What if: Ken Kutaragi bought a SEGA Mark III/Master System?

[Nivek]

The history of the Relationship between Sony and Nintendo is... Weird from a 'hard' History point, start with a Employement buying a product of the other company, feeling disapoiment for the audio level of that system, Illegally doing a research and production for the other enterprise, being cacthed and almost fire if wasn't the CEO was interested in the Business and a long etcetera...

Well what if in the day of purchase, Ken Kutaragi suffer an afterthougt(via a commercial or advise) to try a SEGA Mark III, and then when hear how the game sound(without the Yahama chip... sound worse than NES, Phantasy Star being the best Example)

How History will be? Maybe SEGA & Sony (S&S,) will do a similar deal for a sound board or the CD-add-on(who sega made in house)? Is one will be Succesful? will fail as OTL and Sony will want to Kill SEGA?

Here some thought...

 

[Electric Monk]

That's interesting. I don't know the relationship between CSK (Sega's parent company) and Sony but it's certainly possible.

It looks like the Sega CD was designed in-house but perhaps Sony reaches out to Sega unofficially via Ken Kutaragi and Sega comes back to Sony officially asking about a Sony designed Sega Genesis sound chip and later CD add-on.

If the Sony-Sega CD comes out than the PlayStation is probably butterflied but if it winds up cancelled or Nintendo releases a SNES CD first and it fails and then the Sega CD is cancelled the PlayStation might yet still exist.

 

[Thande]

If the Sony-Sega CD comes out than the PlayStation is probably butterflied but if it winds up cancelled or Nintendo releases a SNES CD first and it fails and then the Sega CD is cancelled the PlayStation might yet still exist.

I actually think that could kill CD gaming for a generation (in console terms, I mean). If Sony were bound up in a failed CD console there isn't really anyone left to keep pushing CDs as a game medium. We could still be seeing cartridge-type media dominant at the turn of the millennium, albeit more sophisticated than anything achieved in OTL--which would also have butterflies because it would drive up the cost of games.

 

[Electric Monk]

Zip drives, maybe, like the Nintendo DD (more or less).

But the idea of a CD game console was in the air, even if it gets pushed back a few years.

 

[Thande]

Zip drives, maybe, like the Nintendo DD (more or less).

That's exactly what I was thinking of, yes.

But the idea of a CD game console was in the air, even if it gets pushed back a few years.

Well yes but I'm just wondering who would fund it if there was a messy failure like that. Nintendo got so burned with the SNESCDROM fiasco and the Philips CDi that they swore off CDs altogether and it took being raped by the PlayStation One in the sales charts to make them see reason. Sony had an obvious interest in pushing a CD-based console due to their association with the format but if they were involved in a Mega CD that collapsed I don't think the will would be there to continue. Who else is going to build one? Actually that's an idea, maybe Atari is left to do it...and buggers it up like the Jaguar CD in OTL making matters even worse for CDs.

Or I suppose somebody could power through out of sheer muleheadedness, I mean Sega still made the Saturn after disappointing sales on the Mega CD.

 

[Consumerist]

Does Sony have any sort of manufacturing advantage over Sega that would make a CD console developed by them cheaper? Maybe if the consoles cheaper people will be less upset about the lack of games and Sega can try to fix the fmv-skewed library?

 

[Nivek]

Umm the debate have been good...

Thande the horizon can be that Grimm? more than a rival, a failed partnership will give Nintendo Dominance the next gen?(Nintendo Main reason besides the Failed contract and seeing as conceded for the media... was that Nintendo have a lot of Capital in Microchip and the physical plant) umm, playing Diabolicus Advocatum...


The main reason of Mega-CD faliure can be resume in two point:

1.The main Reason was than Genesis based Motherboard and PC were pretty weak, and the GPU can process much colors(even if Sonic games were colourful, the best of the Console) Who limited the power of Add-on in OTL and made to Japanese branch to think in the Saturn very late and the American the disastrous 32X... Maybe if Sony feel some of the Issue... can push for a better co-procesador or ask for a early Saturn?

2. SEGA in OTL for the Mega-CD was thinking that Third-Party support would make a game winner(when without offense, the Third Party always follow their own desires) and Besides both in-house Sonic & Shining force(The Lack of a Phantasy Star would have help) who were the best seller title OTL, the Third party ones who more sell were Lunar or from Konami..... and the rest were how to say... Dump, recicled laserdisc game and of very low artistic value...(not to say the game value)

In general was good fedback...ah the Irony of Videogames, Sony would have been unable of Sucess if not have been for Nintendo.

In general keep the debate was interesting , some ideas? without Sony Distraousus experience maybe Nintendo would make the Add-on In-house as SEGA OTL? or with matsushita(Panasonic) help like modern CD as OTL?

 

[Nivek]

Bump it

Nobody have more thoughts or the Chance of an Alternate Scenario?

 

[Nivek]

a Bump.

Nobody have a second opinion? Maybe Another POD would be Interesting.

What if Kutaragi goes to propose the Audio chip to Nintendo as OTL but Nintendo Turn him out(like they make with Hudson and they make the PC-Engine because of NEC interest in the market) telling that they still are not interested for now(maybe Yamauchi have a stroke of Distrust as POD).

Maybe Kutaragi will propose to make a Console to SONY or would be Laught by the Board of Directos?