Sonic the Hedgehog: Alternate History

In 1991, Sega created Sonic the Hedgehog, a character who was created to compete Mario, serve as Sega's new mascot, appeal to western audiences, and who in the end helped the Genesis/Mega Drive compete with it's nemesis, the Nintendo Entertainment System & the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Except in Brazil, where Sega was always on top and actually IOTL sells those systems to this day. When did things go wrong for Sega? Around 1994-1995. The 32X's release ruined trust in Sega, and the Saturn's rushed release just outright killed what was left. Sega finally beat Nintendo in Japan, since the N64 lost a good chunk of third party support (Square Enix, for example) and didn't have 2D titles or RPGs that interested Japanese gamers, but at the price of losing it's power in America & Europe, and was still 2nd to PlayStation over there anyway. When the Dreamcast came out, the learned lessons just were too little too late, and Sega lost so much money. It wasn't killed by Sony or Nintendo, but by it's own self. It basically committed seppuku, killing itself. Sonic himself wasn't even able to be present on the very system that finally outsold Nintendo in Japan.
But what if all of this hadn't been so? What if all of these mistakes didn't happen? What if Sega turned the second half of the 90's into it's generation like how Nintendo did in 1985 with the NES? What if Sega remained strong & proud rather than a weakened, zombified version of itself? This is one scenario.
Welcome to the scenario dubbed Nakayama's Finest Hour with regional titles being Sega's Dream, The SEGA Generation, Of Dualshocks and VMUs, Chaos Emeralds & Wumpa Fruit and What Nintendon't
The main premise of the timeline is what if Sega had the PlayStation. Though originally there was a "What if Sega owned Pokemon" aspect too, I decided to get it rid of it for the time being because I felt it made Sega TOO powerful. However I might make a separate timeline for that OR re-add it later on.
Update: That will be a separate timeline page, once this timeline is up to the current year (2016), there will be a separate page adding in what if Sega owned Pokemon.
== 1991 - 1999: ==
June 23, 1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog for the SEGA Genesis (or Mega Drive) is released. The first game in the Sonic franchise, it is the one that started everything. President of SEGA Hayao Nakayama played his part in the creation by wanting a character as iconic as Mickey Mouse for SEGA's mascot to compete with Mario. The character was ultimately designed by Naoto Oshima and the game developed by Yuji Naka. The game was a commercial success and had a major effect on the sales of the Genesis/Mega Drive, quickly helping Sega to work on it's way of gaining a foothold in the gaming industry worthy of standing toe-to-toe with it's nemesis, Nintendo. The gameplay, story and effect of the game is largely the same as in our own history, since the actual Point of Divergence is a bit afterwards so there is no major change to the beginning of the Franchise. The first game in the series introduces Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik, the First Generation of Badniks, the Small Animals, and all of the initial staples of the franchise. Also in June 1991, Nintendo revealed it's partnership with Philips, much to the shock (and humiliation) of Sony who saw this as an outright betrayl.
June-December 1991 - Sonic Eraser is made available for users of the Sega Meganet, a modem for the Genesis/Mega Drive that is available only in Japan. The game is largely overshadowed & forgotten about, even considered "lost" for some time.
October 25, 1991 - Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Master System is released in North America & Europe, though seemingly an 8-bit version of the Genesis title, it actually features alternate levels, some alternate items, and the Chaos Emeralds are hidden in the levels rather than in a bonus stage.
December 12, 1991 - The Sega CD Add-On for the Genesis/Mega Drive is released.
December 28, 1991 - The 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog is released on the Sega Game Gear
Unknown time, either 1991 or 1992 - After the humiliation Nintendo gave to Sony, Sega of America president Tom Kalinske was approached by the leaders of Sony's own American division with a proposal for Sega and Sony to team up. Kalinske approached CEO Nakayama and Sega's executive board with the idea. Though extremely skeptical and reluctant on the whole thing, Kalinske's wording was different than in our timeline, and was able to convince Nakayama and the Board to say "yes" to the project, after consulting with Sony's President Norio Ohga. When reminded of the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Nintendo, Ohga wasted no time in agreeing to team up with the arch nemesis of his humiliator.
October 16, 1992 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is released for the Master System, becoming the technical debut of Miles "Tails" Prower aswell as the debut of Silver Sonic/Mecha Sonic.
November 17, 1992 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 8-bit, is released on the Game Gear.
November 21, 1992 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is released for the Genesis/Mega Drive, introducing Tails & Silver Sonic/Mecha Sonic aswell as the spin dash ability to the 16-bit series of games. The game has sold over 6 million copies, making it the second best-selling game for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (after the original Sonic the Hedgehog). Only 400,000 sold in Japan though. It is also the first game in the series to introduce Sonic's ability to transform into Super Sonic. It also debuted the Death Egg as a story construct, a massive space station built by Robotnik to serve as his flagship.
December 1992 - A boy in America named Christopher Weston Chandler changes his name to Christian Weston Chandler at the behest of an animatronic bear around this time.
May 28, 1993 - The Super Mario Bros. film comes in theaters, and is both a box office bomb and poorly recieved by critics. It likely contributed to Sonic's own growing popularity as a result though this can not be certain.
June 1993 - SegaSonic the Hedgehog, featuring Mighty the Armadillo & Ray the Flying Squirrel alongside Sonic in an Arcade title, is released.
September 6, 1993 - Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog begins airing.
September 18, 1993 - Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) begins airing.
September 23, 1993 - Sonic the Hedgehog CD is released for the Sega CD add-on as it's only Sonic title, and is the first Sonic title to use FMVs, the super peel-out ability alongside the spin-dash, and introduces Metal Sonic & Amy Rose to the franchise. It is also the first in the series to use time travel elements, and use Time Stones over the Chaos Emeralds.
October 4, 1993 - The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (or simply 3DO) is released on this date, developed by "The 3DO Company" but models manufactured by Panasonic (predominantly),  Sanyo and GoldStar.
October 25, 1993 - Sonic Chaos is released for the Game Gear & Master System, featuring both Sonic & Tails as playable for the first time in an 8-bit Sonic title.
November 3, 1993 - The 65th and final main episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog airs, but the series continues in reruns through to 1996.
November 15, 1993 - Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball is released on the Genesis/Mega Drive in Europe, and throughout the month and into early December would see American & Japanese released on the system aswell. It is a tie-in to the SatAM series to some extent, though rather loosely. It is a pinball-based title. It also later recieves a port to the Game Gear & Master System.
November 23, 1993 - The Atari Jaguar is released and marketed as a 64 bit machine. It causes Sega to consider making a 32 bit system of it's own, and at one point a plan for a second Genisis Add-On, conceptualized by Tom Kalinske, is made aswell. The planned system/add-on goes into development problems thanks to the on-going development alongside Sony, which later encourages Nakayama to ultimately have the idea scrapped altogether. Though the idea was teased in a magazine in 1994, it was never spoken of again.
November 25, 1993 - Sonic becomes the first video game character to be added into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a feat that truly stuck it to Mario.
November 26, 1993 - Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is released on the Genesis/Mega Drive. A Sonic-themed version of the puzzle game Puyo Puyo, and the first game in the franchise to have Robotnik's name in the title.
February 2, 1994 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is released on the Genesis/Mega Drive. It continues the Death Egg storyline from Sonic 2, revealing it crashed on Angel Island, which is protected by new character Knuckles the Echidna. The game was released in Japan for the Mega Drive on 14 January 1994. The European Sega Mega Drive release came later that month. The game was released for the Sega Genesis in North America on 2 February 1994. Celebrity Michael Jackson also had an (albeit uncredited) role in making parts of the game's soundtrack, which wouldn't be confirmed until years after the game's release. After the game's completion, American half of Sonic Team/Sega Technical Institute would begin the development of the Sonic title intended for the upcoming console being made with Sony, though the Japanese half went back to Japan with Yuji Naka. However, a team of developers from Sony were handed to the project aswell, adding to the project the goals of "beating Nintendo" and "Impressing Japanese Audiences with Sonic alongside Western ones".
March 18, 1994 - Sonic Drift is released for the Game Gear, a kart racing title featuring Sonic, Tails, Amy & Robotnik as playable characters.
March 24, 1994 - Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio is released for the Mega Drive/Genesis. Though Sonic is not a main focus of the game he is featured in it and on the cover alongside Tails.
August 1994 - Sonic the Hedgehog Gameworld is released for the Sega Pico. Exact date is unknown.
October 15, 1994 - Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble is released on the Game Gear in North America, and will be released in Europe on October 31 of that year. The game introduces Knack the Weasle/Fang the Sniper into the Franchise.
October 18, 1994 - Sonic & Knuckles is released on the Mega Drive/Genesis, it is actually the 2nd half of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released as a separate game and only featuring Sonic & Knuckles as playable, without Tails. However, by locking the cartridge onto Sonic 3, one actually combines the two into Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles , while combining it with Sonic 2 makes Knuckles the playable character of the game, while combining it with any other game on the console makes one play the Blue Sphere bonus stages instead.
December 3, 1994 - The final episode of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) airs, though this also ironically coincides with the release of the Sega Saturn in Japan. Featuring the PlayStation hardware in it's case, the beast is a powerful machine more than prepared for the 5th Generation, and Sega wastes little time in creating hype for it in the other regions of the world. During production, there was a debate between Sony & Sega on whether or not to keep the name as "PlayStation" or stick with Sega's own name plan for the next console, "Saturn". For Japan at least, the name was kept as "Saturn".
March 17, 1995 - Sonic Drift 2 is released on the Game Gear. It features more characters (Sonic, Tails, Amy, Robotnik + Knuckles, Metal Sonic, & Knack) and more stages.
April 28, 1995 - Tails' Skypatrol is released as a Japan exclusive on the Game Gear. It introduces several exclusive-to-this-title characters such as Wendy Witchcart, Focke-Wulf, Carrotia, and Bearenger. It is a flying-themed game starring Tails aswell, and first game in the series to not have Sonic in it at all.
May 11-13, 1995 - The first ever E3 is held. In our timeline this day served as the beginning of Sega's decline, though in this timeline it is Sega's time to shine. Along with the launch titles of the Saturn from our timeline, the PlayStation's own launch titles from our timeline are also announced to be coming out for the Saturn aswell (minus a few, due to Sega hoping to push it's own arcade franchises), and Knuckles' Chaotix is among the 2D Launch Titles, with Sonic X-Treme still being under production at the time, though a minor showing of it is given. Nintendo is quiet in comparison. The Saturn's release date in North America is set for later on in the year, since Nintendo is still waiting until 1996. "Pokemon" also lightly teased during E3 but no solid information about it is given.
September 9, 1995 - The Sega Saturn is released in North America. Knuckles' Chaotix is released as it's Sonic-based launch title, though is a spin-off featuring Knuckles and introducing the Chaotix instead. The primary difference from our timeline is that with the further development of the game Metal Knuckles replaces Metal Sonic in this alternate version of the game, though Metal Sonic is still shown off in some early press releases implying that the sprite changing occurred late. In later years it is confirmed Metal Sonic's sprites still exist in the game and can be accessed via debug/hacking. One notable launch title for the American release is the game Bug! which features a cameo from Sonic the Hedgehog.
September 14, 1995 - Tails Adventure is released on the Game Gear, the second to feature Tails as the main star as opposed to Sonic. The game also introduces many exclusive-to-title characters similar to the previous, though sees an international release as opposed to Japanese exclusive.
September 21, 1995 - The Atari Jaguar CD is released as a CD-based Add-on for the Jaguar. Being the Saturn's main competitor outside of Japan with the Nintendo 64/Ultra 64 still not released as of yet, the Jaguar CD is a weak opponent. Lacking the third party support of the Saturn, lacking dust protectors for it's cartridges, design similar to a toilet, lackluster games with few and far between gems, and inferior graphic capabilities to the Saturn. Many at Sega & Sony knew by this point that the initial worry of the Jaguar being a real threat to the Saturn was all for nothing and largely dismissed the system. Though the Jaguar lasted slightly longer than in our universe, it was still outlived by the 3DO and was discontinued before the 6th generation of gaming, ending it's life around late 1996 to early 1997.
September 29, 1995 - The Saturn's European release. In Europe, the Saturn is rebranded "PlayStation" in Europe for unspecified reasons, however. It is sometimes perceived this was done to really show Nintendo that it was it's own mistake that has returned to haunt them, but this is only a fan theory. Most likely it was purely done for similar reasons as the Mega Drive being an alternate name to the Genesis or to appease Sony's own requests.
November 17, 1995 - Sonic Labyrinth is released on the Game Gear. It is a controversial title in the series, since it's concept is that Robotnik has stolen Sonic's shoes and has made him lose his speed, making it a slow-paced Sonic title.
January 24, 1996 - The first episode of a Sonic OVA series airs in Japan
February 4, 1996 - The second episode of the Sonic OVA series airs in Japan. Though the idea to make more was considered, it was ultimately scrapped and this episode became the final one.
May 1996 - Sonic the Fighters is released in Japan for the arcades, and throughout the rest of the year would be released in arcades in North America & Europe aswell as other regions. It would be the first Sonic-themed fighting game.
May 16-18, 1996 - E3 1996. Sega at their press conference announces Sonic X-Treme will be released on June 23, the anniversary of the first Sonic game's release, and shows a teaser trailer of it at the Expo. The effect of course, comes with Nintendo, who were planning to release the Nintendo 64 (and Super Mario 64) on that same day. Already facing lost third party support due to their decision to stick to cartridges, Nintendo's leaders begin weighing in the options of the fact that their main next console will have to deal with Sonic's anniversary where they fear Sega (and Sony) will pull out all the stops to upstage any attention Mario & Nintendo try to get. 
June 23, 1996 - Sonic X-Treme (known as Sonic Saturn in Japan) is released for the Saturn/PlayStation. Thanks to the Sony development teams and the decision to merge the project with the Sonic Saturn project, the game was actually in the end a fully 3D Sonic title, revolutionary for it's time and recieving critical acclaim, becoming one of the highest selling Sonic titles as-well as the first major commercial success for the franchise in Japan. However, at the same time, the Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 came out the same day, angering Sega & Sony enough to drop the price on the Saturn/PlayStation aswell as Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn and beginning rumors of a Sonic theatrical film to be being produced. The entire Mario 64 controversy sparked heavy debates amongst critics, fans, and gaming media that continues well into modern times. At times June 23 1996 is known as the day "Mario crashed Sonic's Party". However, it resulted in booming sales for both the Saturn/PlayStation and Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn in the short-term and long-term, as early on after the boom of Mario 64, Nintendo's lost third party support began to widdle down it's once-held dominance in Japan. Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn featured a mix of both projects, including the introduction of Tiara Boobowski in her first & only appearance in the franchise. It's development was mainly held together by the Sony dev teams, not having to switch to another console (32X IOTL), and the executive-mandated order to merge the project with Sonic Saturn. Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn was later made into the pack-in game of the Saturn/PlayStation. It's overall sales largely matched those of Super Mario 64, due in part to the controversy/publicity, the discount/price drop, and the fact that even in Japan was the highest selling console.
July 5, 1996 - Nights into Dreams.... is released onto the Saturn/PS1 on this date, and became a very popular title for the system even as Yuji Naka refused to make a sequel in later years. It was the second major IP created by Sonic Team, after Sonic the Hedgehog of course, to achieve such popularity. Alongside Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn it was one of the systems more higher selling games, even being listed on lists of best games ever made.
September 9, 1996 - Crash Bandicoot is released for the Saturn/PS1, becoming like Nights & Sonic one of it's 1996 major hits. It was the first title in the Crash Bandicoot series. It was created by Naughty Dog, a subsidiary of Sony rather than Sega or Sonic Team.
November 5, 1996 - Sonic 3D Blast: Flickie's Island is released on the Mega Drive/Genesis in Europe as one of the last Sonic games, if not the last, game released on the old 16-bit system, as an isometric title rather than the full 3D of recently released Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn. A few days later in the month it was released in North America.
November 1996 - Sonic's Schoolhouse is released for the PC. It is an educational game themed inside a schoolhouse with player controlled animals that never appear again, and games/mini-games based off of Sonic & various subjects, viewable videos for the animals featured in the game, and other such features.
November 24, 1996 - An Ex-Tremely Sonic Christmas airs as a TV special in countries that aired the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog series as a Holiday special.
December 1996 - A special holiday edition of the Nights into Dreams, Christmas Nights into Dreams, is released for the 1996 holiday season, one mode including Sonic & Dr. Robotnik amongst many other features added in for the holiday occasion.
December 13, 1996 - Sonic Blast is released on the Sega Game Gear, as the final Sonic title for the portable system. It features both Sonic & Knuckles as playable characters in it.
January 31, 1997 - Final Fantasy VII is released on the Saturn/PS1, developed by Square (one of the precursors to Square Enix). The game was originally intended for the SNES, but then moved to the Nintendo 64. However, cartridges were difficult for the game so the decision to turn to Sega was made. It's release and commercial success further helped the Saturn to ultimately defeat the Nintendo 64, even helping Japanese RPGs gain popularity outside of Japan and further boost Saturn/PS1 sales alongside the hits of 1996. At the same time, Pocket Monsters is continuing to gain traction and popularity in Japan, though no decision to bring it to international release has been made yet. Though unknown date specifically, the Atari Jaguar and Jaguar CD was most definitely discontinued either by this time or very soon afterwards.
Unknown Time, 1997 - Hayao Nakayama & Norio Ohga are reported to having discussed "major plans" for both Sega & Sony around the time of 1997, though no known date is given. Also on an unknown date in 1997, Segata Sanshiro is made into an ad campaign for the Sega Saturn in Japan and prove to be very successful in further distancing the Saturn from the N64 in sales.
June 19-21, 1997 - E3 1997. Sega's showing showcases the upcoming games Sonic R & Sonic Jam, aswell as reveals some other Sonic projects for the Saturn are underway. Nights' sequel is not put underway despite the popularity of the first title due to Yuji Naka's refusal. Rumors of a theatrical Sonic movie are not actually answered though, perhaps due to memories of the Super Mario Bros. Movie in the previous years of the decade. By this point, Sega's console has beaten the Nintendo 64 in sales in nearly all regions of the world (which is accurate considering this Saturn's hardware is of the PS1 and has the library of both the Saturn and the PS1 which did historically outsell the N64 even despite Mario 64 and the two Zelda titles). This was of course, a cause for celebration among both the executives of Sony and Sega. The 3DO was also still (barely) around by this point. (With only two major 3D consoles instead of three it was able to become the -very very distant- 3rd place seller of the 5th Gen).
June 23, 1997 - Sonic Jam is released for the Saturn/PS1. The game is a compilation featuring Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles aswell as the ability to view concept art, alternate modes for the games, view old adverts and commercials, view a timeline of Sonic's history up to Sonic Jam, aswell as featuring a fully 3D hubworld not seen before in most compilation titles. This hub world also featured missions/challenges for the player to do that were fully optional. In a period in which Sonic's popularity was rising even in Japan (primarily due to association with the Saturn which was associated also with Segata Sanshiro & was the highest selling console of the time and the first Sega console to outsale a Nintendo system in Japan along with the residue fame from Sonic X-Treme/Sonic Saturn), this served as an excellent way to introduce Japanese Sega players to the franchise and catch them up without them having to purchase a Genesis/Mega Drive alongside a great way to celebrate Sonic's anniversary once more. The game was going to be released on the 20th, but ultimately it was decided waiting for the big day itself was better.
December 4, 1997 - Sonic R is released for the Saturn/PS1. A 3D racing spin-off, Sonic R featured Euro-pop music, aswell as the return of Metal Knuckles & Egg Robo (debuts in Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic & Knuckles respectively) aswell as the first and only appearance of the Tails Doll in a mainstream Sonic title. The game is a bit different from the one from our timeline, featuring more courses and more improved graphics aswell as other minor features, though the roster is the same. Some special abilities were added to the characters aswell in an effort to make the game as appealing as Mario Kart 64. Matching Nintendo became more of a goal to Sega & Sony than before after the entire "Mario crashes Sonic's anniversary" deal back in June 1996. Segata Sanshiro ads also helped the game sell in Japan.
February 4, 1998 - The Phantasy Star Collection is released for Saturn/PS1, a compilation of the entire Phantasy Star series up to 1998. In our world it did not see a western release, though in this world it did. It was part of the Sega Ages compilation series which featured other releases from 1996 to 1998 on the Saturn/PS1, introducing whole new generations to Sega classics in a time when they finally were the biggest seller over Nintendo.
May 28-30, 1998 - E3 1998. Announced at E3 was the Panasonic 3DM2, sequel to the 3DO after the 3DO Company had been bought out by Panasonic and moved to Osaka. The 3DM2 was infamous for this one day when Panasonic had decided to surprise everyone and say the new console was released at that very day (similar to our timeline's Saturn release). The reason as to why the 3DM2 got made is mostly is due to only 2 other major 3D consoles meant one less competition for the 3DO, allowing it to live slightly longer. Panasonic decided to purchase the 3DO Company outright and enter the gaming industry around 1997 or 1996. This surprise release however, was met with much the same failure. It had 3D graphics but few titles on launch, and was only in select stores, and lost much of it's third party support (what little it had managed to scrape up) Being based in Japan did allow it, however, to begin finally challenging the Saturn in the region, though it's headstart in the market primarily came from those who had previously purchased a 3DO, of which hardly any were in Japan. In response to this foolish move, Tom Kalinske laughed and simply announced the next Sega's console's price "just dropped". Sonic titles announced at E3 included ports of Sonic 3D Blast & Sonic the Fighters, aswell as some spin-off titles. Hype for it also began, with it being announced as having multimedia capabilities alongside the SegaNet connectivity. The 3DM2 itself als furthered cemented Sony & Sega's alliance even further, possibly being a personal blow to Sony as Panasonic was a company much like itself in many aspects.
June 20, 1998 - Sonic Fighters: Championship Edition is released on the Saturn/PS1. It is a port of the Arcade title Sonic the Fighters with a few added features such as playable characters Tiara & Egg Robo. This is the only other time outside of Sonic X-Treme that Tiara is featured in a Sonic game. Metal Sonic & Honey the Cat were also in the game, though are only playable via hacking. Segata Sanshiro is also an unlockable character in the game aswell, via a cheat code viewable by beating the game with all characters (which gives one part of the code each) and is inputtable in the options. Segata is unfortunately not playable in the Arcade mode.
October 16, 1998 - Sonic's Art Studio is released for the Saturn/PS1. It is a game similar to the earlier Mario Paint and Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio, though featuring much more fun features, some mini games, and even the ability to create small short movies/"cutscenes" aswell as customized character models. The game had reportedly been conceptualized since Sonic X-Treme's time. A much more watered-down version was also released for the Pico. Pokemon are also featured in the game aswell alongside characters and scenes from Phantasy Star, After Burner, Space Harrier, Crazy Taxi, Nights, Final Fantasy & Crash Bandicoot.
November 20, 1998 - Sonic's X-Treme Schoolhouse is released for the Saturn/PS1. It is a port of the previously released Sonic's Schoolhouse, for educational purposes. Hardly marketed and paled in comparison to the Art Studio release.
January 6, 1999 - The first episode of the final DiC Sonic series, Sonic Underground airs.
January 21,  1999 - Super Smash Bros. is released on the Nintendo 64. It is a commercial success and well recieved aswell as helping increase Nintendo 64 sales a good bit further towards the end of the generation aswell as further take attention away from the 3DM2 in America & Europe (the 3DM2 only just barely was outselling the N64 in Japan due to the N64 having few RPGs and 2D titles, but Smash Bros. actually managed to change the tide).
May 13-15, 1999 - E3 1999. The 3DM2 by this point  had made a bit of an impact due to nostalgia from the 3DO, curiosity and the like, but it's expensive pricing and lack of third party support, lack of shops selling it due to the release stunt, and small amount of launch titles was quickly wearing it down. It was ironically selling well in Japan due to it's inclusion of 2D titles and RPGs, though was nothing compared to the Saturn's sales in the region. Panasonic also lacked the franchises of Nintendo & Sega which made it impossible to really breach European (dominated by Sega) and American (More of a battleground but Nintendo had more clearly been in 2nd during this generation especially as Pokemon hit the shores). Sega at the same time, announced their next console aswell, being able to have both multimedia capabilities & internet connectivity built into it. The President of Panasonic's 3DO subsidiary reportedly spoke the words "Oh Shit" upon hearing of this from Tom Kalinske, alongside the afforementioned "Price drop" revealed at the end of Kalinske's presentation. Hype for the next Sega system had begun. By comparison, the 3DM2 had multimedia abilities, but was expensive and lacked internet connectivity alongside it's other afforementioned problems. Shenmue is also announced aswell.
May 23, 1999 - The final episode of Sonic Underground airs.
June 21, 1999 - The Saturn/PS1 port of Sonic 3D Blast is released.
December 1999 - After years of speculation and in preparation for the new console, Sony decides with agreement from Sega, that it will purchase Sega & Sammy from CSK holdings to merge Sega (and Sammy) with Sony Interactive Entertainment (the division of Sony that worked helped in the development of Sonic X-Treme & the Hardware of the Saturn/PS1 and published some games aswell though Sega always liscensed them) . The buy out had actually been planned since 1997, due to the financial success of the Saturn/PS1, though was officially gone through some time around late 1999 with neither company wanting to part ways after such a major success in the market. The merger/buy out was entirely unforeseen by anyone, and executives from both Sony & Sega approved of the idea (the idea of competing against eachother worried both). Of course, major restructuring and a Headquarters move was in order to accomodate Sega's sudden growth. Hayao Nakayama remained the head of Sega, though other members of the board were changed. Some employees were laid off though many of those were replaced with ones from Sony. The name "Sega" was kept because the public recognized it more, giving it more marquee value. To some this was seen as Sonic transitioning from Sega's mascot, to Sony's mascot.
== 2000 - 2009: ==
Early 2000 - The announcement of the merger between Sega, Sammy and Sony was a surprise and worry both to many. As stated prior, the restructuring of both companies began primarily in the year 2000. Hayao Nakayama continued being the leader of Sega, while Norio Ohga over at Sony was in semi-retirement by this point. The next console was planned to be release later this year regardless, and many hoped their content would be even more grander now that they had their combined budgets to spend. Sonic's redesign was largely done because of the merger between the companies, as a sort of way to "symbolize" the event.
January 1, 2000 - The film Sonic Milenium comes out in Japan, the first theatrical Sonic film in Japan, to celebrate the new year aswell as having been in production since 1997 or 1998. The film was was distributed and produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment (since Sony & Sega are basically one in the same as of now and this itself was foreseen even back in 1997), though released only in Japan due to an American version being in production separately. Releasing it wisely after the Pokemon movie, the movie managed to be a critical and financial success for Sony/Sega. The film served as a sort of origin story for Sonic, and also introduced his new design for the first time ever. It is sometimes considered the last thing Sega did before becoming one with Sony, though the validity of that is uncertain.
March 4, 2000 - The Sega-Sony Dreamcast is released in Japan. With 4 control slots, VMU systems in the standard controller (though optional controllers did not feature this), multimedia capabilities, and a built-in modem featuring SegaNet connectivity all for an affordable price (to compete with the 3DM2) aswell as Shenmue,Space Channel 5, Sonic Adventure, Sega Tennis, SegaWorld: The Game, Sega Bass Fishing and notable other launch titles (such as ones that OTL PS2 & Dreamcast had together, give or take a few), it quickly began to dominate the Japanese stores, especially after Sega/Sony had built up hype for it via E3. Shenmue itself was the most expensive video game ever made to date at the time of 2000, and would become a cult classic and rank high in lists of best video games ever made. Sonic Adventure introduced the character's new look, introduced voice acting, and introduced Tikal the Echidna, Chao & The Chao Garden A-Life system, and also introduced Big the Cat, E-102 Gamma, brought Amy Rose back into the series as a focus point, and had a hubworld function aswell as a mission mode. (Comparison: It's sort of like our world's SADX with polished up Dreamcast models/graphics and no unlockable Metal Sonic but including the mission mode). Space Channel 5 introduced Ulala and a whole new IP for Sega. SegaWorld: The Game was game simulating an experience at one of the SegaWorld theme parks. Shenmue was also more of a commercial success aswell as Sonic Adventure. Though the change of Sonic's design was controversial to some extent. The Dreamcast's addition of the ability to play DVDs was monumental, though the main key to the reason it was so affordable was because of the recent merger between Sega & Sony aswell as the massive success of the Saturn/PlayStation, giving the united Sega-Sony the financial ability to take a loss for every Dreamcast sold. Otherwise the features it boased would have made it incredibly expensive. The merger itself had actually been planned and discussed since 1997 as was later discussed in press releases. In Japan, Segata Sanshiro was retired from the campaign in the most awesome and original way possible.  The Dreamcast had two models around it's launch: The original model plan  designed by Sega that featured the Virtual Memory Units which was sold exclusively in Japan though the alternative model's controllers and design ultimately proved more popular. Despite that, retro gamers sometimes prefer the original model. Both models came with the same launch titles. A primary difference between our worlds PS2 is that this PS2 did have a provision to support DLC like the our world Dreamcast did.
March 10, 2000 - Microsoft announces it will be joining the home console market with the Xbox. At this point, the 3DM2's sales are diminishing. The primary reason for Microsoft's entrance against Sega are like their reasoning in our timeline, the Dreamcast is luring developers away from Windows and it's internet connectivity via SegaNet was a further threat.
March 17, 2000 - Christian Weston Chandler officially creates the "original character" known as Sonichu on this date, creating him from the Sega-owned character Sonic & Nintendo-owned Pikachu for a class assignment to make a CD cover without using copyrighted characters. Apparently, Sonichu was deemed by his father and teacher as "free of copyright".
May 11-13, 2000 - E3 2000. By this point the 3DM2 is largely forgotten about and the "Dreamcast" from Sega-Sony is all the rage. Sega builds hype for the Sonic Adventure title alongside the other Japanese DC launch titles Nintendo itself is incredibly weak after the Pokemon release in North America, but is making enough money to announce it's own Next Generation console plans. Panasonic's people attempt to be optimistic about the entire situation, but they are beginning to see the writing on the wall and don't have much to show for their system in the upcoming months. Also in this E3, the production of a Sonic the Hedgehog movie, first rumored back in the 1990's, are actually confirmed.
October 26, 2000 - The Dreamcast's launch in North America to much fanfare and extra launch titles from the Japanese launch. It too also quickly began selling. The alternative controllers were also released alongside the North American release.
November 14, 2000 - Sonic Shuffleis released for the Dreamcast in Japan. The game is the first stand-alone party game for Sonic's franchise and was partly developed by Hudson Soft who made the Mario Party series. It is one of the overlooked and forgotten about titles of the Sonic series even when later in 2001 it was released internationally.
November 24, 2000 - The Dreamcast's launch in Europe, adding Jet Set Radio as one of it's launch titles. In Europe, the Dreamcast was branded as the "PlayStation 2", after the Saturn had been the "PlayStation" in the region. Like with the Saturn/PS1, the exact reasons for the change are unknown.
December 21, 2000 - The JRPG game Phantasy Star Online is released on the Dreamcast in Japan. The game features the ability to go online, and is a 3D rendition of the Phantasy Star series, though also begins the "PSO" series as a spin-off of that one aswell.
January 29, 2001 - Phantasy Star Online is released in North America.
March 4, 2001 - The 3DM2 is officially discontinued on this date, after losing so many sales in it's final months of retail life. It's highest selling title was Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, released in 1999. Other notable titles were the Japanese exclusives Godzilla Generations (1998) and Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact (1999) and the third highest selling title within Japan, Seaman (1999). The primary reasons for the 3DM2's failure include: Expensive pricing (it kept the features of the 3DO but did not have the financial backing of Sony/Sega to take losses for lowering the price), it's infamous rushed release, lack of major third party support, most buyers being former 3DO owners, lack of internet connectivity, lack of advertisement funds, and similar issues such as keeping the large boxing of the original 3DO for it's games. It's rushed release was primarily meant to cause increased interest in the system, and though it worked to an extent, in the long run it was one of it's core problems. Despite it's problems, it is seen as a time capsule of turn-of-the-century gaming and is looked at more favorably by nostalgic retro reviewers than it's predecessor the 3DO. After the 3DM2, Panasonic did not ever return to the home console market as of 2016 and it's 3DO Subsidiary was dissolved by October.
April 1, 2001 - Sega All-Stars Battle Royale is released on the Dreamcast as a fighting game involving Sonic alongside many other major Sega franchise characters ranging from Shemue & Crash Bandicoot to Jet Set Radio & Spyro and even Nights & Space Channel 5. It functions differently to it's counterpart Super Smash Bros., but still added some revolutionary features not present in most other fighting games and was still a highly popular release that also showed Sega was not going to ignore it's other franchises.
May 17 - 19, 2001 - E3 2001. Sega's Dreamcast continues to be the highest selling console of the time, though Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox are also upcoming systems. Shenmue II is announced for release in September, not too far off from Nintendo's GameCube. Sonic Adventure 2 and other Sega titles are also announced. To Sega/Sony, the GameCube is not much of a threat due to it's inability to both connect to the internet or play DVDs, thoough the Xbox is more of a threat by comparison. With the 3DM2 already discontinued, Panasonic's booth is basically just them stating what games would be released for their system over the coming days, many of course would be ported over to Xbox or Dreamcast.
June 23, 2001 - Sega Film Maker is released on the Dreamcast as a Japanese exclusive where the player is an unseen character who makes films using Sega/Sony characters as actors and sets based on locations from the games aswell. It features many secret easter eggs in it aswell, one example being a memorial dedicated to Segata Sanshiro. One can even upload the films to SegaNet. To celebrate Sonic's 10th Anniversary, rather than a game, the afforementioned Sonic the Hedgehog film comes out as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie. Distrubited and in North America & Europe by Sony Pictures Entertainment (who also produced it) as a traditionally animated film similar to the Japanese film. The film is a loose adaptation of Sonic Adventure with some differences primarily like featuring Metal Sonic & Silver Sonic II having larger roles. The film was a box office success despite critic reviews being less so. In comparison, the Super Mario Bros. Movie was both a box office bomb and critically poorly recieved. This was a fact that Sony/Sega press releases used vehemently.The two films themselves were likely planned after the Super Mario 64 incident. The decision to go with traditional animation for both rather than live action was primarily due to what happened with the Mario movie. The film was later released in Japan following it's success in America & Europe.
September 6, 2001 - Shenmue II is released on the Dreamcast, the sequel to the first Shemue title. Similar to the first one, it is a well recieved game and considered a worthy successor of the original, which it was developed alongside of.
September 14, 2001 -  The Nintendo GameCube is released in Japan and would be released in North America on November 18 and in Europe on May 3 2002. Due to it's inability to play multimedia functions and lack of internet connectivity it was not seen as a threat by Sony-Sega and was largely dismissed by Nakayama, Nintendo having lost their home console dominance for certain back in 1994 - 1996. Another main weakness of the GameCube is that it had no major Mario title on it as a launch title, only sporting Luigi's Mansion instead. The Dreamcast, of course, had and later came packed-in with Sonic Adventure. Also released from Sega was the game Super Monkey Ball on the Dreamcast, introducing a whole new IP.
October 2001 - Panasonic officially dissolves it's 3DO subsidiary some time around this month, though it is first restructured into a software developing company known as "3DSoft" for some time, mostly for porting 3DM2 games over to other systems. 3DSoft is effectively the final form of The 3DO Company.
November 15, 2001 -  Microsoft's Xbox is released with the game Halo: Combat Evolved as one of it's launch titles. The Xbox is seen as more of a threat to the Dreamcast due to it's internet connectivity and some level of multimedia features, aswell as Microsoft's own financial power. Many former 3DM2 games are ported onto the Xbox aswell.
November 21, 2001 - Sonic Adventure 2 is delayed, slated for release in Early 2002. Ad campaigns to build hype for it however begin. In it's place, a spin-off game entitled Sega Sports 2k1 is released, featuring Sega/Sony's mascot characters with various sports, Sonic of course being amongst the roster. A special edition version of Sonic Adventure featuring a trial/demo of Sonic Adventure is also released alongside this aswell. The original model Dreamcast was also sold in North America & Europe between November 21 and December 31 aswell, prior to the decision to discontinue the model altogether. The release of Super Smash Bros. Melee on this date, the anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, also serves as a bit of a blow to Sega/Sony, though not as personal as the still infamous 1996 incident.
December 3, 2001 - Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is released for the Dreamcast/PS2, as the first in the Jak and Daxter series. Made by Naughty Dog but published Sega, the series became a good classic and well recieved title, and the Jak and Daxter series soon joined the line-up of Sega's many vast franchises, alongside Super Monkey Ball, Jet Set Radio, Samba Di Amigo, & Space Channel 5 as it's 21st Century franchises (among others).
December 31, 2001 - The decision to discontinue the Model 1 Dreamcast/PS2 in favor of the Model 2 is made. VMU controllers are, however, sold as optional controllers besides the Dualshock brand for those who enjoy the charm and mini portable games that the VMUs have to offer.
February 11, 2002 - Sonic Adventure 2 is released for the Dreamcast/PS2. The game debuts Shadow the Hedgehog & Rouge the Bat into the franchise aswell as allows the player to play as Dr. Robotnik. This version of the game is identical to the one from our universe, with some key differences: Knuckles has a separate "episode"/story with Amy taking his spot in the "Hero" episode; the Chao Garden & Multiplayer from our world's SA2B is implemented; Knuckles' gameplay is more like Sonic's but with three goal rings (And an Egg Robo mini-boss after the first 2 shards) and with Egg Robo as his final boss fight (though Rouge is still fought near the end) aswell as involved in his story. Metal Sonic also has a story of his own, alongside another character, involving him beginning to question Robotnik's orders (Setting up a future title) while reviving Professor Gerald Robotnik via placing his brain into Silver Sonic II (a side plan of Robotnik). Metal Sonic's story serves to clear up things that seem like plot holes in the other stories, explaining that Gerald hacked the Ark during the game to cause it's program at the end aswell as be fought as a boss by Shadow prior to the Biolizard. Also a difference is that upon A-ranking Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone is also unlocked aswell. A-ranking Chemical plant zone unlocks a "Making of" video about the game. The game was well recieved and was one of the higher selling Sonic games, though of course the redesign remained controversial. It was praised for it's DLC features added later in that were optional, for it's massive amount of content & replayability, and the likes. The game also featured Tony Jay as the English voice of Metal Sonic.
April 2002 - An article in EGN announced that Sonic & Tails were in the GameCube title Super Smash Bros. Melee. Rumor has it that Sony actually did almost call up their legal team to file a lawsuit on Nintendo over it, though this remains to this day only a rumor.
May 22 - 24, 2002 - E3 2002. Of all the hot games shown off, id's new DOOM game garnered a good bit of attention. Though drama did occur. Super Mario Sunshine was finally announced as the GameCube's definitive Mario title, of which it still lacked despite the DC/PS2 sporting three Sonic titles at this point (two if one chooses to exclude Shuffle). In recent years, Sonic had finally begun catching up in popularity even in sales to Mario titles, the reasons for which are simple: The publicity surrounding Sonic X-Treme from 1996, the two recent and both well recieved and financially successful feature films, Sony providing larger development teams and financing to ensure quality of the games, Sony's own decision to provide more quality in Sonic titles to ensure they would be able to compete with Mario titles, Sony having far more of an advertising budget than Sega alone ever could, the Saturn/PS1 and Dreamcast/PS2 being the two highest selling consoles of all time and Sonic games being bundled with both as pack-in titles, and the like. In truth, Sony/Sega's rival was beginning to shift towards Microsoft more than Nintendo by this point. Nintendo, however, remained confident.
August 26, 2002 - Super Mario Sunshine is released on the GameCube as it's major Mario title. Like most Mario titles it is well recieved and does well critically, though is somewhat compared to the title Sonic Adventure 2 in some aspects, and some do criticize Mario for "Crashing Sonic's party in '96 but taking his sweet time on his own", referencing no Mario title starring Mario being present at the GameCube's primary launch. Though it sells well for a GameCube title, the fact that the Dreamcast/PS2 is simply selling more ultimately means Sonic Adventure & Sonic Adventure 2, both of which became pack-in games for the system, actually ended up selling more. For Mario, this is of course a humiliating reality. Both SA2 and Super Mario Sunshine actually averaged the same scores from critics aswell. One Nintendo spokesperson even accused Sony for paying off critics to praise Sonic titles, though no hard evidence was supported. Some considered this to be harking back to the old days of the 1990's. However, Sunshine was one of the higher selling GameCube games.
September 23, 2002 - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus is released for the Dreamcast/PS2, developed by Naughty Dog and published Sega. The first in the "Sly" series, Sly Cooper would join the ranks of Sonic and be another beloved franchise owned by Sega (technically Sony).
November 4, 2002 - Ratchet & Clank is released for the Dreamcast/PS2, developed by Insomniac Games but published by Sega. Ratchet & Clank would soon join the ranks of Sonic in being a Sony (Sega) owned franchise, and rather popular in it's own right too.
December 19, 2002 - Sonic Mega Collection is put together and released on the Dreamcast/PS2. A compilation title, the game features: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Blue Sphere, Ristar, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Spinball, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Comix Zone, Flicky, Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit), Sonic Chaos, Sonic Drift, Sonic Labyrinth, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Game Gear), Sonic Blast. One also had the ability to select archie comic covers, many sonic-related illustrations, a history of sonic up to 2002 video, and advertisements from Sonic's past aswell as for the recent titles Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank.
January 2003 - The Chao Online service is created for SegaNet, as part of Sega's new campaign to compete with Pokemon (and Xbox Live): The Chao. A spin-off of the Sonic franchise, the Chao Online was a service that allowed users to upload their Chao Data online in an attempt to allow trade, battle, race, and even raising in a virtual Chao Garden. The service became very popular amongst users of SegaNet, and made a dent against Pokemon. It however, wasn't fully fleshed out yet, but the idea was clearly liked. Chao Online did come with a disc/"game" to set up the service properly. Chao Online introduced new moves that Chao could learn depending on their type & stats, making for various things. Of course, it wasn't fleshed out, though the way Chao worked, in Nintendo's eyes, posed a true threat to Pokemon. Or at least, it could be with further advancement.
February 2003 - 3DSoft officially goes defunct around this time, officially ending the final remnant of The 3DO Company.
March 28, 2003 - Super Sonic Racing (Or Sonic R 2) is released for the Dreamcast/PS2. A racing spin-off title using a slightly tweaked version of Sonic Adventure 2's engine. The game features over 25 courses (remakes of the ones from the original Sonic R aswell as various ones based off of locations from the games), and Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big, Metal Sonic, Robotnik/Eggman, Metal Knuckles, Egg Robo, Rouge, Gerald/Silver Sonic II, Chaos 0, Chao Walker, Dark Chao Walker,  Hero Chao Walker, Tikal, Princess Sara, Cream the Rabbit, Vanilla Rabbit. The film was the debut of Cream & Vanilla and Cream's Chao Cheese.
April 6, 2003 - Sonic X begins airing in Japan, as Sonic's first true anime series.
May 14 - 16, 2003 - E3 2003. The PlayStation Portable is announced, and it is planned to be called the PlayStation Portable in all regions of the world. The PSP is the effective revival of the Game Gear, Sega/Sony's re-entrance into the Portable gaming world to resume competition with the Game Boy.Sony/Sega showed off many new planned Sonic titles aswell as an upcoming Ratchet & Clank among other titles, especially with how many titles of third parties and it's own franchises Sega/Sony could churn out and Microsoft's hype for Halo 2 beginning.
== 2010 - 2016: ==
Category:Fall Of Nintendo