What if Digimon beat Pokémon? | Alternate History Explored

If Digimon is more popular than Pokemon, the WonderSwan beats out the Game Boy, Mother 3 gets an American release but Animal Crossing doesn't, and nobody cares about Pikachu. With only a few small changes to our timeline, this might have been our world - a world where Digimon beats Pokémon to becoming the premiere animal-battling franchise in America.
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Polygon's VERSUS is an alternate history series that explores what would happen if just one thing had gone differently with some of biggest rivalries. In video game history, seemingly tiny decisions have huge impacts.
#Digimon #Pokemon #Versus

[@polygon]

Folks, if you liked this video: GUESS WHAT IT'S A SERIES NOW. In the next episode, Pat reveals an alternate history where Final Fantasy 7 came out on N64... and the whole world changes kzbin.info/www/bejne/faa0mJScpNtjpqM

[@RelevantConcern]

Looking forward to more of these!

[@gundamdragon]

Name of review I missed the point by forget adventure 2 where the older digidestines where replaced by what where they called oh kids

[@UncannyGirl]

This was a cute perspective however by the time the Porygon episode aired so many balls were rolling that it wouldn't had mattered. The development in the tale end of the original games was going poorly on multiple fronts. The games' code was becoming a hot mess. While there's no believeable timeline in which Satoru Iwata doesn't see the potential for the Pokémon series and step in to fix the code... but there's the potential for a ripple here in what happens next. Satoru Iwata not only cleaned up the code but his optimization of the code freed up exactly enough space for 1 more Pokémon to fit on the cartridge. This is why Mew ended up on the cartridge but was never obtainable. It's the 90's and video game secrets are all the rage. The internet is barely a thing but it allows for all kinds of rumors to spread like wild fire. The potential for a brokenly powerful hidden character that could be added to your party in an RPG would had been huge. (We see this with SquareEnix's spin off Final Fantasy: Tactics having Cloud from FF7 as a character unlockable if a sequence of hidden events lines up properly.) GameFreak themselves have stated based upon the sales numbers that IF the promotional marketing contest to WIN THE HIDDEN MYTICAL POKéMON never occured.. the series would had never taken off. We have now a HUGE catalyst for a new timeline: at last minute of debugging since they ran out of time to add an encounter for Mew into the Game... they just scrap Mew. While the games merrit some praise and GameFreak breaks even. The series doesn't become HUGE... Nintendo never keeps a share in GameFreak and Pokémon becomes another weird Japanese RPG. In this timeline, the potential is clear for other developers and companies in Japan... what if you replace these strange Pocket Monsters with Monsters from another more established IP. Bandai heads are convinced to take the formula of Pocket Monsters so that the first Digimon games for the Wonderswan would not be Ryo's tale but instead a "Digimon Red & Digimon Blue". The Digital Monsters Tamogochi's have enough brand recognition this seems solid. A Bandai head speaks with trusted connections in the United States and are told that in the USA you need a cartoon for a series to be popular... so Bandai has Toei get right on that... now in 1999 everything Digimon is different but global and not under the shadow of Pokemon.

[@chimuoma390]

If Digimon won,We Would have Gotten Battle Spirit 1.5 On The GBA!

[@madelinekoh8499]

there’s just one inconsistency in that if furries are now a worldwide phenomenon, animal crossing would absolutely get made except all the neighbors are now way hunkier

[@peridotqueen26]

yessss honestly same with Breath of the Wild xD

[@randolphrosenberg2994]

@@peridotqueen26 Oh god, what would Sidon be like then?!

[@sabotabby3372]

or twinkier

[@viv6700]

and every villager is now romanceable...

[@Infinite_Archive]

Why did I read this in Brian's voice?

[@annebeach6630]

Jenna "that's not how time works" Me: *surprised Augumon face*

[@shisuiki]

How can i like a comment 12 times?

[@Pancakeli]

@@shisuiki Gotta create 11 alt accounts

[@aaronleschke8988]

DIGIMON FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGES MEME CULTURE

[@nowonmetube]

I think Patamon fits more perfectly

[@riot-0096]

@@nowonmetube or terroirom/lopmon

[@GamingintheAM0801]

"Ice Age would win instead, but this would have no effect on the rest of history." Goddamn that got me. 😂

[@eavyeavy2864]

Pewdieshit subscriber

[@Josh123benja]

"... DeviantArt, one of the top five social media platforms" Oh no

[@aa-tx7th]

*OH YAS* unzips

[@kennethsouth18]

@@aa-tx7th very underrated comment

[@gogomonow]

O H N O

[@capngeeoff]

I guess in this universe, Disney's Robin Hood would definitely get a live action remake

[@Nehu_22]

But they wouldn't hire true furries as advisors

[@pandorasbox3706]

But it ends up looking like cats, until fan outrage leads them to redesigning the characters to look at least decent, in the same way the sonic movie was in our timeline.

[@rachelrachel9152]

If u think that still wouldn't happen in our universe i think you underestimate disneys lust for money

[@andrewblack2596]

Should somebody tell him?

[@MyKingofdiamonds]

“Tai, or should I say Tyler...” That physically hurt me

[@zidaryn]

Yea. But they did the same thing to a lot of other shows. Most likely he'd still be called "Tai" but for the American release it would be "Ty" as in short for Tyler.

[@bloodmachine6049]

I mean, Pokemon did this. All the names are "localised" .

[@Netsuki]

I already doesn't like americanization of names 😂 I mean, Tai is okay. But T.K? Seriously? And they changed Yagami just because it's I'm a gay backwards?

[@StarLink149]

@@Netsuki more likely because it clearly sounds foreign, that's all. Fun fact for all of you, did you know the original japanese name of Link from The Legend of Zelda is 'Rinku'?

[@KoishiteAkuma90]

@@Netsuki OMG Never realized that about Yagami...

[@sirpineapple2486]

Halfway in the video: "Man this whole timeline sounds awful." Jenna: "Itoi's original vision for Mother 3 for the N64 is produced." "I'll digido whatever i can to make this a reality"

[@chungaplea3323]

Is it worth sacrificing spirited away?

[@brucesewing6183]

Is It Worth Sacrificing Animal Crossing

[@ahlamkastiro3154]

That Includes becoming a furry, right?

[@moselzag5451]

@@brucesewing6183 Yes

[@Blahajsupport]

@@moselzag5451it’s not

[@ryangagne5321]

Thinking about it, due to Digimon partially taking place in the Digiworld, it may encourage the idea of virtual reality or augmented reality years earlier in this theoretical timeline. Making technological advancements in VR and/or AR technology much faster, possibly developing something as powerful and easily accessible as the Oculus Quest 2 as early as 2015. This may also heavily encourage the idea to create virtual worlds like the Oasis in Ready Player One, this may also popularize Sword Art Online and possibly improve it's story in the process, as well as popularizing VR media altogether. I also have this feeling that the whole "characters aging/maturing throughout the series" would make rating systems like the ESRB less and less important as the years go by, until it is no longer needed anymore.

[@juliandelapena4293]

"this may also popularize Sword Art Online and possibly improve it's story in the process" I see no timeline where that story can be improved choom.

[@user-qn5fz2lo3e]

me: yeah I like to consider alternate history what they think I mean: ww1, ww2 and the civil war are turned on their head what I actually mean:

[@vandama0mossadegh]

The point about characters aging and transitioning in digimon becoming a norm in kids shows makes me wonder if other fantastical kids with that sort of approach (Code Lyoko comes to mind but it was so bad idk about that) would've been bigger hits!

[@rachelrachel9152]

Oh i loved code lyoko

[@maximgvozdic3009]

Perhaps, but it’s also likely that both kid shows and cartoons ITTL would also tackle more adult and/or more complicated issues, from Identifying Toxic relationships and how to deal with them, to how not everyone can be saved.

[@treehuggerjohn]

I've never wanted a wonder swan this much in my life.

[@kennethsouth18]

There not hard to get and there is a translation chip mod with a WiFi adapter thingy

[@brightlight8852]

Actually, Digimon being big would have a bigger effect on anime, because of Bandai. Bandai actually owns a lot of anime and Digimon being a success would make them more willing to bring over their kid friendly anime. Remember Pokemon anime may have been a success but the anime was created by a company that doesn't have much of a footprint in America nor is it known for producing a lot of anime. You brought up how the WonderSwan games would have games for both boys and girls but a lot of the games you brought up are anime properties.

[@joshuamanjarrez6321]

Yeah and some of them are shoujo

[@brightlight8852]

@@joshuamanjarrez6321 Exactly but to mention Bandai also owns Sunrise, one of the biggest and most prolific anime studios.

[@TanukiTracks]

I have to agree- I don't see how Digimon winning out remotely means anime becomes a 'niche interest' or why there's even MORE censoring, or the other side effects she mentioned, like Spirited Away not showing up here in America- which would be a huge blow, I gotta say...

[@IceSpoon]

@@brightlight8852 Isn't Sunrise the one that brought Gundam Wing into the west? Between Mechas and Megazords, I see a much more robotic timeline than the one we had.

[@brightlight8852]

@@IceSpoon Yup the very same one and Bones is an offshoot of Sunrise too. Not to forget that Digimon actually won awards in Japan for tackling subjects that kids media tended to avoid. There's no way that they would edit it too much.

[@rushabhbhakta7181]

Alternate History Hub took a weird turn but I’m here for it.

[@shisuiki]

I'm not against a alternate pop culture history hub, like the videos are the gist of a conversation with an expert, and the whole convo is in podcast form

[@hiimemily]

"Pokénnui" is such a beautiful word.

[@samuelturner6076]

Ok but as long as the Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth games still release/are improved then I welcome our Digimon timeline overlords.

[@poster1233]

Sadly cyber sleuth is nowhere to be seen, however we do get an AMAZING story driven niche Pokemon rpg for the Wii U, that focus on understanding the underlying dynamics of pokemon and humans from a less "kid-friendly" angle, including some jokes about "gardevoir"

[@MiseFreisin]

@@poster1233 P. I. Kachu is sadly underappreciated

[@benedict6962]

We don't get cyber sleuth, instead Yasuda is hired to create art for another spinoff SMT title. Taking inspiration from Soul Hackers with the fidelity of modern portable consoles, players join an ace detective on a digital romp through cyberspace. Stylishly capturing demons and resolving reality distortions, they provide a glimpse into a world physically altered by digital phenomena. The game is called.....Cyber Sleuth.

[@Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat]

Hot take, cyber sleuth is a pretty alright game and im glad I got it. Thanks, fan demand. Also, I'm glad digimon is experiencing this weird resurgence in popularity in recent years, still very niche but I feel like it's getting real recognition again.

[@norahporter4075]

all i want is digimon world to get good sequels :( the original was so good, the following were nothing like it, and the return to form, next order, just makes me wish i was playing the original.

[@notaroh]

This is literally my favorite genre of speculative fiction and I am laughing so hard at all the wonderful details and research

[@skiddadle8245]

"And in this alternate timeline, instead of making a video on this, I'd be making a video theorizing what would have happened if pokemon were successful." I wrote this before I finished the video. All i have to say is *i told you so*

[@Gramelisha]

I feel that this is Yu-Gi-Oh erasure

[@DragonFire381]

"Americanized within an inch of its life", huh?

[@dankayur2910]

With Digimon already having a massively popular cardgame, Bandai thinks it unwise for Toei to produce a direct competitor under their banner. So Yu-Gi-Oh not only never gets the push it needs to make the change from a manga about death games into a child-friendly TV series but actively gets steered into becoming more of an adult series, in line with the hyper-violent, hyper-sexualised view that the west has on anime in this parallel universe. Which means that Yu-Gi-Oh isn't erased but is, instead, relegated to being a niche series, popular at america's few, small anime conventions. And its content is far more in line with season zero's than with what most people in our universe know. Meanwhile, however, this frees up space for a cardgaming TV series that Digimon Tamers is more than happy to take on the role of.

[@Ultradragon16]

@@dankayur2910 Now I'm kind of interested in the Yu-Gi-Oh! season 0-verse

[@evan64915]

@@dankayur2910 On one hand, we would never get card games on motorcycles in that dimension. On the other, we would never get Arc-V in that dimension. I'm torn

[@dankayur2910]

@@evan64915 Who says Beelzemon doesn't inspire a whole new wave of cardgames on motorcycles?

[@lokijantzen8940]

And Metroid, being the "darkest" IP that Nintendo owns, becomes the most popular of their IPs instead of the lighthearted Mario and Legend of Zelda games series... In my dreams.

[@IceSpoon]

And considering how well Rare's game sold on the N64 and that Conker Bad Fur's Day is actually pretty grim and "not rated-E", that would keep Rare within Nintendo's grasp. So more Banjo Kazooie as well.

[@crazycap2945]

@@IceSpoon In that case modern kids such as myself would know what they are without smash

[@nathangamble125]

@@crazycap2945 They'd probably still have smash, it would just be more like a traditional fighting game.

[@APDS-Akin]

If ‘Mother 3’ on the GBA was as moving as I’ve read it was over the years then w/3-D graphics, I could see the tone shift on the N64 being striking and on par w/the dread in ‘Majora’s mask’ albeit feeling like more involved and on a wider emotional spectrum like a Stephan King adaptation (which the Mother series takes some beats after). __ I could see an early 00’s M rated ‘LoZ’ game meaning the tones of ‘Twillight princess’ would have happened much earlier and with more hypothetical luridness but it might also mean no ‘Wind waker’/‘Toon Link’ games. ‘Zelda’ games would take dark fantasy (or even horror like in ‘Castlevania’) cues and might (risk(?)) resembling Western fantasy RPG’s as a result (think the Witcher games). ‘M rated’ Metroid might be easy enough to imagine as ‘Japanese Dead space’ but ‘M rated’ Mario `_`...you could risk a ~15-20 years of fan-base following w/a raunch-fest a la ‘Conker’s bad fur day (=_= horrifying gross-out humour all the more since Mario *is a plumber*)..otherwise Thing is I can’t think of any *M rated platformers* ..maybe the closest was 2/3 of the ‘Sands of time’ Prince of Persia trilogy but those were more so adventure games which became irrelevant as the ‘Assassins creed’ games rose and Mario wouldn’t be more adventure based until ‘Sunshine’ (even if ‘64’ was a start). Since the fantasy in the ‘Mario world’ can be likened to ‘the wizard of Oz’ or ‘Alice in wonderland’ stories maybe something like a more Japanese trope laden platformer version of ‘Alice: the madness returns’ ?. I could see Kirby ‘hungry’ to be Nintendo’s flagship kid’s platformer and maybe Star Fox filling ‘LoZ’ niches if it’s mainly going to be ‘M rated’.

[@nicolaslanzoni9385]

I can't get over how digimon is not only not a copy of pokemon, but was not even inspired by it, the digimon anime actually came first and was based of a game that despite being released at the same time as pokemon, had nothing to do with it : Tamagotchi! Like, these eerily similar things were being created in parallel , they werent even aware they were competing for legitimacy with each other , imagine how frustrating must it be for the digimon creators .

[@GroundPunch2]

I wanna take my chances with this alternate timeline.

[@guytorie]

This took me on a journey. No wonder I feel like I don't belong. I belonged in the Digiverse. I know what I must do.

[@stacy1780]

ok, so i'm a big homestuck fan (i kin rose lalonde!) and after i first watched this video, i experienced about hours of overwhelming, intense yearning after i realized that due to bandai's work with andrew hussie, homestuck could have become a major marvel-esque franchise, with videogames, a tv series, and movies. i realized that in the digiverse, i was playing homestuck: trickster mode (save the world from cherub jujus!) on the old wonderswan i got for my birthday and chatting on a pesterchum memo with my friends about which of the new session kids i should cosplay as for the homestuck 5/14 movie premiere con and how sad i was when the last of the godtiers died in the season 15 finale. i would have brought up this weird video i watched about "what if pokemon won" to my friends and laughed about how *weird* all that speculation was. like, would we *really* have had a mass pandemic and oppressed furries? so *unlikely*, right? i don't believe in past lives exactly, at least not for myself, but i think that time must be a very beautiful thing to get a bird's eye view of- infinite timelines in a maze of the choices we make, branching out like an ancient tree into larger and larger infinities until at the collapse of our own spacetime, they shatter in on themselves. perhaps, some people might have fallen as a leaf from their branch to another. how else could you describe that tug at your heart for a life you don't quite remember living? maybe it's my own futile effort to change the way i'm growing up, if not halt it. after all, fourteen is never an easy age- it's even scarier in a world that nobody seems to understand in the slightest. perhaps the digiverse appeals to me because to me, it's a world that i can make sense of. it's the lines of a tree you can trace with your finger to the sky against this one's gnarled branches, but still, is it so terrible of a crime to wish things were better?

[@guytorie]

@@stacy1780 No, it's not terrible to wish things were better. That's what drives us all to try to improve the world! Also, for what it's worth, fourteen was a scary age for me too, but it can get a lot better, and my own life is evidence of that. Although your generation is dealing with something a lot scarier than I had to deal with, I think you all are being very brave, and we'll get through this as well as we can. Stay safe out there!

[@heretustay]

when inter-dimensional travel is discovered and commercialized, i'm getting a one-way ticket to the Digiverse

[@POtterAAngERagon]

Amazing edits for the “alternate timeline” games. I would love to have played Sakura Cardcaptor or Evangelion

[@nntbm]

when i saw the title of the video i thought “this sounds like a jenna video” and i was not disappointed

[@TheOnlyArtifex]

This is awesome, Jenna. Well written, very interesting. I hope this becomes a series of alternate timelines! Like what if Sony and Nintendo did go through with their console deal? Or what if Sonic beat Mario? Or what if Dungeons and Dragons didn't suffer from satanic panic and got mega popular way before the 90s?

[@Rub3n1te]

Following the success of the Digimon movie, Less Than Jake become a worldwide phenomenon and the global popularity of Ska changes the musical landscape forever. All of your favourite songs from the past 20 years are now at least 90BPM and have trumpets. Brian's video about creating a new musical genre is no longer satire but instead a love letter to the greatest musical genre ever conceived.

[@fpcooper95]

Hooligans and rude boys know one thing for sure, scars been stricken on their face 🙆🏾‍♀️💃🏾

[@dopecarmilla]

Jenna that was terrifying, I need more wildly speculative videos like this

[@colinmacv]

This is the content we DESERVE. MORE DIGIMON 2021

[@GM_Darius]

As some one who was literally the ONLY person in his schools to play anything Digimon related and preferred Digimon over Pokemon and conformed and had to get Pokemon stuff just to make friends? How can I get to this alternate universe?

[@Lofhaa]

I’m with ya mate. I love Digimon too.

[@Lofhaa]

Dorumon is my favorite

[@nicepasta565]

Build a time machine, go back to the past, and sneeze. If things don’t work out well, try something else until the desired result comes. *prays for the shadow movie that got its development canned for Peabody and Sherman*

[@marymcallister7963]

Me starting the video: this isnt so bad Me halfway through: this is the darkest timeline AAAAAAH and i dont even watch anime anymore

[@fra.cassio]

Wait… was this just a 19 minute 'The Man in The High Castle' joke?

[@sorenstudios]

The Man in The High Castle didn't invent speculative fiction...

[@fra.cassio]

​@@sorenstudios That's not why I made that comparison, but I don't want to spoil the book.

[@cloudbloodland]

I can only dream of this new digiverse time line T^T thank you truely for making this amazing video

[@failbuoy7810]

“like other nintendo franchises with shameful tv histories” what are you talking about the super mario bros super show was my childhood

[@ianorourke9709]

best theme song ever

[@aliwally333]

this is absolutely FASCINATING great job, Polygon

[@sailquaza7069]

Small prices to pay for Redwall getting more recognition and love

[@JustMacaroonKookee]

So in theory... If digimon won would sonic be more well like for it's deep but cheese stories, like sonic adventure 2, shadow the hedgehog and possibly sonic 06 being an actual good game? 🤔

[@purelizardmilk6598]

jenna clearly hasn't seen the kilian experience: DIGIMON DID WIN

[@zionsmith3682]

Decide if I absolutely hate the fact that this came full circle to cats or I'm just happy that redwall was mentioned

[@coreystephen9878]

Digimon GO, lore-wise, would make way more sense. Digimon are invisible data in the real world that you can only see with your Digivice app (Digimon GO) on your phone. Feeding your Digimon berries gives them the chance to Digivolve. Raids are extremely powerful Digimon who have been feeding off the data from a building (AKA what is a Pokemon Gym today).

[@kieran.grant_]

So what is this, a hypothetical documentary? I wouldn't be opposed to more of these.

[@roberts3776]

How would Disney's approach have changed, I wonder? Considering it's Toontown Online, and also Neopets and Animal Crossing got me into gaming as a kid, those games would be fundamentally different or not greenlit

[@citrusella-nomorecraptions]

Plot twist: Every platform that's known for darker, edgier games deals in kids' games in this timeline. PC and internet games are the least changed, since they feel the most varied across tones and ages...

[@flaetsbnort]

If anything, I think Neopets would be even more popular. It might be actually considered the cheap inferior version of Digimon, instead of Pokémon.

[@Squibidyflop]

The only way this could be improved would be if you said “HBO’s Discworld”

[@seandriscoll6612]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watch_(TV_series)

[@1Thunderfire]

@@seandriscoll6612 I've seen the details on it and it makes me weep.

[@Quantum-Entanglement]

@@1Thunderfire Why? Its being produced by the BBC.

[@1Thunderfire]

@@Quantum-Entanglement The fantasy elements have been watered down horribly and half of the characters have been unnecessarily messed about with. Cheery isn't even a dwarf anymore and last time I checked (please correct me if I'm wrong), Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs aren't even in it. Colon and Nobby!

[@garageman2236]

I tuned out and all of a sudden furries are mainstream

[@shortsYL]

This is amazing, such a great video

[@NeflewitzInc]

Jenna: "...Which leaves a new spot for another animal based battling anime to step in..." Me: "Monster Rancher!" Jenna: "Digimon."

[@turtleyoutubeaccount]

no animal crossing, hot topic fursuits, getting bullied for the wrong lunchbox and primarily no pokemon. the true bad ending. id rather not live in a digistopia

[@supercyc10]

Loved it. If you got more “what if” scenario ideas planned for other games You should TOTALLY do it

[@thefollowingisatest4579]

People better not be sleeping on "Death of the Wild", that had me in stitches. Also I would watch 100 episodes of Jenna just doing this.

[@popeval6654]

"Did you do it?" "Yes..." "And what did it cost?" "Everything"

[@rachelrachel9152]

That's funny bc we wouldn't even have that line/movie in this timeline

[@anthonyb4479]

You know usually I got to AlternateHistoryHub for this sort of thing

[@shisuiki]

You know i'm not entirely against "alternate pop culture history hub"

[@fonsineknshr]

What is that, a reddit page?

[@anthonyb4479]

@@fonsineknshr lol no, its a youtube channel that does videos about alternate history

[@gavanscommandblock]

"Spirited Away didn't get nominated for Oscars" *Karen, where'd you put my death ray*

[@phiphisaysunsubscribe]

7:17 the beans have been located!!!

[@roadkillrabiez]

why does the Digiverse sound... better.... than our universe....

[@roadkillrabiez]

furries are normalized, children's cartoons have actual depth and character arcs, Mr. Mime is not part of a popular franchise, what more do you need

[@alexafarris1641]

@@roadkillrabiez bro it doesn't have animal crossing,,,

[@roadkillrabiez]

thats a good point

[@ratsalad1]

and here I am thinking we're already in the darkest timeline

[@chris2746]

For some reason I could have sworn that the infamous Porygon episode happened AFTER it came stateside

[@sageofthestrawberries8127]

If Digimon beat Pokemon then they would be coming out with a revamped anime and successful video game franchise to rival or beat the current Pokemon ones.....oh wait that's reality.

[@nathangamble125]

I just looked up to check. "Digimon Survive" sounds really cool. I always wished there was a pokémon survival/RPG game like that, but knew it would never happen... and now digimon are actually bringing out something that looks to be pretty close.

[@sageofthestrawberries8127]

@@nathangamble125 the Digimon story cyber sleuth series is a better version of latest Pokemon titles also; not Digimon locked behind paywalls or version exclusives, trading and battling only needs wifi not a subscription, battle system much more balanced, Digimon follow you properly, etc. Check it out.

[@PanzerTruck]

@@sageofthestrawberries8127 Man, they've come really far from the nightmare to play that was Digimon World.

[@sageofthestrawberries8127]

@@PanzerTruck I mean to be fair the new ones aren't perfect but HOLY SH$& at least the Digimon names are right. Those games will be classic in their own way but wow were they a handful.

[@desiterdane4286]

How have they beat the current Pokemon games? Pokemon games have sold way better than Digimon games And note I'm not a Pokemon fanboy, I like both Pokemon and Digimon but saying that Digimon beat Pokemon is incorrect

[@janbonne]

I’ve never cackled more this month than I did over the whole Sentai arc

[@do9bellbessa545]

This went places I never ever imagined and my god what a ride it was

[@annitendo]

the thing is, I actually liked the Digimon anime way more back in the 90s because I grew up in Germany and the title song slapped! If Digimon also had a decent game franchise that was as good as the pokemon games I might still be a fan to this day

[@annitendo]

I tell you, please listen to the German Digimon opening song, it's seriously good!

[@mattmorgan2525]

Thank you for adding captions but they differ wildly from what is actually said at many points. Please put the effort in to make them accurate. Thanks.

[@aintsleptinninetyyears3621]

Short answer: That would be the wrong timeline.

[@cobracommander6522]

I liked both when i was a kid and now i am 28 and still do like both but i Love Digimon more.

[@Pathundris]

I want this timeline now. Thanks.

[@Druggid]

What a fascinating video, great job!

[@L3X1N]

Whenever Jenna raises her right eyebrow I brace for impact. It never works.

[@dandolions7103]

Because of the infinite amount of possible universes, there is a video about our universe in the "digimon" universe. Crazy to think about, aint it?!!! :O

[@melissamurray8307]

If the only bad thing is the furries, then I want to live in this AU.

[@averyvonfrank3282]

This went from “what if a Pokémon anime never came back from hiatus” to “it’s cool to be a furry in the Digiverse”

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

Get me an effing time machine. I need to fix a few mistakes.

[@kanaster7305]

@@apollyonnoctis1291 but what is when you already went back and changed it to Digimon only to realize that you can't let the Digiverse exist because Digimon became real and would take over the world🤔🤔🤔

[@largepurplemonkey]

I feel like this was the true agenda of the video

[@dominateeye]

It's cool to be a furry in our universe too, if you're not a coward.

[@averyvonfrank3282]

DominateEye Entirely fair point

[@GMTK]

I'm just thankful that GMTK still seems to exists in the Digiverse!

[@DeronHargrove]

Can't wait to see an episode on Digimon

[@rex_melynas]

But it's renamed as "digi maker's toolkit"

[@wswordsmen]

Congrats on being literally the only thing that survived the change.

[@pbrunet44]

@@wswordsmen Critickal/Penginz0 survived

[@WetSaucySlommy]

Jenna we need to know what happend to Brian's Perfect PokeRap! Does it become the Definitive DigiOpera?

[@aimelle3]

In that alternate universe, Brian was never hurt by the loss of Terry the Tangela, so he and his best friend Kevin Punt started a real estate company together and Brian was never hired at Polygon.

[@kaidite]

@@aimelle3 That's the saddest timeline.

[@rattyeely]

I was going to say he did the digirap instead, but since Pokemon was never localized and we never got the pokerap it's unclear if the digirap would still happen

[@davidellett9316]

aimelle3 also, a young Griffin McElroy was emboldened by the burgeoning furry community and Big Gulp is one of the country’s top podcasts.

[@thevoidlord1796]

​@@rattyeely Also, all of this is assuming that there is such a thing as a digirap in the first place. It's entirely possible that, in the Digiverse, Bandai never greenlights the idea, meaning Brian doesn't come up with the idea to compose his sorrows at the loss of Terry in the form of a PokeRap parody. Also, since the focus is no longer on collecting mons, Brian would never trade away the digimon version of Terry, instead aiming to keep the Digimon he already cares about.

[@pdthorn]

I’m glad Polygon is publishing fanfic now.

[@XxwilsonxX067]

It genuinely feels like the logical next step

[@Crimsonnavyking]

Some of their reviews were already fanfic. JK.

[@APDS-Akin]

If by ‘fan-fic’ you mean occasionally being a video game oriented version of Cody Franklin’s ‘Alternate history hub’ channel, I’d find that great

[@moogle-ocelot4678]

It's Porygon

[@joeyfromschool]

Vintage Terminal alternate history is just fan fiction for the real world

[@LordMogatron]

Me: "Okay this sounds pretty okay so f-" The Jenna: "So no Volkswagen Pikachus." Me: "BLASPHEMY! HERESY! I WON'T HEAR OF IT!"

[@harlequin2584]

By Sigmar and the Emperor! How dare she to speak those words.

[@weirdofromhalo]

Fuck Pikachu. Come at me.

[@collinsellers4825]

I was for it until furries were cool.

[@olivinebranch]

NOT THE PIKABUG!!

[@Jehty_]

I didn't even know that VW Pickachus existed.

[@SirSethery]

I think the part of this that physically hurt me the most was Ice Age beating Spirited Away.

[@selmk8240]

@@jasong8085 Well to be fair is seems that no one taught americans how to read. . . Subtitles.

[@EmerlyNickel]

For me it's Animal Crossing getting snapped

[@ponyfish157]

@@jasong8085 pfff dude im sorry to say that but if a movie is loved by general audiences, made to be understood by kids and is watched by pretty much everyone this generation, then its not "too smart" for most people

[@PhanTimon]

Acording to a bunch of greedy old farts with no taste atleast

[@benedict6962]

@@EmerlyNickel Honestly I'm doubtful of the Animal Crossing part. Worst case scenario we get Yokai Crossing instead, a chill management game where you're a mayor of a town filled with Yokai local and foreign.

[@f.m.3421]

"remember to digido your part for digidemocracy" - hillary clinton in the timeline where digimon beat pokémon

[@Aes_Saru]

She still lose to a blonde idiot. The one constant in the multiverse.

[@imachangedname2978]

@@Aes_Saru He's actually pretty smart if you pay more attention to his actions than his words

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@imachangedname2978 Yeah................ no.

[@Detilly]

@@imachangedname2978 😂

[@Aes_Saru]

@@imachangedname2978 oh I do. Which is why I do not like him. He ain't smart at all and is dangerous to remain to office at this point.

[@Freeze-DriedWater]

The idea of Hot Topic selling badly made, cheap fursuits caused such a visceral reaction in me that I'm not even sure how to properly describe it.

[@javell317]

"bad ow no more *body folding into a ball noise* " think this is close enough

[@Stephen-Fox]

yes

[@ChanceTheBrony]

Zhierb 2: Revengeance

[@ms.fukawa-hanamura3754]

Oh god In this timeline Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way would’ve had a fursuit

[@akatsukigajou1639]

Freeze-Dried Water nah wrong not cheap

[@intr4venus]

me: i would do ANYTHING to play the original mother 3 on the n64 jenna: ice age beats spirited away me: i would do ALMOST anything to play the original mother 3 on the n64

[@NathanWubs]

Considering the oscars are worthless anyways, I am more than fine with ice age beating spirited away to play mother 3 on the n64.

[@buzter8135]

Fundamentally different movies imo, the Oscars are redundant popularity contests anyway.

[@General_Nothing]

This is the longest “I prefer Digimon to Pokemon” coming out video I’ve ever seen.

[@Voidsworn]

I, too, prefer Digimon over Pokemon. Machinedramon gang represent!

[@DrakonLeruki]

machineDRAmon

[@mothhuuny]

Honestly me fucking too

[@a_person5668]

Never played a Digimon game, but god the Digimon Anime is wayyyyy better then the Pokémon Anime.

[@Voidsworn]

@@a_person5668 I like how that the Digimon aren't these somewhat stupid creatures that are used primarily for fighting each other for entertainment.

[@sylviat1976]

the phrase "hbo's redwall" sent me into a wall-staring existential crisis

[@gorddude]

same! but just in case you didnt know- PBS made an animated redwall series. it's great and you can watch it right here on youtube.

[@sylviat1976]

gorddude i actually have it on dvd! prime weird 90s-2000s tv

[@Toekneebob]

Ditto, it needs to be in existence.

[@nerdywolverine8640]

Same, the books were half my childhood

[@opppi]

...except I have to imagine the it'd have a ton of fan furvice in it (which is what I assume the furry community calls fan service directed at them) and you know HBO would take that too far.

[@rampagerslife]

polygon: if pokemon didn't catch on, furries would be more accepted me, who is not a furry i swear: _"im listening"_

[@N_IRL]

XD Same

[@snowyches9886]

“Without the extensive Pokémon work on their plate, Creatures Inc. is free to return to the Mother franchise unhindered” *a soul for a soul.*

[@thegamesthief]

"what did you sacrifice?" "Everything"

[@aimelle3]

Jenna: what if we were in a differente timeline? My quarantined ass: go on.

[@jackokeeffe5590]

My favorite Polygon video genre is "Jenna Stoeber goes the heck off"

[@danielle3798]

Fuckin seconded.

[@spider_plantt]

Cheers bro i miss fiendzone daily

[@harryevans2042]

SAME

[@davidouellette5375]

AKA Every Jenna video

[@AxeSoul]

Jenna is the main character of Polygon and you can’t tell me otherwise

[@DeerBonesBaby]

We're forgetting the biggest change in the Digiverse. Everyone associates All Star with Digimon: The First Movie instead of Dreamworks' Shrek

[@LuisSilva-nt4vu]

NONONONO, NOW IT'S THE WORST TIMELINE GO BAAAAACK

[@KarkatTamer413]

Hey look found a homestuck

[@vulpez650]

Yoooo, that means shrek would have died after 4!

[@lolno6015]

Dear god

[@TransGothTalia]

I already do. Every single time.

[@MrPenguinFingers]

“If Digimon was more popular than Pokémon, then there would be a version of *The Dark Knight Rises* with a Japanese Christian Bale” is my takeaway from this

[@ALLmasked]

also no heath ledger's joker.

[@ProjectSudoku]

He might still be in it, just not in the scenes with the mask on.

[@fmcountto123]

Discussion points: - Montgomery AL: Silicon Swamp - WonderSwan battles misogyny - Arthur the Aardvark's MCL - Furries are cool - The Saban Cinematic Universe

[@bunkerman_who_digs]

That Saban Cinematic Universe is very enticing but at the cost of having everything else.

[@chuckles5471]

I really think the Wonder Swan would have been called something else in America. I will look into this.

[@enderboy-db3sh]

Wait, so the power rangers fight against Thanos? I support that. Where's their Patreon?

[@misterhotsoup]

Arthur the Aardvark deals with endless calls to the insurance company over out of pocket costs.

[@kennethsouth18]

1.9/11 never happens cause american capitalism is seen cause of poke'hoarding 2. Al gore wins cause of a slew of climate change Digimon Data commercials 3. The fall of all organized religion as sciences start to focus on getting us all to the digital world 4. 2015 the first human upload occurs and there he meets the first general friendly AI (Fraimon) 5. Elon mush launches the first solar powered space based "Vacuum Quantum Computer servers" 6. Finally upon death, injure, illness or choice all human have a "Real" Heaven to upload to 7. 2020 now with knowledge of a true after life all of humanity changes fundamentally and the Venus Project be comes a reality with AI helping in all sectors of life and resource management a true utopia is achieved. 8. 2035 humanity becomes a level 1 Kardashev Civilization thank you for listening to my ted talk ...

[@BestgirlJordanfish]

I legit wonder if the response to the pandemic would have been different if Digimon took over if they synergized themes of, "we can beat the virus together" and emphasizing the value of digital spaces.

[@rylie8989]

def beats the gotta catch herd immunity strategies :/

[@Mathewrath]

Corona virus wiped of the face of the Earth within one month due Bandai realeasing massive amounts of free new content to their most recent, and most played game in the world, for the Genesis Swap, Digimon Axe/Digimon Spear, which has a PC version with cross play.

[@jadejaguar69]

Oh my fucking god

[@ZigealFaust]

Big Brained Mind Mage

[@cyrusblackthorn7222]

You had me at everything being more like power rangers. Six year old me just tried to drag me into that timeline by force.

[@eelfroth]

"no more baby games, game babies!" holy shit, Jenna is absolutely killing it again

[@SleepyHarryZzz]

The one that got me was "the first Pokémon movie, 'Pokémon: The First Movie'"

[@DavidFlowers777]

"'Ice Age' wins the Oscar instead, but this has no effect on the future" Yeah that checks out

[@edwardnygma8533]

The only thing I could see it really doing is maybe more of a budget for Ice Age 2.

[@DenderFriend]

It would be funny if it went in the direction of Dreamworks becoming a well-respected studio while Pixar falls behind.

[@edwardnygma8533]

@@DenderFriend You mean it would be awful.

[@oscarpersaud7650]

Edward Nygma no becuase then the SCU ( shrek cinematic universe) would be a full thing

[@advknight4351]

@@oscarpersaud7650 YES that would be amazing!

[@joakimwimmerstedt2798]

I want more of this! Can we get a "What if SEGA had beaten Nintendo?"?

[@JohnGottschalk]

Go over and watch the Final Fantasy vs Dragon Quest one and you'll get SEGA beats SONY.

[@maucazalv903]

I feel like in this other timeline being a furry would ALSO be normalize xd

[@PauloJrchannel]

This is just Brazil.

[@JoHasIssues]

Please make the "What if Pokemon Had Won?" video and pretend like you're in the Digiverse and it's completely normal....

[@IceMetalPunk]

Watch this video backwards.

[@cookiesnugglez7318]

Replace the words digimon with pokemon in the video and then you have your answer

[@michaeldavis9190]

YES! PLEASE!

[@Conejoazul2018]

@CommandoDude Fuhrereich.

[@hughmungus6472]

I have epilepsy and one time I was stressing out really hard for a final and I thought “hey if I had a seizure i could probably get a week extension” so I watched the porygon episode and had a seizure 10/10 can confirm it works

[@user-gt2bn5el2f]

Modern problems require modern solutions. Hope it turned okay.

[@jovindsouza3407]

Points for efficiency I guess?

[@graykeenenight.4571]

out of curiosity did this actually get you the week extension

[@starwhale3070]

I cant tell if I should laugh and make some comment but it will be really insensitive any way i phrase it or ask of you are okay

[@cammo353]

With a greater focus on a "digital world" it could be argued that VR technology made leaps and bounds since it came to the digiverse much earlier than our timeline

[@ARJAY222]

yup, much like how Pokémon GO was essentially developed to make the PokéUniverse more tangible and true-to-life.

[@jakdekayen]

Omg this made me realize, I want a digimon vr game.

[@Wuffskers]

I did not think "furries are mainstream" was where this was going lol

[@accounttwo938]

*You don't know enough about digimon. People would try planting meat into the ground to see if it grow too*

[@ahorribleterribleperson]

Buddy, I expected that event as soon as I watched this video.

[@juliandelapena4293]

I see people painting their shits pink with spray paint @@accounttwo938

[@undercoverduck]

Oh dang you really thought this through. "Planned merchandise obsolescence" is def a capitalist bullet we've managed to evade so far

[@rattyeely]

I mean, some cartoons/movies do constantly change the charcter designs with every iteration, but nobody actually cares that much because the first designs always wind up being the most popular due to nostalgia

[@undercoverduck]

@@rattyeely Fair point, though a big marketing push from a giant franchise could definitely tip those scales. I'm sure "season 7 mega-action-ninja-with-scars-from-his-past Carl" is going to sell more than "season 2 regular-looking but sweetheart Carl". The key is the "planned" part. It's not just redesigns, it's redesigns with the exact purpose of making the previous iteration obsolete, redundant, boring.

[@Darknessyouroldfriend]

Pffft. "Evade" Sure.

[@ListerTunes]

Transformers Season 2 would like a word with you.

[@benedict6962]

I'd prefer merchandise obsolescence to electronics obsolescence, so maybe the perception that it's a "kiddy" thing could do some good as well.

[@ihateberwald]

"Spirited Away didn't get nominated for Oscars" Okay, shut it down.

[@funkuro]

did it not? how, how the hell. but boss baby and shark tales did? at this point it's useless

[@MediumDon]

@@funkuro spirited away won an oscar. Best animated film

[@funkuro]

@@MediumDon hell ya. so when the original said shut it down they meant in the alternate universe?

[@capuchinosofia4771]

@@funkuro yup

[@norasyikinali6283]

I think the concept of 'cartoon characters not aging' being gone in the alternate timeline is certainly an attractive outcome. Pokemon and the ageless Ash certainly the one who created the impression of 'all cartoon characters should remain constant' for me. I don't feel it back then, but now that I am as old as the franchise itself? Watching your favourite characters growing up with you is a treat like nothing else.