Alternate History: Pokeballs, Chaos Emeralds, and Dualshocks

History has almost been too kind to Nintendo. Giving it Mario, Zelda, F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Pokémon, Metroid, Kid Icarus, the highest selling game franchises, while treating it's competitors like nothing just for daring to try and compete with Nintendo. Even Nintendo's biggest competitor to day only became it's enemy BECAUSE of Nintendo! Well, not in this timeline! It's time for SEGA to have some time to shine after the horrid treatment it got in our "real" history.
This is a practice timeline, since I'm not ready to post on the AltHistory forums. If anyone finds this, be sure to tell me how good/bad it is. This is effectively the Pokémon added version of the other timeline.
NOTE: Contrary to the title, this is not a "Nintendo goes third party" timeline.
==1990 - 1999: Two Betrayals==
1990 - Most of this year goes on per our timeline, really. Nintendo opens the year on the top of the world, with Sega's Genesis/Mega Drive only beginning to edge into the market with it's marketing slogans and "blast processing". The console wars have effectively just begin. Nintendo reigns supreme in Japan like an Anaconda in a stranglehold,  but Sega is just beginning to challenge them. Shigeru Miyamoto and other workers give Nintendo powerful and beloved franchises, and Hiroshi Yamauchi is a powerful head of the company with a keen mind and a good sense of good games, having helmed the company since 1949. Hayao Nakayama helms Sega since 1984 in contrast, and already the SNES would come out in Japan around November to compete with Sega's 16-bit Mega Drive/Genesis. Having been on top in the 1980's, Nintendo felt it didn't have much to worry about, and the plan of the SNES-CD with Sony was, for now, going along smoothly. Overall, this year is unchanged. It is however, put here because it is an important year, sort of the prologue environment of everything.
Unknown Time, 1991 or 1990 - Satoshi Tajiri of Game Freak pitches his idea to Nintendo of "Capsule Monsters", hoping to get it on the Game Boy. Though not grasping the concept, the Nintendo executives entertain the idea. Miyamoto himself works on improving the idea aswell. (OTL: The Pokémon game, the first two, took six years to develop. I can't however find any date as to when they were actually pitched, but with that time they could have been pitched at least in 1990 or 1991). At the same time, something over at Sega is brewing that would ultimately prove to challenge Nintendo and show the world that Nintendo will not be King for long.
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 betrayal.
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
Unspecified date, 1991 - Upon noticing a problem with the liscening in the deal with Sony, Nintendo wastes little time in cancelling the contract and in an act of utter and bitter betrayal, dismisses Sony and announces a partnership with Philips instead. This utter stab in the back set into motion many events to come, and humiliated Sony's President Norio Ohga. Attempts at reconcilation were made, but proved completely futile in the end.
Unspecified date, approximately 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 sceptical 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 theatres, and is both a box office bomb and poorly received 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-April, 1994 - Yamuchi looks over the Game Boy's popularity and does infact see that it is declining, though notes it is still dominating the handheld market. He begins having second thoughts on the Pocket Monsters idea, seeing it as a project that would neither be a loss or a gain, as it takes longer to develop, and Game Freak's ensuing bankruptcy as well as work with Sega on a title called "Pulseman". With five workers ready to quit or about to quit and Tajiri working unpaid, Yamauchi decides to call Tajiri up and tells him that Nintendo is no longer funding or supporting the project, but gives him a cash sum of yen in compensation. Tajiri is heartbroken at this utter betrayal, and tries to contact Shigeru Miyamoto, who does try to change the President's mind, though is unsuccessful as the rest of the board vetoes Miyamoto's attempts. The situation causes a temporary rift between Miyamoto and the executives of Nintendo, but Miyamoto continues to help Tajiri with training regardless of what they say, out of being Tajiri's friend. The cancellation of Pocket Monsters would become known as "Yamauchi's Darkest Hour". Further angering Tajiri was the fact it had been done over the phone, likely due to Yamauchi's own worries of what if it had been face-to-face.
August-September, 1994 - By this Point, Tajiri was feeling more devasted as time went on and really wanted to Make his Project a reality. Even with Miyamoto's training, He felt like his effort was being wasted. He had noticed that the Gameboy's Popularity was still declining, even with some Quality titles that are releasing around this time. One day However, Miyamoto had started to rebuild his Relationships as they start talking about the Next Generation of Nintendo consoles and Handhelds, With Miyamoto occasionally throwing Hints about a certain Project that could really help them in the Long run. Weeks pass and Miyamoto is unsuccessful in his efforts to get them to reconsider. It was during these Two months where Nintendo Just decided to cut off Game freak, Creatures inc and Tajiri as they would be unable to get his Project off the Ground. This meant that Miyamoto had to stop helping Game freak all together. Despite leaving one of the Biggest companies in the World, Tajiri was determined to Get his Project realized, And thus looked to an unsuspecting Rival, SEGA/Sony. 
October 17th, 1994 - Sonic & Knuckles is Released on the SEGA genesis/Mega-Drive. It is a rather Unique continuation of a sonic game, being the Second half of the Whole experience and playable separately. It continue to release in Other regions on the Same Month. Apon this, It also features the New "Lock-on Technology", which allows this game to either connect with Sonic 1 and sonic 2 for selected Bonuses as well as Sonic 3, Combining the Two games into one complete Package. This means that Knuckles and Tails are playable throughout the whole experience, some Jingles have been changed, the save feature spanning across all Zones and the Introduction of the super Emeralds, which grant access to the only appearances of Hyper sonic and Hyper Knuckles, while Super tails becomes a thing that would later get reused with the regular chaos emeralds in 2017's Sonic Mania. Overall, the title was well Recieved and its unique ability fixed a few Problems people had with Sonic 3. SEGA had considered Advancing this Lock-on Technology with the New console they and sony were working on, But it proved to Cost-deficient and would delay the launch. 
October 28th, 1994 - After weeks of Negotiating, SEGA Decides to Take on Game freak and Intends to Finalize the Project. This Project would be Intended for the Game Gear, which would be a Problem as he designed Pokémon around the Trading aspect of the Game Gear, although SEGA was hard at work for an idea. 
November, 1994 - Sonic Triple Trouble is Released on the Game gear. 
December 3rd, 1994 - The SEGA Saturn is Released in Japan. Featuring the PlayStation Hardware in its Case, This console is a Mighty Beast that is more then Prepared for the Fifth Generation, and SEGA Wastes little time in Hyping up its Launch in other Regions as well. During Production, There was a debate within Sony and SEGA About the Naming of PlayStation Or Saturn. In japan at least, the Name was kept as Saturn. 
February, 1995 - Tajiri, Along with Game Freak, now could Continue their work on the Pocket Monsters game. Tajiri enlists the Help of Ken sugimori to conceptualize and Design the Pokémon for this Game, coming up with the Same Ideas as our timelines Pokémon choices. It was also around this Point that SEGA was making an Updated Game gear that would allow for their Original concept to come to life, titled "Project GG2", which won't be completed in a few months. 
May 11th - 13th, 1995 - The first ever E3 Conference 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" is also Lightly teased but little Information is Given. 
September 9th, 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 29th, 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.
December 4th, 1995 - The Upgraded Game Gear, Titled Game gear X, is Officially released in North America. While it is Primary an Upgraded version of the Original system, It also has its own Unique Game Library as well as being able to Play the Original Game gear library. Along with this, This system has battery increased by 4-Hours, a Bigger Screen, a More flatter design and the Ability to Interconnect with Another GGX. It is Pretty successful and Most people that didn't have the Original Game gear, Opted to Buy this upgraded model due to its benefits and Price drop. 
December 18th, 1995 - The Game Gear X is Officially released in Japan. It is a very successful system as SEGA Systems were Notoriously more Popular and Better sellers in Japan compared to any other region. 
February 14th, 1996 - The Game Gear X is officially released in Europe/Pal Regions. It does very well although is less popular. 
February 28th, 1996 - Pokémon Red/Green Version is Released on Both GG & GGX in Japan and the first game in a Long-running series. It is an RPG Based around Satoshi's "Pocket Monsters" on the Region of Kanto, where you Play as an 11-year old Boy who's just beginning his Pokémon Journey, Obtaining a Starter between Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle, and Setting off to Catch 'em all, Battling Gym leaders to eventually become the Champion of the region. It features the Starting roster of 151 Pokémon Available, with 8/151 Species being exclusive to one-game. This is where the Trading feature comes in (Only available on the GGX version of the game), Which allows you to Connect with another Player Via a link cable, but there's also IN-GAME Trading, which requires one Pokémon for a Trade-exclusive Pokémon that can be found in certain Locations. The game was Overwhelmingly Successful, Becoming the Highest selling Game Gear X Title and Extended the Game gears life by a single Year. 
June 23rd, 1996 - Nintendo releases their Fifth Generation console, The Nintendo 64, In Japan. This system possessed 64-bit Graphics and Launched With Pilot wings (Just Okay) and Mario 64, One of the most revolutionary game of all time. However, the Use of Cartridges made it lose big-name developers, as they were more towards the Disk systems of the PlayStation, and it meant Less space to Develop big games. The Fact that it released around Sonic's 5th anniversary as well as the Successful Release of Sonic X-TREME only made Nintendo lose its once-held dominance. 
October 15th, 1996 - An updated Version of Pokémon Red/Green Version, titled "Pocket Monsters: Blue version" , is Released on the Game Gear X in Japan. It features some Bug fixes and dialogue changes. 
October 20th, 1996 - The Pokémon TCG launches in Japan. It is a trading card game that is Multiplayer, Featuring many Gen 1 Pokémon. Each card has one type that appears in Pokémon Red/Green/Blue with two Ability's usable on each Card, which allow for certain effects to be used against other peoples cards. It is a very popular Series, Having more then 5x the Current Population of earth in card sales. 
March, 1997 - The Pokémon Adventures mange begins in Japan. 
April 4th, 1997 - Pokémon Red/Blue Version is finally released in North America, Both on the Game gear and Game Gear X. They are Both Upgraded versions of Pocket Monsters: Blue version. Again, this game becomes extremely Popular in North America and Sold way more, having mostly the same effects towards the Game gear that Japan did. 
April 18th, 1997 - The Pokémon Animated series begins Airing in Japan. It features a similar story to that of the actual games, But the Main character is instead replaced by an Oc for the Show, called Ash Ketchum, Who wakes up late and ends up getting a Disobedient Pikachu instead that slowly becomes more attached as time goes on. The Main Villains are team rocket grunts: Jessie, James and a Talking Meowth. 
May 7th, 1997 - The Pokémon company is Born, Created in co-Operation by: SEGA/Sony, Game freak and Creatures Inc. Satoshi Tajiri and Ken sugimori are also apart of the Corpation. It was created Specifically to Make and Oversee the Pokémon games, Granting an Extra spot in the Big threes schedules, allowing for them to complete bigger Projects. 
Unknown time, 1997 - Hayao Nakayama & Norio Ohga have reported to been discussing Major Plans between SEGA & Sony, although no exact date is Given, speculated to have been around the start of summer. lso 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.
September 8th, 1997 - The Pokémon Anime begins airing in north America and Europe. 
November 18th, 1997 - Pokémon Yellow Version is Released as a Game Gear X Exclusive. It is also an Upgraded version of the Original Pokémon red/Blue versions, But this Version is based on the current Anime. While the story and Gameplay remains the Exact same, Some things have been altered, such as: Pikachu is now a starter that can follow you in the Overworld, The original starters can be found in the Wild, Every Pokémon from the Previous versions are now in One game, Updated sprites & The rival now has an Eevee as their starter. This game was pretty successful and was the Highest-seller of the Generation I Series, especially due to the Animes popularity. 
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 28th-30th, 1998 - The E3 of 1998. Announced at the Showcase was the Panasonic 3DM2, a Sequel to the 3DO after the developer was Published by Panasonic. It was infamous for this one day, as Panasonic decided to surprise everyone by Releasing the system the exact day E3 '98 finished. However, the system as a failure due to Many reasons involving Hardly any Third-party support, Very few launch titles and High competition. However, SEGA/Sony were going stronger then ever with the success of their Franchises. They showed a few titles coming for the Saturn/PS1, Such as a Port of sonic the fighters and Sonic 3D Blast, including some other titles. Nintendo had also taken a hard hit after Pokémon was Taken from them, Especially since the N64 was failing compared to the Saturn/PS1 and very few titles shown interested fans except Zelda 64. Despite Pokémon not being present at the Showcase, SEGA teased a New generation of Pokémon intended Just for the Game Gear X and lightly teased that Spin-Off titles would be Coming to their consoles. 
September 10th, 1998 - Pokémon Stadium is Released on the Saturn/PS1. It is a spin-off series and the First Console Pokémon Game. It Features the entire roster of Generation I in a Turned-based format, But that's all it really Has. In our timeline, This game had combability with the Original Gameboy, although this PS1/Saturn & Game Gear X had no such connectivity to one another. 
November 10th, 1998 - Pokémon the Movie: Mewtwo strikes back is Released worldwide in Theatres, Produced by Sony Pictures animation. It follows the Same plot as the Original timeline, Although its only slight longer with a few extended Scenes. The Movie was overwhelmingly Successful, Starting an entire series of Pokémon movies that would Relate to the Next-Generation. Also on this day, the second Volume of the Pokémon Prime Magazine is Published as a promotion For the movie. Alongside this, a Giveaway for Pokémon Yellow that Lasted from November 10th to March 1st 1999 would finally Release a Level 10 Mew for Players that won the giveaway. Other players that Didn't win would Get Link cables for the Game Gear X sent through Mail. Pokémon Red/Green/Blue players would get this Giveaway 2 weeks later. 
January 31st, 1999 - Super Smash bros. Is released on the Nintendo 64. It ended up being a commercial successful and Helped Increase N64 sales towards the end of the Generation, allowing to compete far better. Due to the Pokémon franchise being owned by SEGA/Sony, Pikachu and Jigglypuff were excluded, Instead being replaced by Bowser and King Dedede. 
May 13-15th, 1999 - the E3 of 1999 Begins! The Panasonic 3DM2 has been making slight Impacts due to Nostalgia for the Original system, but it was Practically dead by this Point, although it was remaining pretty still In japan due to its RPGs and 2D Titles. Nintendo had been hit pretty Hard this Generation, especially after the Release of Pokémon, But was standing strong with the Mario Party, Zelda & Third-party franchises, and smash bros proved that Nintendo has what it takes to be a dominant force again. SEGA However, was advancing more then other companies at this time, Announcing Their new console for next year, featuring Multimedia capability's and Internet connectivity, which sold everyone on their new project, with Shenmue being the demonstrated game for the system. The Pokémon Franchise was going strong with The reveal of Generation II, starting with Pokémon gold & Silver as exclusives for the Game Gear X. 
June 21, 1999 - The Saturn/PS1 port of Sonic 3D Blast is released. 
July 28th, 1999 - Pokémon the Movie 2000 is officially released in Theatres worldwide. It Introduces the World to Generation 2 with the First Appearance of Lugia, the Pokémon silver legendary. 
November 21st, 1999 - Pokémon Gold & Silver is Released on the Game Gear X, Starting Generation II. It Features a New Playable avatar who Moved from Kanto to start his own Journey within the Johto Region, alongside his Female Neighbour and a Criminal Rival. The Trading features have also been Updated, Allowing for connectivity to Pokémon Yellow and the Power to trade all 151 Pokémon from the Original Dex to this game, Except for the Partner Pikachu, although these Pokémon Cannot be traded back. On top of this, The Johto region isn't the Only place you can Visit, as the game will allow to Play through the Kanto Region once you have Defeated the Johto Champion, Unlocking some End-game Johto Pokémon as well as dozens of Kanto Pokémon, Including a Super-Secret Battle against RED (the main name of the Original character). This game was also a Huge Success, Being regarded as the Best Pokémon Game for a while. 
== 2000 - 2009 --> New systems, New Generation ==
January 1st, 2000 - Sonic Millennium is released on Theatres. 
== 2010 - 2020 --> The Jump To 3D ==
Category:Fall Of Nintendo