You may be asking what video games and a 3-Party System have in common? Well, let’s find out. You ever hear of the Expression “Having your cake & eating it too?” This applies to us very well.
The 2020 Election came and went despite what The Donald wants you to believe. Putting aside my political biases I wish President-Elect Biden & Vice President-Elect Harris all the luck in the world. They’re going to continue to need it. But I digress.
It’s hard to believe that it has been 160 years this month that we had last successfully replaced a major party in the US. The country was tired of their unjust system and a new party was necessary for the time. This election cycle proved we need to do it again. But America has been a 2-Party System for so long how do we get a third? It’s simple, look at we got there with 3 home consoles in America today.
A Tale of 3 Home Consoles
Seriously, imagine if the only options we had for gaming were the Xbox or the Playstation but no Nintendo? It would be such a limited market and limited creativity. But you could make the Argument that Microsoft and Sony were meant to be the 2-party gaming system that would replace the previous ones: Nintendo & Sega. For the longest time, it’s easy to forget that the 2 companies that dominated the gaming industry were those two. It started with the NES/Famicom and Sega Master System although Nintendo overwhelmingly was more popular in America Sega was more popular in Japan.
Then a paradigm shift happened and the Sega Megadrive aka Sega Genesis outsold Nintendo’s Super Nintendo aka Super Famicom. So we had this little back and forth for a decade and then Sonys Playstation made its debut. Originally it was to be partnered with Nintendo years earlier but then Nintendo backed out of the deal. By this point, Sony was seen as the 3rd party that beat Nintendo and Sega with their follow up Systems, Nintendo 64 & Sega Saturn.
How did this happen? How did a new console overcome the Video Game duopoly? Aside from reinvigorating the industry with its graphics and gameplay, Nintendo & Sega simply declined in popularity. The N64 was a success but was diminishing in sales compared to its predecessors and lack of high-quality third-party content outside games licensed by Rare. The Saturn was just not well-received and fans were turned off after the failed Sega Genesis add-ons.
The only time we ever truly had a 4-Party system was when the original X-Box, PS2, Gamecube, & Sega Dreamcast were around. The Dreamcast however was shortlived despite it actually being called ahead of its time. The next generation of gaming would see the cycle being just 3 consoles to choose from with the Wii, PS3 & Xbox 360, followed by the Wii U, PS4, Xbox 1, and now Nintendo Switch, PS5, & Xbox Series 5. The Triopoly has been set in stone. You could make an argument for PC games but the point of this article was to point out home consoles you put in your TV.
How This Relates to A 3-Party System In Politics?
So how does this help in creating a 3-Party System in the US? Learn from how the Playstation replaced the 2 biggest companies in the industry, or how Nintendo overtook Atari. It’s not about competing with the 2-Parties, it’s about beating them when they’re at an all-time low. Trump’s popularity has disparaged anyone else from being able to restore the party and the Democrats will continue to alienate younger people until they outnumber the older people and that’s when The People’s party will be the Playstation of Political parties.
Half this country wants a 3-Party System. 70% of this country wants a single-payer healthcare system. If neither of these two parties offer this then it’s simple, we the people will remove them from power. The powers that be say a 3-Party System can’t work or that no one wants it, the numbers tell a different story.
Now I know what some of you progressives are thinking. Some of you are thinking to just move the Democratic Party left and that starting a third party will do nothing. Some of you are saying a third party is the only option and moving the Democrats left is impossible. I bring back my have your cake and eat it to analogy.
The biggest difference between Video Games and Politics is in Video Games it is ok to own both. I own a PS4 and a Nintendo Switch. There are games for each system I enjoy for various reasons. There are people within the Democratic party that I like. There are also people outside the party I like too. It’s not either/or it’s both/and. Do Both. Best case scenario we get one thing out of this. Worst case scenario we have nothing.
There was a short time period that Genesis was ahead of SNES but overall the SNES outsold the Genesis by nearly 12 million units. Still a close battle though. Interesting article and interesting perspective on politics and games.