In the timeframe of 1986 to 1994, the first true console war was truly under way. Nintendo released their NES system, the 8-Bit wonder machine, and Sega released their Sega Genesis, it’s 16-Bit fierce competitor. Both consoles established one key thing right out of the gate, marketing. Nintendo specifically marketed as being a console for everyone. Sega, on the other hand, tried a smear campaign against Nintendo saying it had a “blast processor”, which really meant the system had better graphics overall. Sega even made sure they marketed their game console to an older crowd, for fear the younger audience was locked down by Nintendo.
Along with much triumph, came several mistakes, mostly on Sega’s and Atari’s side. Once Nintendo released the Super Nintendo, it became a graphically even battlefield for both companies. Sega tried to combat this by releasing add-ons to their existing console, like the Sega CD and the Sega 32X, but the company absolutely failed to grab the same developer support Nintendo literally had on financial lock down (they paid Konami, Capcom, Squaresoft, and others to exclusively make games for their consoles). Sega tried to market their systems as forthcoming and highly innovative, but had no games to justify anyone purchasing them. Atari also tried to make a console following on the heels of Sega’s and Nintendo’s success, but to no avail. The console had very, very little developer support, no true financial backing for making quality games, and a very poor marketing campaign.
Had Sega just focused on making games for their Genesis, or at least just focused on the Saturn after they released it, we may be in a different world. Instead, Sega kept trying to pump out a new game every couple of years (read: maybe every two after the Sega CD debacle) in an effort to win over the market with sheer muscle. Had Atari properly funded their R&D departments to create a more efficient console or even to create games that were more innovative, maybe Atari would have re-entered the console business triumphantly. The only fault Nintendo had during the early nineties was their software was usually triple A stuff, but the games were just to far and few in-between. In retrospect, though, Nintendo still continues this trend to this day they and they are still the number one seller of consoles to date.
