made Panzer Dragoon a hit with audiences on the Sega Saturn, and while most fans have enjoyed Star Fox Rogue, something like Wyvern's Reach should please the minority who desire something that doesn't break away from the traditions of the genre."
 
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Wyvern's Reach
As long is not as barren as crimson dragon could be something nice, was a shame SEGA killed panzer dragoon.


These revelations came about in 2008,
Would people even care? Plus even Nintendo has to face crunch too( mostly the nature of software too, even the company itself forced Miyamoto to cut his schedule)

Regardless that's an amazing collection, such package full of content.


Type-Moon's PlayStation Portable-exclusive visual novel, Mind|Hunt: Cavalier, has been delayed from its late 2005 release date and instead been pushed into 2006
Knowing type moon, see ya again in 2020
 
As long is not as barren as crimson dragon could be something nice, was a shame SEGA killed panzer dragoon.



Would people even care? Plus even Nintendo has to face crunch too( mostly the nature of software too, even the company itself forced Miyamoto to cut his schedule)

Regardless that's an amazing collection, such package full of content.



Knowing type moon, see ya again in 2020
Maybe for the English localization at least
 
Regardless that's an amazing collection, such package full of content.
It's basically one of the Sega collections, but for Enix games. Had to dig in deep to add some really obscure titles in order to make it feel like a big celebration of Enix and not just a cash-grab.
Shouldn't be 4? OTL GameCube and Xbox got polished port of 3 anyway and by this timeline point should be 3
I forgot about Primal Fury, so I changed it.
 
I forgot about Primal Fury, so I changed it.
Wonder why people forget about it, was one of the best.

It's basically one of the Sega collections, but for Enix games. Had to dig in deep to add some really obscure titles in order to make it feel like a big celebration of Enix and not just a cash-grab.
52 games, we're getting a game for buck and some of them are genuine masterpieces, that is going to be a collector item forever
 
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