ABN GameZone became the first ever television network dedicated to the video game industry before there ever were networks like CNet, G4/Tech TV, Gamespot, and more. In fact, ABN GameZone was the first ever network to report on the downfall of Atari and the regeneration of the industry in 1986, the SEGA vs. Nintendo wars of the 1990s, the PS2 vs. Xbox wars of the early 2000s, PS3 vs. Xbox 360 wars in the mid 2000s to early 2010s and the current console generation of the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One/Series X|S, and PS4/5. ABN GameZone is also a video game consumer network with programming dedicated to upcoming consoles, the E3 conferences, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), upcoming releases, game reviews and more.
The network is housed inside the Altitude Game Studios division of ABN Digital Entertainment on the ABN campus in Seattle and some games are produced for consoles and PC from Altitude Game Studios and ABN Digital Entertainment.
These next sections show ABN GameZone's most intriguing stories of the past three decades.
The downfall of Atari and the video game industry crash of 1983[]
From all accounts, the rushed release of the game port of the Universal Pictures movie E.T. and the lackluster quality of the 2700 and 5200 game systems and the pixelated raunchiness of Custer's Revenge all mixed in to create the downfall of Atari, and nearly the video game industry itself when consumers felt that home computing would be the way of the future. Between 1984 to 1986, there were independent game systems and software created, but there was very little to no demand as consumers were more interested in home computing than arcade gaming. Many speculated that the industry would not recover, but this would soon change as two of Japan's juggernauts in video game entertainment would help change the face of the video game industry.
The resurrection of the industry and Nintendo's rise to international fame[]
Many were wide eyed about the potential for the video game industry to bounce back from its three year slumber. ABN GameZone went to cover the coming of Nintendo to North American consumers with the Nintendo Entertainment System which used 8-bit technology shared by its counterpart, the Family Computer (a.k.a. Famicom). The system was shown in New York in 1985 as a "toy set" to lure consumers into purchasing the NES. It was a skeptical move, but it helped transform the industry as a whole. With the introduction of Nintendo's now-famous mascot, Mario, it spurred the industry into an unknown future and an uncertainty if the consumers would buy in to this newfound life given by Nintendo's launch of the NES in North America.
Sega vs. Nintendo: The console wars, and the beginning of competitive gameplay[]
As Nintendo's NES system neared the end of its established life span, SEGA begins making headway into North America. No one knew in the 80's that SEGA existed, but the company made a profound statement to North American consumers with the Mega Drive/Genesis game system with the campaign of "Genesis Does what Nintendon't" (a mashup of "Genesis Does what Nintendo Does Not") highlighting its advanced 16-bit system which shipped ahead of the Super NES system. While it's clear that Alex Kidd was SEGA's original de facto mascot, North America never became attached to it like Mario, so SEGA needed one to attach consumers to and did so in the form of its now-known rival, Sonic the Hedgehog. For years, it was Mario vs. Sonic even before the Mario vs. Sonic Olympic games themed titles. Atari tried to enter the console wars with the Jaguar, but failed to convince consumers of its feasibility. While the ongoing "playing with super power" and "Genesis does" tropes rolled on in North American and European markets, rumors circulated of a disc-based Super Family Computer (a.k.a. "Super Famicom"). When executives at Nintendo turned down the idea from Sony to provide a prototype model of what could have been a Super Nintendo PlayStation, it gave Sony an Achilles heel to place the very nameplate on its own disc-based console in 1994 which gave the Genesis and the aging Super NES a run for the money. Both SEGA and Sony outran Nintendo's cart-based systems of the Super NES and Nintendo 64 in terms of reliability, better processing power, and ample data storage and transfers between media and motherboard. Sony later entered with the PlayStation while SEGA retired the Saturn in favor of the Dreamcast and a new console war was soon to erupt.
At the same time, hiding behind the two warring factions of SEGA and Nintendo in North America came two other players in the console wars: Kenzo Tsujimura's Capcom, and their heavy-hitting rival, SNK, founded by Eikichi Kawasaki. SNK's Neo-Geo home console system was a considerable contender, but the asking price once the production model began hitting store shelves was too high as the Super NES and Genesis overshadowed the Neo-Geo. Capcom never made a home console, per se, but have produced printed arcade circuit boards called the CPS2 for Japanese markets, that, for which, SNK's Neo-Geo 2-slot, 4-slot, 5-slot and 6-slot arcade consoles outsold Capcom.
The age of the "real" gamers[]
As SEGA moved on to software production, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft enter into a flurry of a three-way. During the early 2000's, not a lot of consumers became attached with the GameCube system as Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's first-generation Xbox launched. It was also the time of which consoles could now have the ability to connect via modem thanks to the innovation first introduced in 1998 with the SEGA Dreamcast system and allow the consumer to connect with others. Soon, the age of "real gamers" would begin. Unfortunately, the GameCube lacked in the broadband connectivity feature disappointing reviewers and critics. As the consoles progressed, the connectivity was broadened and the advent of Wi-fi internet was upon them allowing a more fluent connection and clearer audio quality in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems. Once again, like the GameCube, the Wii by Nintendo failed to impress critics of such features. In its ten and a half years, the PlayStation and Xbox systems have managed to be more streamlined with video streaming, and web browsing. The PlayStation 4 showed its proven "gamer" prowess while the Xbox One goes beyond just a gaming console. Originally dubbed the "Xbox 720" in development, this is the first console to feature web streaming, TV streaming via a cable connection, and voice recognition of which consumers command the system to turn on or shut down with a built in microphone inside the system, features that soon would carry over to the Series X/S. The fifth generation PlayStation, the PS5, shows very little differences to its 4th gen brethren as most of the PS3 and 4 library can now be digitally obtained via the PlayStation Network, the PlayStation Store or by purchasing prepaid cards or codes from participating retailers. Nintendo has slightly improved the online connectivity with in-house titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Switch console (codename NX).
Gamergate[]
Of the most recent stories by ABN GameZone, the infamous Gamergate industry shakeup got critics wide eyed starting with the development of the Phil Fish Twitter tirades, then the Phil Fish/Zoe Quinn story and how each of them were "doxxed", an unlawful act of viewing their information by means of infiltrating into their IP address, PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account, and performing a number of lawless deeds like posting such information on social sites like Reddit, or Paste Bin. Of the most wide eyed story to date in ABN GameZone's history is the Anita Sarkeesian "feminist movement" and the mess behind this recent development in light of Sarkeesian pegged by Electronic Arts to be its adviser for the sequel of Mirror's Edge.
Gamergate Part 2 with Lizard Squad DDOS attacks[]
ABN GameZone filed several reports regarding the internet hacking group known as Lizard Squad. Lizard Squad's group of highly expert hackers were reported to have made numerous distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in an attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users. A DoS attack generally consists of efforts to temporarily or indefinitely interrupt or suspend services of a host connected to the Internet. One such instance happened on the Microsoft Xbox Live service in 2013 and 2014 of which users were not able to access their accounts due to this distributed denial-of-service attack to Microsoft. Sony and their PlayStation Network (PSN) consumers were also hit with a DDOS attack at the hands of Lizard Squad hackers. Their role in Gamergate history is galvanized thanks to several sources within the auspices of Microsoft and Sony as well as their consumers of Xbox Live and PSN.
Konami-gate[]
While a bit of stretch as said by ABN GameZone's opponents, the network filed reports on "Konami-gate", a series of stories related to the Japanese third-party software developer. The first was the cancellation of Silent Hills, which was supposed to be a sequel to the Silent Hill game franchise derived from the film of said title. Then there were rumors of another Metal Gear game. Konami denies such rumors. Iwo Kojima, the lead developer of the Metal Gear series then leaves Konami on the suspicion of unfair practices. What unfair practices that were committed by Konami remains unknown and the company refuses to release information about the mistreatment of Mr. Kojima. Following this story, Konami delists from the New York Stock Exchange. American stock holders having put shares in Konami lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Konami established a recently tumultuous relationship with its fanbase upon announcing a new mobile gaming approach in Spring 2015, later apologizing, but not to the discontent and chagrin of Konami's global consumers.
The End of E3[]
Due to waning industry interest and the COVID-19 pandemic, it was formally announced by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the sanctioning body of E3, on December 12, 2023 that the ESA has permanently terminated the E3 conference as confirmed by ESA CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis marking a dismal end to a 30 year run for the former video game industry spectacle which focused on upcoming releases of new software titles from the industry's titans including Sega, Nintendo, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Activision-Blizzard, Square Enix, etc., and gave consumers a close-up look at new hardware and accessories. It was the Super Bowl of the industry, one that stood, at times, above the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas. But after four sub-par years and having to cancel the 2020 E3 show due to the pandemic, Pierre-Louis felt the industry could no longer hold its interest in a failing economy with inflation, the ongoing crisis following the pandemic, the overwhelming dominance of the internet streaming subspace, and the desire of industry leaders to take a different approach to presenting upcoming goods for the new year. This also meant that video game tournaments for Marvel vs. Capcom, Super Smash Bros., Tekken series, Street Fighter series, Dragonball FighterZ, and others, which were featured in past E3 shows, moved to the streaming subspace. ABN GameZone attended the second E3 show in 1996 and made a strong committment to attend every E3 show until 2020. As such, ABN Group on December 20, 2023 made an announcement to create ABN GameZone Direct, a streaming barker service for leaders from Nintendo, Sega, among others, to directly stream their presentations of upcoming products in conjunction with their own live presentations. ABN Group also announced through the ESA that it is likely possible for ABN GameZone to live stream the Game Awards pre-show, the main ceremony, post-show and day-after shows.
