it's much more about the community knowing for sure that something was impossible while also not knowing what they were talking about. each person said it was impossible because they read someone else say it was impossible, which itself started way back early in the project when someone said that any 3D console would be impossible.

this was obviously always possible, but it required someone who wasn't indoctrinated into the community. the community behind a project is always both the very best and very worst thing about any project.