What if Nintendo Stays in the Arcades (Reboot)

[MemphisC]

i got a special announcement as i will be coming back next Sunday to release a chapter about the Sega master system and start working on this TL again and hopefully the Disney one as well.

 

[MemphisC]

i retconned Viacom and Turner splitting MTV Networks, Now it stays the same as from OTL.

 

[MemphisC]

The Sega Master System (1985)​

The Sega master system (First), the logo of the Sega master system (second), Sega's MyCard (third), Sega Master System Cartridge (Fourth), and the Sega Phaser Light Gun (Fifth).​

The Sega Master System was Sega's second foray into the Home Console Industry after the SG-1000 and was significantly better equipped to fight against Nintendo than before. The Sega Master System started development in 1982 even before the SG-1000 released in the market in 1983; Development on the Sega Master System was relatively short as it only lasted 2 years thanks to the help of Motorola creating a custom Motorola 6800, A Zilog Z80, and a custom chipset for the Sega Master System and will have a great relationship with them later on for their hardware endeavors thank to their first time working together in the early 1980's. The Sega Master System however took a long to release due to three reasons; one was to lower the prices, two was to prepare for the best launch lineup possible with Alex the Kidd as their main mascot platformer for the system along with some good arcade ports as well, and three was to show that they meant business when they waited for Nintendo's release date in America and Europe to release it as a big (and in hindsight stupid) move against Nintendo. When the Sega Master System Releases in March 1985 in Japan and the United States and October 1985 everywhere else. In America, it did well and sold pretty well initially, but most of it dried up within a year and was never the same due to the lack of third party support and retailers not being very supportive of Sega this generation. the Best years for the Sega Master System would be 1985 due to being the launch year and 1989 as it got the most support and games due to Nintendo's Strategy of that time with the third parties being retired due to government intervention but by that happened it was too late and Sega needed to try again with another much more powerful platform if they had to stand another chance against Nintendo. In Japan, Same thing but worse due to Nintendo's massive Japanese support there. even though Sega fought long and hard in North America and Japan with some absolute great games on the Sega Master System, it was not enough against Nintendo's stranglehold they had on the gaming industry in the market at that time and Sega gave up in 1992 in favor of their next gen console, that is aside from Europe and PAL Territories. In Europe it did great and even better in places like Brazil due to Nintendo's Tardiness there and the focus Sega had in there which made PAL the one place where Nintendo lost in this generation and in Europe it was either Nintendo, Atari, or Sega as they had a majority share there and it was particularly vicious there in the third generation and would be even more later on. Finally, tech wise it was pretty comparable to the SNES and can do some things worse and better than the Super Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicom.

Market Shares of all major consoles this generation:​

​

Consoles:​	Nintendo SNES/Super Famicom​	Atari 7800/XE Games System​	Sega Master System​
North America​	75%​	10-12%​	13-15%​
Japan​	85%​	2%​	13%​
Europe and other Territories​	35%​	30%​	35%​

While it was considered a failure; it did help create some of the most popular game franchises for Sega started on the Sega Master System such as Alex The Kidd, Phantasy Star, ETC. Even Sonic The Hedgehog and Ristar saw some of their first appearances on the Sega Master System. Also this was the first example of Sega Buying Licenses to Popular Manga series like Dragon Ball, Disney IPs like Mickey, and Popular Movies from Paramount like Top Gun and the rights to create the home console Indiana Jones games; which would only increase in the subsequent generation when some major media corporation buys Sega in 1991 for 250 Million. But that is a story for another date; now here are the specs of the Sega Master System.

The Specs of the Sega Master System​

Release Date​	March 1985 (NA & JP) October 1985 (EU) PAL Released some time later
Lifespan​	1985 - 1992 (NA & JP) 1985 - 1997 (EU) 1985 - Today (Brazil)
Cost​	$199.99 at launch ($99.99 with the model II)
Developers​	Sega, Motorola
Manufacturers​	Sega, Motorola
Distributors​	Sega, Tectoy (Brazil)
Units Sold​	22 Million (WW) 14 Million (EU & PAL) 4.5 Million (NA) 3.5 Million (JP)
CPU​	Custom Motorola 6800 (8-bit, 3 MHz)
VDP​	Custom Motorola VDP "Kidd" (8-bit, 1.79 MHz)
Sound Chip​	Yamaha VDP PSG (SN76489), Yamaha YM2413
Other Chips​	Zilog Z80A (3.58 MHz) (used as a DSP and second CPU) Lockout Chips
RAM​	16 KB
V-RAM​	8 KB
S-RAM​	8 KB
Media​	Cartridge: (up to 128 KB; more with bank switching; biggest game was 2MB) Sega MyCard: (up to 64 KB; more with bank switching; biggest game was 1MB)
Graphics Modes​	Tile Mode Only
Sprites​	up to 64 sprites (2 or 4 colors)
Color Palate​	256 Colors (up to 512 with Advanced Techniques)
Resolution​	256 × 192
Other Features​	Same as OTL Master System
Controllers​	all same as OTL; the Master System's controller does have the same amount as the OTL NES controller
Backwards Compatibility​	Yes (SG-1000 games; only in Japan)
Games Released​	up to 800 officially licensed by 2000; much more unlicensed and bootlegged

Editor's Note: i Am not doing comprehensive lists of chapters anymore because it is too much and too rigid for any sudden changes and also i released it much later than expected.

Next chapters:
Nintendo System 1 Specs (1982)
Nintendo System 2 Arcade Hardware (1985)
Nintendo Namco Polygonizer and a building of massive partnerships with Nintendo (1985)

 

[MemphisC]

this chapter will be particularly short as this will only be discussing about the specs about the Nintendo Kyoto arcade hardware that came out in 1982. more information for the hardware is here: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...he-arcades-reboot.550248/page-2#post-24871287.

Release Date	July, 1982
Lifespan	1982 - 1987 (WW)
Cost	around $10,000 at launch
CPU	Custom Intel 80188 (8/16-bit, 8 or 9 MHz)
VDP	Custom Nintendo VDP VXC-1000" (16-bit, 6 MHz)
DSP	Custom Nintendo DSP "DXC-100" (built in the CPU)
Sound Chip	Texas Instruments SN76489 or Texas Instruments SN76489
RAM	32 or 64 KB
V-RAM	32 KB
S-RAM	32 KB
DSP-RAM	8 or 16 KB
Media	Cartridge (up to 128 Kilobytes)
Color Palate	512
Sprites	up to 32
Resolution	252 x 240 to 512 x 360
Other Chips	Custom Nintendo Blitter
Features	can do similar things to OTL Sega pre system 16 Sprite Scalers
Amount of Games Released	44 (by 1987)

next chapters:
Nintendo Vector Series of Arcade Hardware (1979 - 1984)
Nintendo Osaka Arcade Hardware (1985)
Atari's Ventures into the 3D scene (early 1980's)
Nintendo Namco Polygonizer (1985)

 

[MemphisC]

this is an announcement to retcon some things about the TL.

1. Nintendo System 1 name is changed to Nintendo Kyoto, System will be called Nintendo Osaka.
2. Atari's Banjo the Bear Series that i mentioned is abandoned after i found out the existence of Crystal Castles which can become one of Atari's big IPs now.

Edit:
also retconned Atari getting bought by Sony in 1991. it is different now.

 

[MemphisC]

Sorry for the long wait on the TL's in general as i am waiting for my summer to start very shortly but nothing is going to be released till summer starts for me and i can put all focus onto this TL and my other one's again.

i am also announcing that very soon i will be making a new TL about Atari and Nintendo in a similar vein to @MegaToon1234 TL called: https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...groove-an-alternate-nintendo-timeline.493709/