Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64, commonly abbreviated N64, is a 64-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).¹⁰ Developed under the codename “Project Reality,” it was described at launch as the world’s first true 64-bit console, powered by the NEC? VR4300 central processing unit.¹⁰ The console arrived in the fifth console generation and competed with Sony’s PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.¹²

Nintendo launched the console in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997.¹⁰ In North America, official street-date discipline broke down: on September 26, 1996, K-B Toys began selling units nationwide, and Electronics Boutique?, Toys “R” Us and other chains including Sears, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Best Buy followed, though Nintendo maintained that the official launch remained Sunday, September 29.⁵⁹¹ Nintendo’s own source acknowledged that “retailers are obviously bending to customer demand, and the system is hot,” while insisting the official date was unchanged.⁹ In the United Kingdom the machine cost £249.99 at launch, and in the United States it was priced at $199.¹⁰³ In Brazil, the launch was handled by Playtronic, with Gradiente Eletrônicos assuming Nintendo’s representation from 1997; distribution in Portugal was by Concentra.⁴ The last title officially released for the console in Brazil was Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 in 2001.⁴

Origins and Project Reality

The console originated in a joint development venture between Nintendo and Silicon Graphics Inc.? (SGI), announced in August 1993.⁸ The new machine was to incorporate a version of the MIPS? microprocessor used in Silicon Graphics workstations—the same class of hardware used to produce the dinosaurs in Steven Spielberg’s film Jurassic Park—delivering photo-realistic images and high speed.⁸ MIPS, a subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, developed a version of its R4000 processor that operated on less than half a watt and could be produced for about $40 each, with manufacture by Toshiba.⁸ Industry observers cautioned that a game player using the MIPS chip would not match the graphics performance of a $10,000 Silicon Graphics workstation, though the alliance was seen as formidable competition for the 3DO Corporation and a way for Nintendo to catch up to Sega, which then led the market with 16-bit machines.⁸ Under the license agreement, Nintendo agreed to pay Silicon Graphics royalties for the use of the licensed 3D technology, and it and its authorized licensees would provide the application software.⁶

Marketed as “Project Reality,” the venture promised three-dimensional graphics of the quality seen in films such as Jurassic Park and Terminator 2, high-fidelity sound, and an interaction speed roughly 10 to 15 times faster than existing 16-bit games.⁶ Development began in 1993.⁴ Nintendo intended to unveil the system in arcades and to release it for home use in 1995, at a target US price below $250.⁶ Nintendo revealed the name “Nintendo Ultra 64” in 1995, changing it to Nintendo 64 in February 1996.⁴ The console’s storage was a silicon-based cartridge format that its promoters claimed offered access times far faster than CD-ROM technology, with each game able to access a minimum of 100 megabits of data—five to six times the memory of the then-current 16-bit games.⁶

During development the hardware was not available for a long period, and programmers worked on an Onyx? supercomputer at Nintendo that emulated the eventual console, according to game designer Giles Goddard?.¹¹ The name “Nintendo 64” was conceived by copywriter Shigesato Itoi?, designer of the EarthBound games.¹¹

Hardware and design

The Nintendo 64’s central processing unit was the NEC VR4300, a variant of the 64-bit MIPS R4300i with a narrower 32-bit system bus; software rarely took advantage of the chip’s 64-bit data-precision operations.¹⁴ To maximize the hardware, developers had to write their own custom microcode, and the most graphically demanding games shipped on larger 32- or 64-megabyte cartridges, yielding higher polygon counts alongside more advanced lighting, animation, physics and AI than the 32-bit competition.¹⁴ Games used cartridges rather than the CD-ROM adopted by rivals such as the PlayStation, making the N64 the last major home console to use cartridge media until the Nintendo Switch.⁴¹² The cartridge format eliminated the loading delays of disc-based systems but raised production costs and limited storage, which hampered the inclusion of audio and video data.³⁴

The console was designed as a “party machine,” with four controller ports built in—among the first consoles to feature them—dispensing with the separately sold multitap accessories of competing systems.¹³³ Nintendo devised the first analog Control Stick for the pack-in controller, giving players 360-degree control; the unique three-pronged design carried thirteen other buttons, including a Z trigger below center.¹³ The controller’s central joystick and M-shaped form drew comparison to an alien spacecraft, and its separate grips allowed different hand positions for various types of game.¹⁴ An optional Expansion Pak added 4 MB of RAM, enhancing compatible games and enabling the Nintendo 64DD? add-on; a Transfer Pak allowed the console to communicate with Game Boy Color? titles such as Pokémon Gold and Silver.¹³¹⁰

The console shipped in charcoal grey and later in a line of seven semi-transparent colors—blue, green, orange, purple, red, black and clear blue—and in special editions, among them a yellow-and-blue Pokémon model featuring Pikachu and a turquoise-and-eggshell version released only as part of the Super Mario 64 pack.¹³¹⁴

Games and reception

Roughly 300 to 388 games were released for the Nintendo 64 over its lifetime.¹³⁴ Its launch titles included Super Mario 64, the first 3D Mario adventure and one of the earliest free-roaming, polygon-based 3D action games, together with Pilotwings 64 and, in some territories, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire; the Japanese launch line-up also included Saikyō Habu Shōgi.¹¹⁰¹² Super Mario 64 introduced Charles Martinet’s falsetto voice for Mario and challenged players to collect stars hidden inside paintings within Princess Peach’s castle; to face Bowser, players needed 70 of the castle’s 120 stars.¹ The writer Chris Kohler, reviewing it in his black-and-white photocopied fanzine at launch, praised its intuitive control while faulting the camera, personified by the character Lakitu.¹

The N64’s library became strongly associated with first-party classics, among them The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which set new standards for 3D action-adventure, GoldenEye 007, regarded as a milestone in first-person shooters, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Paper Mario, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and Super Smash Bros..⁴¹¹¹⁸ Perfect Dark is often cited as the pinnacle of the console’s technical capabilities.¹⁸ Super Mario 64 was the generation’s best-selling game, at about 11.62 million copies.¹¹⁴ Some observers reckoned the N64 Nintendo’s first major misstep in the home-console market—for shunning third-party developers with high licensing fees and forgoing the cheaper, higher-capacity compact disc—which left it with markedly fewer games than its rivals, though the surviving library was rich in generation-defining software.²⁰

Nintendo discontinued the console in 2002, by which time worldwide sales had reached 32.93 million units, with roughly 225 million games sold for the machine.¹¹¹² It finished second in its generation behind the PlayStation, which sold roughly 102 million units; in the United States the N64 sold more than 20 million units against the PlayStation’s 40 million.⁴¹² In later years Nintendo made a selection of Nintendo 64 titles available through the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, launched on the Nintendo Switch on October 26, 2021, with a dedicated wireless Nintendo 64 controller sold to members.¹⁵ The service’s line-up spanned first-party staples such as Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64 and Star Fox 64 (released in Europe as Lylat Wars) alongside third-party titles including GoldenEye 007 and Banjo-Tooie.¹⁵