Top 10 Stories That Could Have Changed Gaming Forever

Black Isle Studios was once a premiere developer when it came to RPGs, having worked on the first two “Fallout” games and published BioWare’s “Baldur’s Gate” series. Unfortunately, its parent company Interplay closed the studio in 2003 amidst financial struggles. Black Isle was in the middle of “Fallout 3” when it closed, and the rights were eventually sold to Bethesda. A tech demo for the canceled project leaked in 2007, which shows it would’ve stuck much closer to the style of the original games than Bethesda’s “Fallout 3.” Some Black Isle members went on to form Obsidian and got to bring small elements into “Fallout: New Vegas.” But there’s no denying the franchise would be entirely different if Black Isle hadn’t been closed.

Exclusivity was one of the biggest focuses of the last generation. While Sony fans enjoyed a cavalcade of games only on PS4, Xbox players only received a handful. This could’ve been very different, however. In 2014, Marvel approached both Sony and Microsoft to make exclusive games. Sony jumped at the opportunity, leading to Insomniac’s incredible “Spider-Man,” which has already received a spin-off and is getting a sequel in 2023. It was clearly the right decision; the studio is also working on a Sony-exclusive “Wolverine.” Microsoft, on the other hand, turned down the opportunity to focus on its own IPs. We all know how well that turned out. But if Microsoft had said yes, it wouldn’t have had to work so hard at playing catch-up.

Although it wasn’t the first home console shooter, the first “Halo” was a monumental step forward for the genre. And it’s a franchise that helped capitalize on the prospect of online gaming for consoles. Developer Bungie originally envisioned “Halo” as a real-time strategy game. Nothing against the RTS genre, but the change to FPS was definitely the right call. It was the perfect game at the perfect moment, helping solidify the Xbox brand. Speaking of which, “Halo” wasn’t even intended to be an Xbox exclusive. It was originally going to launch on Mac and Windows, but Bungie’s financial struggles at the time opened it up to a Microsoft acquisition. This was best for both companies as “Halo” became one of the Xbox’s best-selling games.

Id Software is one of the most important developers around, having essentially created the FPS as we know it today. In its early days, the company was almost purchased by Sierra Entertainment, known for its adventure games. Designer and programmer John Romero, along with id’s co-founder John Carmack, met with Sierra’s Kevin Williams about a possible acquisition. They showed Williams an early build of “Wolfenstein 3D,” but he was reportedly unimpressed and refused to meet their pay demands. This was quite literally the future of gaming staring Williams in the face, and we have a feeling it might not have come true had the sale gone through. Today, id is still thriving under Bethesda with the “DOOM” franchise while Sierra closed in 2008.

“Final Fantasy” is such a massive, long-running franchise that even non-gamers know of its importance. It’s true that no franchise can exist without the first entry, but when it comes to the original “Final Fantasy,” things were a bit more dire. Developer Square was apparently in desperate need of a win; it was on the brink of bankruptcy by the time the game was released. The studio thought it might be its last game, hence the name. Luckily, it was a definite hit. But it’s honestly scary to think about the gaming industry had it not been. It wouldn’t just mean the loss of an incredibly beloved RPG series. So many other great games, and Square’s merger with Enix in 2003, would never have happened.

There was a time in which Nintendo was nowhere near the gaming giant it is today. The company’s first major breakthrough in video games came with 1981’s “Donkey Kong,” an incredibly lucrative endeavor. Universal tried to sue Nintendo, stating the game infringed on the trademark of “King Kong.” Unfortunately for the film studio, it had already proven in a separate case that King Kong was part of the public domain. Nintendo’s win, and the funds earned from it, undoubtedly helped the company grow stronger and continue making games for the American market. Not for nothing, but Nintendo was also so grateful to the lawyer who won the case that it named a future character after him: a little puffball named Kirby.

When Microsoft was gearing up to launch the Xbox, it approached multiple studios to get their games on the platform. While Bungie said yes to the acquisition, there are a few other companies, like Activision and Square, who said no. The one purchase that would’ve undeniably had the biggest impact was Nintendo. Basically, Microsoft’s thought process was that Nintendo was much better at producing software than hardware. Even though the N64’s sales paled in comparison to those of the PlayStation, Nintendo reportedly laughed Microsoft out of the room. It’s wild to think about the alternate reality in which Nintendo agreed and players got “Mario,” “Zelda,” and “Pokemon” on Xbox. Personally, we would have loved to see a crossover between “Metroid” and “Halo.”

There are many aspects that led to Sega exiting the console market, but the most vital domino was the North American launch of the Saturn. The console launched in Japan in 1994 and was off to a great start, even outselling the PlayStation. Sega of America had announced a release date of September 2nd, 1995. But Sega of Japan had other plans. It decided to surprise launch the Saturn in the middle of E3, catching consumers and retailers completely off-guard. The marketing stunt was a disaster; no third party games would be available until the original launch date, four month’s worth of promotion was gone, and Sony announced the PlayStation’s price as $100 cheaper. If Sega had been patient, things could’ve turned out very differently.

Following the home console crash of 1983, Nintendo was understandably very wary about releasing its first console in North America. Marketing researchers even advised against it. Luckily for all of us, Nintendo played it safe. It tested the Famicom’s hardware and games in arcades first via the Nintendo VS. systems. These were extremely successful, letting Nintendo know it could find further success. We hate to think about how different the world of gaming would’ve turned out had these arcade cabinets not been a hit. Additionally, before the crash, Nintendo was in talks to partner with Atari, the company responsible for the crash, for the console’s NA release, where it would’ve been called the Nintendo Enhanced Video System.

One of Nintendo’s biggest blunders led to the creation of one its biggest competitors. In 1988, Nintendo entered a partnership with Sony to produce a disc-based add-on for the upcoming Super Nintendo as well as a Sony console that would play SNES cartridges and new disc games. However, Nintendo thought it could get a better contract with Philips and essentially screwed Sony out of the deal. The Philips deal would also fall through, leading to truly awful non-Nintendo “Zelda” and “Mario” games. More importantly, the slighted Sony didn’t just accept the loss. It used its tech to develop its own console, the PlayStation, which, as we know, was a groundbreaking release. Nintendo’s decision sent out the most important ripple of the entire industry.