HuguesJohnson.com Mobile: What if the Nintendo CD was Released in 1991?

Scenario 1: Two Console War Continues (1/2)

Prior to the early 90s there was only room for one game console in the market. The Atari 2600 reigned supreme with the Intellivision and Colecovision lingering in the background. Later the NES came around and captured over 90% of the total game market with the Sega Master System and Atari 7800 gasping for breath.

The NES was so wildly successful it brought video games into nearly every home in the country. Sounds like that would be great for Nintendo but there was an unintended consequence. Video games were now so mainstream that multiple consoles could survive, Nintendo would never again achieve the market share they enjoyed in the 80s. The 16-bit war proved this, the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo each managed a healthy run with other competitors playing second fiddle. By the 2000's there would be room for three consoles.

Suppose the Nintendo CD was released in late 1991 with a new Mario game as the pack-in, maybe even just Super Mario World with a CD soundtrack and bonus levels. The system is an instant hit and stores struggle to keep it in stock. Sega responds by pushing more franchise titles to their CD system. The once rumored Phantasy Star CD game is actually published and sells furiously. Squaresoft sees the Nintendo CD as the logical platform for their next Final Fantasy game, the music among the greatest ever produced.

The Atari Jaguar is still released in 1993, but their CD add-on is rushed to market. The outcome isn't much better for Atari though. The fate of the 3DO doesn't change either. Although more advanced than the Nintendo and Sega CDs, the high price and lack of major titles dooms the system.

Another victim of this scenario is the 32X which is never developed. The original motivation for that add-on was to buy time against the impending 32-bit Sony Playstation. It was marketed as a cheap way for consumers to own a 32-bit system even if it wasn't really that significant of an upgrade.