History Recap / PlayerTwoStart

** The success of the film reverses the declining ratings of the television show, though the slapstick nature of ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' still makes it marginally divisive amongst fans. Jason David Frank and Catherine Sutherland still leave, and are replaced with Brad Hawkins reprising the role of [[Series/VRTroopers Ryan Steele]] to replace Tommy as the Red Turbo Ranger and Tracy Lynn-Cruz who instead becomes the Pink Turbo Ranger. Fans are [[ReplacementScrappy not as receptive]] to Hawkins replacing Frank, though their opinions change when he switches to the Black Ranger [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace next season]]. The BigBad from Series/VRTroopers also returns to become the co-villain of the series to establish a continuity between both series. Overall, the season ends with a DownerEnding as OTL, but with Bulk and Skull taken prisoner by Divatox after their BigDamnHeroes moment buys the rangers some time to escape capture.

** Creator/RyanStiles hosts from 2004 to 2008, presumably not doing Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway in the process.

** ''Super Detective Club'', a remake of two Famicom Disk System mystery games from Nintendo.

** Film/{{Twilight}} star Creator/KristenStewart has her StarMakingRole with the ABC TV series ''Lane'' which is #1 in the ratings in the 2003-2004 season and she has just lost the Emmy for the second year in a row.

** ''VideoGame/{{Pulseman}}'' is developed for the SNES-CD instead and published by Sony, along with Western releases. (OTL Pulseman only made a North American release via the Sega Channel before made available via the VirtualConsole.) It would be the basis of a relationship between Sony and the game's developer, Creator/GameFreak.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' (or rather, ''Tale Phantasia'') also ends up a SNES-CD game. More notably, however, it's Nintendo that helps finances the game's development (and later its localization) instead of [[Creator/NamcoBandai Namco]] in OTL.[[note]]Namco's involvement in OTL was seen as ExecutiveMeddling, leading to the game's creator and some of the staff to form Creator/TriAce.[[/note]]

* When Apple pulls out of development of the game console they were working on with [[Creator/NamcoBandai Bandai]], Bandai is left to shoulder the full weight of the failure of the Solaris (TTL's name for the UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}). The company nearly goes bankrupt, saved only by ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' merchandise, and to stay afloat, they're forced to sell the rights to the VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}} to Creator/{{Hasbro}} (who turns it into a smash hit). Ultimately, Sega buys out what's left of the company for a song in 1998, liquidating it and taking control of its [=IPs=].

* [[Creator/SquareEnix Square]] doesn't develop ''VideoGame/SecretOfEvermore''. As a result, Music/JeremySoule starts his career with Sega instead, with the latter having Jeremy work on the ''Franchise/{{Ultima}}'' series.

** Three ''Franchise/{{Ultima}}'' games are made for the Saturn. While the first two were fondly received, the third, ''The Resurrection Stone'' in 2000, is widely criticized for its linear gameplay that was seen as an attempt to copy the ''Zelda'' games. It sells well regardless, though EA and Origin start to wonder if they should continue making ''Ultima'' games for consoles at all.

* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' is morphed into ''Star Trek: Rubicon'', a film with a roughly similar plot but which sees the ''Enterprise'' and the Borg traveling back in time to AncientRome instead of the year 2063. There, the ''Enterprise'' crew teams up with Creator/GaiusJuliusCaesar (played by Creator/EdHarris) just before his crossing of the Rubicon in order to stop the Borg. The film gets mixed reviews and is seen as something of a disappointment. It would be the last ''Star Trek'' film in a while, due to Patrick Stewart leaving.

* Although the September 11 attacks still occur, the crashes at the Pentagon and in Shanksville are butterflied away. However, the damage from the collapse of the World Trade Center kills at least 4000 people.

* With the early success of the SNES-CD, Sega of America's president Tom Kalinske convinces his bosses in Japan to work with Silicon Graphics, resulting in the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn having the guts of OTL's UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}}. Also, the Saturn's surprise North American release at E3 1995 is butterflied away thanks to an ExecutiveVeto on Sega of America head Tom Kalinske's part overriding Sega of Japan's desire to get a head-start on Nintendo. As a result, its release on "Saturnday", September 2, 1995 gives developers plenty of time to finish games for it, and it enjoys just as much success in the US as in Japan. Alongside securing Creator/{{Namco}} and Creator/{{Enix}} as Saturn-only developers, it nabs a number of early exclusives that went to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation IOTL. Its big games include:

** In addition, TWA Flight 800 (the plane crash that exacerbated TWA's already dire financial straits IOTL) doesn't crash and survives its fateful flight to Paris, and one month after, the Boeing 747-131 that flew Flight 800 gets pulled out of service due to the discovery of severe electrical faults in the plane itself (which the NTSB IOTL concluded lead to the crash).

* The first season of [[Series/Degrassi Degrassi: The Next Generation]] debuts in Canada and the United States like IOTL in October 2001, but has some major changes in regards to characters and plots. Ashley Leggat and Michael Seater from Series/LifeWithDerek both play students named Jess and Zach (which butterflies Seater's role in Series/BlackHoleHigh), with the former student being a popular girl while the latter one is a studying nerd. Marieve Herrington, who IOTL played a reoccurring student in Series/HowIMetYourMother, plays another student named Adelaide, and Kris Holden-Ried (who played Sean's older brother Tracker in OTL's Degrassi for the first 3 seasons) now plays a teacher named Lenny. Michael Kinney, who played Coach Armstrong in a reoccurring role on Degrassi IOTL, gets a regular casting role as the same character.\\\

* The first season of Series/Degrassi (titled Degrassi: The Next Generation) debuts in Canada and the United States like IOTL in October 2001, but has some major changes in regards to characters and plots. Ashley Leggat and Michael Seater from Series/LifeWithDerek both play students named Jess and Zach (which butterflies Seater's role in Series/BlackHoleHigh), with the former student being a popular girl while the latter one is a studying nerd. Marieve Herrington, who IOTL played a reoccurring student in Series/HowIMetYourMother, plays another student named Adelaide, and Kris Holden-Ried (who played Sean's older brother Tracker in OTL's Degrassi for the first 3 seasons) now plays a teacher named Lenny. Michael Kinney, who played Coach Armstrong in a reoccurring role on Degrassi IOTL, gets a regular casting role as the same character.\\\

* The first season of Series/Degrassi: The Next Generation premiers in Canada and the United States like IOTL in October 2001, but has some major changes in regards to characters and plots. Ashley Leggat and Michael Seater from Series/LifeWithDerek both play students named Jess and Zach (which butterflies Seater's role in Series/BlackHoleHigh), with the former student being a popular girl while the latter one is a studying nerd. Marieve Herrington, who IOTL played a reoccurring student in Series/HowIMetYourMother, plays another student named Adelaide, and Kris Holden-Ried (who played Sean's older brother Tracker in OTL's Degrassi for the first 3 seasons) now plays a teacher named Lenny. Michael Kinney, who played Coach Armstrong in a reoccurring role on Degrassi IOTL, gets a regular casting role as the same character.\\\

* The first season Series/Degrassi: The Next Generation premiers on CTV and The N like IOTL in October 2001, but has some major changes in regards to characters and plots. Ashley Leggat and Michael Seater from Series/LifeWithDerek both play students named Jess and Zach (which butterflies Seater's role in Series/BlackHoleHigh), with a former student being a popular girl while the latter one is a studying nerd. Marieve Herrington, who IOTL played a reoccurring student in Series/HowIMetYourMother, plays another student named Adelaide, and Kris Holden-Ried (who played Sean's older brother Tracker in OTL's Degrassi) now plays a teacher named Lenny. Michael Kinney, who played Coach Armstrong in a reoccuring role IOTL, gets a regular casting role as the same character.\\\

*** Polly's interactions with Eric also means that it helps Dylan pull away from Eric's orbit and eventually cut contact with him, which means he actually refuses to help Eric to shoot up the school and leaves Columbine mostly intact after the events of April 20, 1999. WordOfGod states that he is a police detective with the Denver Police Department as of TTL 2015.

* As Mike Tyson's boxing career is still going strong ITTL's 1998, he doesn't have any time to appear at WrestleMania XIV as the special guest ring enforcer for the WWF Championship match between Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels. Instead, the Austin vs. McMahon feud gets an earlier than OTL start, as Wrestling/VinceMcMahon appoints Wrestling/OwenHart as the special referee and attempts to blackmail him into screwing Austin, just like Vince had done to Bret at Montreal (yes, the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob still happens). Owen refuses and Austin becomes champion like IOTL. This also leads to a fair portion of Owen vs. Vince and it also seems like Shawn Michaels hasn't suffered from the back injury that put his career on a hiatus IOTL, as there's mention of an iron man match between Owen and Shawn at that year's Wrestling/SummerSlam.

** ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', which enjoys superior graphics and gameplay (especially platforming and melee combat) over its incarnation on OTL's UsefulNotes/PlayStation. The plot is changed substantially, revolving around Lara Croft fighting a rival treasure hunter named Jade Bessemer for seven artifacts that contain the secret of immortality. Lara's [[BuxomIsBetter famously large chest]] is also butterflied away, with the developers giving her more realistic proportions later in development as the game's graphical fidelity improved. She still becomes a gaming sex symbol, but this was mainly an unintended consequence.

** ''Vintage Speed Series'', released in 2000, is seen as [[DuelingProducts Sega's answer]] to ''Gran Turismo 2'', though it was developed independently. Unlike its competitor, the game focuses strictly on vintage cars from the turn of the 20th century through TheSixties, including the 1955 Chevrolet Corvette, the Shelby Cobra, the Hudson Hornet, the Auto Union Type C, and even the Ford Model T; the roster of vehicles is much smaller (only 46 versus the 800+ of ''[=GT2=]''), but all of them are highly detailed. Likewise, while it too is a simulation racer, it's notably less hardcore about realism than the ''GT'' games. It is a success in both sales and review scores, and becomes Sega's flagship simulation racing series.

*** ''Temple of Time'' is followed up by ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', which is largely unchanged from OTL. Unlike OTL, however, it is remembered as Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto's final game, debuting at [=E3=] 2000 less than two weeks after his sudden death.

* Bob Knight remains on as the head coach of the University of Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team even after the Kent Harvey incident, largely due to his team winning the NCAA Championship in 2000, leading the administration to give another pass despite his history of controversial behavior.

* Christian Weston Chandler of Sonichu infamy OTL goes on a shooting spree inspired by ''Arbiter of Sin 2'' on February 14, 2001, at Manchester High School in Midlothian, Virginia. [[Series/GreysAnatomy Shonda Rhimes]] is among the victims as an English teacher, along with 20 students and staff, 14 of them female. This act leads to the stigmatization of those on the Autistic Spectrum as well as [[MoralGuardians Jack Thompson]] starting a lawsuit against the video game industry.
** What makes Jack Thompson's lawsuit against the video game industry even ''worse'' is that he managed to get eight families of the victims (suffering from uncontrollable grief and seeing news reports regarding CWC's gaming choices) into signing up into the gaming lawsuit against the entire industry. However, [[TooDumbToLive this is the]] [[BullyingADragon two biggest gaming companies in the world]] and the [[InternetBackdraft internet]] [[InternetCounterattack he is facing]].......

* ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' is still released in 1999 (albeit for the Ultra Nintendo and the Saturn), and still becomes a pop-culture-defining cultural touchstone of the late '90s. This is lampshaded in the story -- a post in TTL's version of Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom, in a thread discussing what the butterflies would be from Nintendo siding with Philips instead of Sony (i.e. what they did in OTL), argues that ''THPS'' was the sort of game that was ''always'' going to happen, barring Tony Hawk himself suffering a freak accident or AlienSpaceBats invading in the '90s and outlawing skateboarding.

[[folder:Fourth Generation of Console Video Games:]]

* Creator/{{MTV}} creates a successful video game program reminiscent of OTL's ''Series/XPlay'', titled ''[=GameTV=]'', that runs from 1995 to 2000. The show's hosts (Ted Crosley, Alex Stansfield, John Walden, Brittany Saldita, Kazzi [=DeCarlo=], Gary Westhouse, and Lyssa Fielding) become celebrities and geek icons during their run on the show, as well as major recurring characters in the story, reviewing the various games that come out ITTL. Many of them use the show as a launchpad to successful careers later on; Stansfield becomes a respected games journalist running a site called Games Over Matter, Walden becomes the host of ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'', and Fielding enjoys success as a comedy actress on par with OTL's Creator/AnnaFaris.

[[folder:Fifth Generation:]]

** Sam Houser ultimately shelves ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' (for the time being, at least) in favor of developing the original basic design of ''Race'n'Chase'' in which you play as both the police and as a criminal. However, the game incorporates most of OTL ''GTA''[='=]s sandbox elements, with Sega giving some tips on the game and also refusing to censor the violence. It is released on September 29, 1997 on the Sega Saturn to even more controversy than OTL, due to it being released in both the US and the UK and media coverage over its violence. Although critical reception was average, it still sold very well [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity due to the controversy]].

** ''VideoGame/GranTurismo'' becomes an Ultra Nintendo game, with superior graphics over OTL's version and more cars and tracks, including Mario Circuit and Toad's Turnpike from ''Ultra Mario Kart'' as bonus levels (complete with music from the game). As in OTL, it revolutionizes the racing genre and becomes one of the most critically acclaimed games on its system. It also receives an endorsement from F1 driver Ayrton Senna, who survived the 1994 crash that killed him in OTL.

** ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}: Darkness'', released in 2000, marks Samus Aran's debut on the Ultra Nintendo, serving as a TwoAndAHalfD game that follows on directly from ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' with full voice acting in cutscenes.

* In response to Sega seeing the Ultra Nintendo's raw power advantage over the Saturn, in 1997 they devise plans for a peripheral called the "Ring of Saturn" that will boost its memory to make it competitive with the Ultra Nintendo. The Ring is released in time for the 1998 holiday season:

** ''Arbiter of Sin'', the second launch title, a FirstPersonShooter about a modern soldier who, upon suffering fatal wounds on the battlefield, is rescued by {{Satan}}, imbued with demonic powers, and sent back in time to the Crusades to fight UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar. The game becomes incredibly controversial for both its extreme violence (it almost received an AO rating) and its plot about battling the forces of God in the name of Satan, with many Christian conservatives accusing it of promoting devil worship and calling for a boycott of Sega (there's even [[BookBurning a burning of Sega merchandise]] in Texas). Nevertheless, it's a hit, with particular praise going to its level design even if the plot is seen by some as pure RatedMForMoney.

[[folder:Sixth Generation:]]
* The Sega Katana, TTL's version of the [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]] as the successor to the Saturn, launches in 2001, boasting a DVD drive (the first console to have one) and a surprisingly low launch price of $250. Its exclusive titles include:

* Also debuting in 2001 is the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, Microsoft's foray into video game hardware. It is slightly more powerful than the Sega Katana, though it doesn't have the massive advantage in horsepower that it had over the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube in OTL. Launch titles include:
** ''The Witcher'', an EnhancedRerelease of the 1997 game with a graphical overhaul and lots and lots of voice acting and FullMotionVideo.
** ''The Covenant'', TTL's version of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', albeit as a ThirdPersonShooter, Creator/{{Bungie}} having switched from an FPS after playing ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' and ''Squad Four: Rebellion''. It also has what seems to be a RobotWar plot, as well as Master Chief being able to command various squadmates.

[[folder:Beyond]]

** A ComicBook/WonderWoman movie starring Creator/CatherineZetaJones as the title character, written by Creator/JossWhedon as an adaptation of the "Gods and Mortals" arc.

* The 2000 US Presidential election practically veers off course from OTL as John McCain manages to defeat George W. Bush in the Republican Primaries (while Al Gore won the Democratic Primaries as OTL) and video games started to get attention in the debates, with McCain vowing to ban the sale of violent video games to children while Al Gore defended them as an art form that should be celebrated (It also helps he liked Secret of Mana back in 1994). The count in Florida on November 7, 2000 is even more razor thin than IOTL, where the initial count suggested Gore lead McCain by ''[[DecidedByOneVote 12 votes]]''. Unlike OTL, the United States Supreme Court does not order the halt of the manual recount (something they did do IOTL), leading to Gore winning the election by one of the narrowest state margins in US history.

* Tom Hall acquires the rights to ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'' from Creator/IdSoftware and makes the "Universe is Toast" trilogy that never saw production OTL. The trilogy sees ports to the Saturn and the SNES-CD. The former is an [[PolishedPort enhanced port]] of the original shareware games with animated cutscenes and smoother gameplay, while the SNES-CD version is far less polished. The ''Commander Keen'' series goes on to become a second-party character for Sega.

* When Apple pulls out of development of the game console they were working on with [[Creator/NamcoBandai Bandai]], Bandai is left to shoulder the full weight of the failure of the Solaris (TTL's name for the UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}). The company nearly goes bankrupt, saved only by ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' merchandise, and to stay afloat, they're forced to sell the VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}} to Creator/{{Hasbro}} (who turns it into a smash hit). Ultimately, Sega buys out what's left of the company for a song in 1998, liquidating it and taking control of its [=IPs=].
** With the above sale of VideoGame/{{Tamagotchi}}, the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' franchise is never created.

* In response to Sega seeing the Ultra Nintendo's raw power advantage over the Saturn, in 1997 they devise plans for a peripheral called the "Ring of Saturn" that will boost its memory to make it competitive with the Ultra Nintendo. The Ring is released in time for the 1998 holiday season, and launches with three exclusives:
** ''Spare Parts'', a 3-D platformer from the makers of ''VideoGame/NIGHTSIntoDreams''. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where a pandemic disease wiped out most of humanity, the protagonists are two robot children, Zacki and Ella, created JustBeforeTheEnd as playmates for children who'd lost friends and family to the plague. The plot revolves around rebuilding civilization out of the robots that the humans left behind, battling monsters created from the despair of the people who had died during the plague, and discovering the last surviving human colony, living in a bunker under the totalitarian control of a malevolent AI (which is compared to AM from ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''). It becomes a KillerApp for the Ring, praised for its deep story, amazing graphics, great gameplay, and vast worlds.
** ''Arbiter of Sin'', a FirstPersonShooter about a modern soldier who, upon suffering fatal wounds on the battlefield, is rescued by {{Satan}}, imbued with demonic powers, and sent back in time to the Crusades to fight UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar. The game becomes incredibly controversial for both its extreme violence (it almost received an AO rating) and its plot about battling the forces of God in the name of Satan, with many Christian conservatives accusing it of promoting devil worship and calling for a boycott of Sega (there's even [[BookBurning a burning of Sega merchandise]] in Texas). Nevertheless, it's a hit, with particular praise going to its level design even if the plot is seen by some as pure RatedMForMoney.
** ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'' is made for the Ring as opposed to OTL's UsefulNotes/{{Dreamcast}}, and the technical limitations force Creator/YuSuzuki to somewhat scale back his original plans. Regardless, it still wins acclaim for its plot and its combat, and while it's not ''as'' big a commercial success as ''Spare Parts'' or ''Arbiter of Sin'' in the West, it outsells both of them combined in Japan. It's seen as playing a role for the Ring similar to that which ''Secret of Mana'' played on the SNES-CD, helping to deflect controversy over video game violence (in this case, that of ''Arbiter of Sin'' instead of ''Mortal Kombat'') by showing critics that games can also tell deep, involving stories with great artistic value.
** ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Edge]]'' retains its name for the North American release, due to Sega of America's lawyers preventing EDGE Games from filing a trademark suit.
** Sam Houser ultimately shelves ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' (for the time being, at least) in favor of developing the original basic design of ''Race'n'Chase'' in which you play as both the police and as a criminal. However, the game incorporates most of OTL ''GTA''[='=]s sandbox elements, with Sega giving some tips on the game and also refusing to censor the violence. It is released on September 29, 1997 on the Sega Saturn to even more controversy than OTL, due to it being released in both the US and the UK and media coverage over its violence. Although critical reception was average, it still sold very well [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity due to the controversy]].
* Sega brings the Advertising/SegataSanshiro ad campaign to the US in order to compete with the Ultra Nintendo's "It's an Ultra World" ads. While similar to the Japanese campaign, the US versions has Segata beating up those who prevent gamers from playing the Saturn, from teachers to Ultra Nintendo salesman.

** [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Sun and Moon]] will be released on the Game Boy Nova with graphics similar to OTL's [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite fifth]] [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 generation]] games (3D overworld and animated battle sprites.) Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile are still the starters, as in OTL. Ariados, Ampharos, and Ho-oh are confirmed and included new monsters resembling a timber wolf and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula_hawk tarantula wasp]].
* [[invoked]] The game that [[DivorcedInstallment evolved into]] ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' in OTL instead becomes ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', although with elements of the OTL versions of both games. This is due to ''Xenogears''[='=]s director, Tetsuya Takahashi, becoming the director for ''Final Fantasy VIII'' ITTL. The game is primarly set in the world of OTL's Final Fantasy VIII, but with the main characters being [[HumongousMecha Guardian]] pilots and some Xenogears characters incorporated into the plot.
* Also in [[Creator/SquareEnix Squaresoft]] news, ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' isn't released alongside ''Xenogears'' like in OTL, and instead receives the lion's share of the company's focus as their big title in 1998. The game follows roughly the same beats as OTL, but expanded, with the BrutalBonusLevel in the Chrysler building instead made into the final dungeon (with difficulty tempered accordingly, though it's still a challenge) and a new bonus dungeon created in the World Trade Center that's even more difficult. The game is a smash success, with what little criticism it receives (mainly for its fairly short length) more than balanced out by wonder at its graphics, cutscenes, storytelling, and combat. Its reception is compared to that of OTL's ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'', a technological marvel whose reputation would decline in the years to come as newer, better-looking games came out, but which still holds a good reputation.

* One of the original X-Box's launch titles is ''The Witcher,'' [[EnhancedRerelease with a graphical overhaul]] and lots and lots of voice acting.
* The other launch title is ''[[Franchise/{{Halo}} The Covenant]]''... as a ThirdPersonShooter with what seems like a RobotWar plot.

* Creator/GeneSiskel is still alive as of April 2000, presumably the surgery that had unexpected complications that ended up deadly OTL went much better ITTL.

** Also, a throw away line concerning said season finale, "Sixth Sense"[[note]]"Scully remains trapped in this alternate universe at the end of the season, and doesn't reunite with Mulder until several episodes into season eight."[[/note]], implies that Creator/DavidDuchovny never got the idea to sue Creator/{{Fox}} for residues from reruns of the show, which wound up [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor getting him in trouble]].

* Christian Weston Chandler of Sonichu infamy OTL goes on a shooting spree inspired by ''Arbiter of Sin 2'' on February 14, 2001. [[Series/GreysAnatomy Shonda Rhimes]] is among the victims as an English teacher. This act leads to the stigmatization of those on the Autistic Spectrum as well as Jack Thompson starting a lawsuit against the video game industry.

* The 2000 US Presidential election practically veered off course from OTL, as John McCain manages to defeat George W. Bush in the Republican Primaries (while Al Gore won the Democratic Primaries as OTL) and video games started to get attention in the debates, with McCain vowing to ban video games while Al Gore defended them as an art form. The count in Florida on November 7, 2000 is even more razor thin than IOTL, where the initial count suggested Gore lead McCain by ''[[DecidedByOneVote 12 votes]]''. Unlike in OTL, the United States Supreme Court does not order the halt of the manual recount, leading to Gore winning the election by one of the narrowest margins in US history.