If Nintendo didn't come along with the NES, there were enough big-name companies around that one of them would have created the next big system and it would have likely been successful. I was perfectly happy with my Atari 2600 until the NES came along (never got into TuboGrafx or Sega MS or whatever). It certainly boosted the home game industry. But it didn't "save" gaming. Home gaming will never die, especially in current times!