What if Sony and Microsoft had never joined the games market?

It is hard to imagine for some of us young folk but there were console wars before Sony and Microsoft joined the Console Market, people use to fight about which was better the Nintendo 64 or the PS1, the Super NES or the Sega MegaDrive, and if you can remember before that, well you’re a gamer for the ages.

The question is not what would have happened, but rather that wouldn’t have happened if Sony and Microsoft didn’t join in arms to battle in the modern day console war. Well before the epic feud in the current day market we had a somewhat small scale battle between the Dreamcast, PS1 and Nintendo 64, which essentially ended in PS1 and Nintendo 64 battling to the finish line but PS1 flown ahead with superior hardware and technology hence the start of the Sony and Microsoft war as Nintendo decided to release a disappointing under powered system called the GameCube, and the game was on.

This was the console revolution which has now brought us the extremely powerful PS3 and the amazingly interactive Xbox360, it is not the question of who is best but what the different manufacturers can take from the experience, the innovation of ideas to advance the gamers experience and only Sony and Microsoft have the money and the ideas to make the gaming market what it is today and what it will be in a few years.

So to answer the question of -

‘What would have happened if Microsoft and Sony didn’t join the console market?’

Nintendo and Sega would have battled on and Nintendo coming out on top because of its superior company with the innovation to crush its competition (well use to be). Another hopeful may have come up to fight against Nintendo and lost, hence making the GameCube the ultimate console of the 6th generation. Another big shot company like Apple, LG or Samsung would stride to compete, but because of lack of experience, lose and the Wii would be the monopoly of the entire market and PC gaming would be the only other alternative hence meaning everyone would have expensive gaming computers and instead of a console war there would be a computer spec war.

Or would we be seeing much more Mario and Pokémon around?

I really dread to think in a very geeky way what the gaming market would hold if Sony and Microsoft had not demanded graphically intensive games and developers didn’t stride to push the boundaries of modern technology (Like Naughty Dog with Uncharted 2) and would there be have online play at all without Microsoft’s expertise in the online market, it really scares me to think what the consequences of Nintendo’s Monopoly would bring!

In a summary, Microsoft and Sony joining in such vulgar competition is a blessing for every gamer in the world as they try to compete to become the best they develop newer and more advanced machines which in turn improves other technologies we see today.

Or am I totally wrong? Would Nintendo actually get their head together and make a console for the real gaming enthusiast rather than a family console?