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[[File:NUS-CPU-01 F 01.jpg|thumb|right|The Nintendo 64 motherboard, showing CPU, RCP, and RDRAM]]
[[File:NUS-CPU-01 F 01.jpg|thumb|right|The Nintendo 64 motherboard, showing CPU, RCP, and RDRAM]]


The Nintendo 64's [[central processing unit]] (CPU) is the [[NEC]] VR4300.<ref name="NECVR4300">{{cite web|url=http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9711/1401-01.html|title=Main specifications of VR4300TM-series|publisher=NEC|accessdate=2006-05-20}}</ref> This processor was the most powerful console CPU of its generation;<ref>{{cite web|title=Gaming consoles|url=http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100327231733/http://www.ssagsg.org/LearningSpace/EntertainmentGaming/GamingConsoles.htm#5th_generation_gaming_consoles|accessdate=2009-01-11}}</ref> ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' said it had power similar to the [[Pentium]] processors found in desktop computers.<ref name="Popular Will" /> Except for its narrower 32-bit system bus, the VR4300 retained the computational abilities of the more powerful 64-bit MIPS R4300i,<ref name="NECVR4300"/> though software rarely took advantage of 64-bit [[Significant figures|data precision]] operations. N64 game-titles generally used faster (and more compact) 32-bit data-operations,<ref name="64 bit">{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.nintendo/msg/01765b0b98de9908|title=N64, God of all systems|publisher= Google Groups|date=1997-07-26|accessdate=2006-05-20}}</ref> as these were sufficient to generate 3D-scene data for the console's RSP (Reality Signal Processor; see below) unit. In addition, 32-bit code executed faster and required less storage space (which was at a premium on the N64's cartridges).
The Nintendo 64's [[central processing unit]] (CPU) is the [[NEC]] VR4300.<ref name="NECVR4300">{{cite web|url=http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/9711/1401-01.html|title=Main specifications of VR4300TM-series|publisher=NEC|accessdate=2006-05-20}}</ref> This processor was the most powerful console CPU of its generation;<ref>{{cite web|title=Gaming consoles|url=http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100327231733/http://www.ssagsg.org/LearningSpace/EntertainmentGaming/GamingConsoles.htm#5th_generation_gaming_consoles|accessdate=2009-01-11}}</ref> ''[[Popular Electronics]]'' said it had power similar to the [[Pentium]] processors found in desktop computers.<ref name="Popular Will" /> Except for its narrower 32-bit system bus, the VR4300 retained the computational abilities of the more powerful 64-bit MIPS R4300i,<ref name="NECVR4300"/> though software rarely took advantage of 64-bit [[Significant figures|data precision]] operations. N64 game-titles generally used faster (and more compact) 32-bit data-operations,<ref name="64 bit">{{cite web|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.video.nintendo/msg/01765b0b98de9908|title=N64, God of all systems|publisher= Google Groups|date=1997-07-26|accessdate=2006-05-20}}</ref> as these were sufficient to generate 3D-scene data for the console's RSP (Reality Signal Processor) unit. In addition, 32-bit code executed faster and required less storage space (which was at a premium on the N64's cartridges).


In terms of its [[random-access memory]], or RAM, the Nintendo 64 was one of the first modern consoles to implement a unified memory subsystem, instead of having separate banks of memory for CPU, audio, and video, for example. The memory itself consists of 4&nbsp;[[megabyte]]s of [[RDRAM]], made by [[Rambus]]. The RAM is expandable to 8&nbsp;MB with the [[Nintendo 64 accessories#Expansion Pak|Expansion Pak]]. Rambus was quite new at the time and offered Nintendo a way to provide a large amount of bandwidth for a relatively low cost.
In terms of its [[random-access memory]], or RAM, the Nintendo 64 was one of the first modern consoles to implement a unified memory subsystem, instead of having separate banks of memory for CPU, audio, and video, for example. The memory itself consists of 4&nbsp;[[megabyte]]s of [[RDRAM]], made by [[Rambus]]. The RAM is expandable to 8&nbsp;MB with the [[Nintendo 64 accessories#Expansion Pak|Expansion Pak]]. Rambus was quite new at the time and offered Nintendo a way to provide a large amount of bandwidth for a relatively low cost.

Revision as of 10:33, 24 November 2013

"N64" redirects here. For other uses, see N64 (disambiguation).
Nintendo 64
File:Nintendo 64 Logo.svg
Nintendo 64 charcoal gray console with blank game cartridge and gray controller
ManufacturerNintendo
TypeVideo game console
GenerationFifth generation
Units soldWorldwide: 32.93 million[2]
Japan: 5.54 million
North America: 20.63 million
Europe & Australia: 6.75 million
MediaNintendo 64 Game Pak
CPU64-bit 93.75 MHz NEC VR4300
Storage64 MB Cartridge battery, 256 Kb (32 KB) Controller Pak
Graphics62.5 MHz SGI RCP
Controller inputNintendo 64 controllers
Online servicesRANDnetDD (Japan only)
SharkWire Online (third-party)
Best-selling gameSuper Mario 64, 11.62 million (as of May 21, 2003)[3]
Mario Kart 64, 9 million
PredecessorSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
SuccessorGameCube

The Nintendo 64 (ニンテンドウろくじゅうよん, Nintendō Rokujūyon), often referred to as N64 (formerly known as the Nintendo Ultra 64, and codenamed Project Reality) is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit central processing unit, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil. It is Nintendo's last home console to use ROM cartridges to store games (Nintendo switched to a MiniDVD-based format for the successor GameCube); handhelds in the Game Boy line, however, continued to use Game Paks. As part of the fifth generation of gaming, it primarily competed with the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. Succeeded by Nintendo's GameCube in November 2001, N64 consoles continued to be produced until its discontinuation in Japan on April 30, 2002, Europe on May 16, 2003, North America on November 30, 2003, and Australia in 2003.

The N64 was released with two launch games, Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, and a third in Japan, Saikyō Habu Shōgi. The N64's suggested retail price was US $199.99 at its launch and it was later marketed with the slogan "Get N, or get Out!". The console was ultimately released in a range of different colors and designs, and an assortment of limited-edition controllers were sold or used as contest prizes during the N64's lifespan. The N64 sold 32.93 million units worldwide, and in 2009, it was named the 9th greatest video game console by IGN.[4] Time Magazine named it their 1996 Machine of the Year award.

Of the consoles in the fifth generation, the Nintendo 64 was the latest to be released. One of its technical drawbacks was a limited texture cache, which could hold textures of limited dimensions and reduced color depth, which had to be stretched to cover larger in-game surfaces. More significantly, the N64 still relied upon ROM cartridges, which were constrained by small capacity (particularly in an era when games became more complex and their contents took up more memory) and high production expenses, compared to the compact disc format used by its chief competitors. As a result of the N64's storage media limitations, many third-party publishers that previously supported Nintendo's past consoles would reduce or stop publishing games; the N64's most successful titles came from first-party or second-party studios.

History

Development

At the beginning of the 1990s, Nintendo led the video game industry with its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Although a follow-up console, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), was successful, sales took a hit from the Japanese recession. Competing consoles from Sega and Sony also increased the need for Nintendo to develop a successor to the SNES. Further complicating matters, the company also faced a backlash from third-party developers unhappy with Nintendo's onerous licensing policies.[5] The company sought to develop a console with high-quality, 3-dimensional graphics and a 64-bit processor. Nintendo's code name for the N64, "Project Reality",[6] stemmed from the bold belief that the hardware's advanced CGI capabilities would rival supercomputers of the era.

Nintendo had limited experience with 3-dimensional graphics, and worked with outside companies to develop the technology. The Nintendo 64 owes its existence to Silicon Graphics (SGI) and MIPS Technologies, who were responsible for the R4300i microprocessor and the 3D graphics hardware used in the N64. SGI had recently acquired MIPS Computer Systems, and the two worked together to create a low-cost real-time 3D graphics system.

James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics, initially offered the SGI project to Tom Kalinske, then CEO of Sega of America. The negotiations that ensued have fueled controversy.[5] Sega claimed that their evaluation of the early prototype uncovered several unresolved hardware-issues and deficiencies. They were subsequently resolved; but not before Sega had already decided against SGI's design.[7] Nintendo resisted that assertion, arguing that Nintendo was a more appealing partner.[5] SGI was apparently interested in using its chips in devices other than a game console; while Sega demanded exclusive rights to the chip, Nintendo was willing to license the technology on a non-exclusive basis.[5] Nintendo, falling behind in the console war, expressed interest in SGI's work. James Clark met with Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi in the spring of 1993 and agreed to develop the project.[5] Thus, "Project Reality" was born. An official announcement regarding their collaboration was made in October 1993.[8]

The console's design was revealed to the public for the first time in late Spring 1994. Pictures of the console showed the Nintendo Ultra 64 logo, a ROM cartridge, but no controller. The final N64 console would retain the shape pictured by the Ultra 64. The system was frequently marketed as the world's first 64-bit gaming system.[9] Atari had claimed to have made the first 64-bit game console with their Atari Jaguar,[10] but the Jaguar only used a 64-bit architecture in conjunction with two 32-bit RISC processors and a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000.[11] Around the same time, Rare (UK) and Midway (USA) released two arcade titles, Killer Instinct and Cruis'n USA, which boasted their upcoming release on the Ultra 64 platform.[12] Killer Instinct did use the same CPU as the N64, a MIPS R4300i,.[12] Killer Instinct featured pre-rendered character artwork, and CG movie backgrounds that were streamed off the hard drive[13] and animated as the characters moved horizontally.

The completed N64 was fully unveiled in a playable form to the public on November 24, 1995, at the 7th Annual Shoshinkai Software Exhibition in Japan. Nintendo's next-generation console was introduced as the "Nintendo 64" (a name given by Shigesato Itoi,[14] who named the Game Boy before), contrary to speculation that it would be called "Ultra 64".[15] Photos of the event were disseminated on the web by Game Zero magazine two days later.[16] Official coverage by Nintendo followed later via the Nintendo Power website and print magazine.

In the lead up to the console's release, Nintendo had adopted a new global branding strategy, assigning the console the same name for all markets: Nintendo 64.[17]

The console was originally slated for release by Christmas of 1995. In May 1995, Nintendo pushed back the release to April 1996.[18] The prospect of a release the following spring at a lower price than the competition lowered sales of competing Sega and Sony consoles during the important Christmas shopping season.[19]

In its explanation of the delay, Nintendo claimed it needed more time for Nintendo 64 software to mature,[5] and for third-party developers to produce titles.[18] Adrian Sfarti, a former engineer for SGI, attributed the delay to hardware problems; he claimed that the chips underperformed in testing, and were being redesigned.[5]

Release

Popular Electronics called the launch a "much hyped, long-anticipated moment."[19]

The console was first released in Japan on June 23, 1996.[1] The North American version of the Nintendo 64 officially launched on September 29, 1996. It launched with just two games in the United States, Pilotwings 64 and Super Mario 64. In 1994, prior to the launch, Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln emphasized the quality of first-party games, saying "[...] we're convinced that a few great games at launch are more important than great games mixed in with a lot of dogs."[20] The PAL version of the console was released in Europe on March 1, 1997.[1]

The Nintendo 64 was host to revolutionary shooter titles like Goldeneye 007.

Originally intended to be $250, the console was ultimately priced at $199.99 to make it more competitive with Sony and Sega alternatives.[21] Nintendo priced the console as an impulse buy, using a strategy from the toy industry.[22] At US$199.99, the console was cheaper than rival consoles from Sega and Sony.[18] The price of the console in the United States was cut to $129.95 on August 25, 1998.[23]

Sales

The Nintendo 64 was in-demand upon its release. David Cole, industry analyst, said "You have people fighting to get it from stores."[21] Time Magazine called the purchasing interest "that rare and glorious middle-class Cabbage Patch-doll frenzy." The magazine said celebrities Matthew Perry, Steven Spielberg's office, and some Chicago Bulls players called Nintendo to ask for special treatment to get their hands on the console.[24]

The console sold 300,000 of 500,000 available units during its first three days on sale.[21] Longer term, the console sold 500,000 units in North America during its first four months.[25] George Harrison, vice president of marketing at Nintendo, expected sales of 5 million consoles by Christmas 1997.

As of December 31, 2009, the N64 had sold 5.54 million units in Japan, 20.63 million in the Americas, and 6.75 million in other regions, for a total of 32.93 million units.[2] Benimaru Itō, a developer for EarthBound 64 and friend of Shigeru Miyamoto, speculated in 1997 that the N64's lower popularity in Japan was due to the lack of role-playing video games.[26]

Promotion

To boost sales during the slow post-Christmas season, Nintendo and General Mills worked together on a promotional campaign that appeared in early 1999. A television advertising campaign cost $5 million. The advertisement by Saatchi and Saatchi, New York began on January 25 and encouraged children to buy Fruit by the Foot snacks for tips to help them with their Nintendo 64 games. 90 different tips were available, with three variations of 30 tips each.[27]

Nintendo advertised its Funtastic Series of peripherals with a $10 million print and television campaign from February 28 to April 30, 2000. Leo Burnett, Chicago, was in charge.[28]

Reception

The Nintendo 64 received generally positive reviews from critics. Reviewers generally praised the console's advanced 3D graphics and gameplay, while criticizing the lack of games.

Previewing the console, Time Magazine said the console had the "fastest, smoothest game action yet attainable via joystick."[29]

Time Magazine named it their 1996 Machine of the Year, saying the machine had "done to video-gaming what the 707 did to air travel." The magazine said the console achieved "the most realistic and compelling three-dimensional experience ever presented by a computer." Time credited the Nintendo 64 with revitalizing the video game market, "rescuing this industry from the dustbin of entertainment history." The magazine suggested that the Nintendo 64 would play a major role in introducing children to digital technology in the final years of the 1900s. The article concluded by saying the console had already provided "the first glimpse of a future where immensely powerful computing will be as common and easy to use as our televisions."[30]

Popular Electronics complimented the system's hardware, calling its specifications "quite impressive." It also complimented the controller, saying "We found the controller comfortable to hold, and the controls to be accurate and responsive."[19]

The Los Angeles Times praised the system's "blistering speed and tack-sharp graphics," as well as its high-quality games, although it lamented the small number of titles. It called the console small and light.[31]

Legacy

The Nintendo 64 remains one of the best known video game systems in the world.[32] On the top ten best game consoles episode of G4techTV's (now G4's) Filter, the Nintendo 64 was voted up to #1 by registered users.[33]

Games

See also: List of Nintendo 64 games, List of Nintendo 64 Player's Choice games, and Chronology of Nintendo 64 games

A total of 387 games were released for the console, though few were exclusively sold in Japan. For comparison, the rival PlayStation received around 1,100 games, while the earlier NES and SNES had 768 and 725 US games, respectively. However, the Nintendo 64 game library included a high number of critically acclaimed and widely sold games.[34] Super Mario 64 was the console's best selling game (selling over 11 million copies), receiving much praise from critics and helping to pioneer three-dimensional control schemes. GoldenEye 007 was important in the evolution of the first-person shooter, and has since been named one of the greatest in the genre.[35] The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time set the standard for future 3D action-adventure games[36] and is considered by some to be the greatest game ever made.[37][38][39]

Graphics

Graphically, results of the Nintendo cartridge system were mixed. The N64's graphics chip was capable of trilinear filtering,[40] which allowed textures to look very smooth. This contrasted with the Saturn and PlayStation, which used nearest-neighbor interpolation[41] and produced more pixelated textures.

However, the smaller storage size of ROM cartridges limited the number of available textures, resulting in games that had blurry graphics. This was caused by the liberal use of stretched, low-resolution textures, and was compounded by the N64's 4,096-byte limit[42] on a single texture. Some games, such as Mario Party 2, use a large amount of Gouraud shading or very simple textures to produce a cartoon-like image. This fit the themes of many games, and allowed this style of imagery a sharp look. Cartridges for some later games, such as Resident Evil 2, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Earth, and Conker's Bad Fur Day, featured more ROM space,[43] allowing for more detailed graphics.

Game Paks

Main article: Nintendo 64 Game Pak
Open and unopened N64 Game Pak

Nintendo 64 games are ROM cartridge based. Cartridge size varies[43] from 4 MB to 64 MB. ROM cartridges are expensive and time-consuming to manufacture. Many cartridges include the ability to save games internally.

Nintendo cited several advantages for making the N64 cartridge-based.[44] Primarily cited was the ROM cartridges' very fast load times in comparison to disc-based games. While loading screens appear in many PlayStation games, they are rare on the N64. Although vulnerable to long-term environmental damage[44] the cartridges are far more resistant to physical damage than compact discs.

On the downside, cartridges took longer to manufacture than CDs, with each production run (from order to delivery) taking two weeks or more.[45] This meant that publishers of N64 titles had to attempt to predict demand for a game ahead of its release. They risked being left with a surplus of expensive cartridges for a failed game or a weeks-long shortage of product if they underestimated a game's popularity.[45] The cost of producing an N64 cartridge was also far higher than for a CD.[46] Publishers passed these expenses onto the consumer. Comparable games cost at least $10 more on the Nintendo 64 as compared with other platforms.[47]

As fifth generation games became more complex in content, sound and graphics, it pushed cartridges to the limits of their storage capacity. The N64 cartridges had a maximum of 64 MB of data,[48] whereas CDs held over 650 MB.[49] Games ported from other media had to use data compression or reduced content to be released on the N64. Due to the cartridge's space limitations, full motion video was not usually feasible for use in cut scenes.

The era's competing systems from Sony and Sega (the PlayStation and Saturn, respectively) used CD-ROM discs to store their games.[50] As a result, game developers who had traditionally supported Nintendo game consoles were now developing games for the competition.[50] Many third-party developers, such as Square and Enix, whose Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Warrior VII were initially pre-planned for the N64,[51] switched to the PlayStation. Some who remained released fewer games to the Nintendo 64; Konami released fifty PlayStation games but only thirteen for the N64 games. New Nintendo 64 game releases were infrequent while new games were coming out rapidly for the PlayStation.[52]

Despite the difficulties with third-parties, the N64 still managed to support popular games such as GoldenEye 007, giving it a long shelf-life. Additionally, Nintendo's strong first-party franchises[53] such as Mario had strong name brand appeal. Second-parties of Nintendo, such as Rare, helped.[52]

The selection of the cartridge for the Nintendo 64 was a controversial decision and a key factor in Nintendo losing its dominant position in the gaming market. Most of the cartridge's advantages did not manifest themselves prominently and they were nullified by the cartridge's shortcomings, which disappointed customers and developers alike.[48][49][52]

Virtual Console

See also: Virtual Console

Several Nintendo 64 titles have been released for the Wii's Virtual Console service and are playable with either the Classic Controller or Nintendo GameCube controller. There are some differences between these versions and the original cartridge versions. For example, the games run in a higher resolution and at a more consistent framerate than their N64 counterparts. However, some features, such as Rumble Pak functionality, are not available in the Wii versions. Some features are also altered for the Virtual Console releases. For example, the VC version of Pokémon Snap allows players to send photos through the Wii's message service, while Wave Race 64's in-game content was altered due to the expiration of the Kawasaki license. Several titles from Rare have seen release on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service, including Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Perfect Dark, the reason being that Rareware was purchased by Microsoft in 2002.

Hardware

Technical specifications

Main article: Nintendo 64 technical specifications
The Nintendo 64 motherboard, showing CPU, RCP, and RDRAM

The Nintendo 64's central processing unit (CPU) is the NEC VR4300.[54] This processor was the most powerful console CPU of its generation;[55] Popular Electronics said it had power similar to the Pentium processors found in desktop computers.[19] Except for its narrower 32-bit system bus, the VR4300 retained the computational abilities of the more powerful 64-bit MIPS R4300i,[54] though software rarely took advantage of 64-bit data precision operations. N64 game-titles generally used faster (and more compact) 32-bit data-operations,[56] as these were sufficient to generate 3D-scene data for the console's RSP (Reality Signal Processor) unit. In addition, 32-bit code executed faster and required less storage space (which was at a premium on the N64's cartridges).

In terms of its random-access memory, or RAM, the Nintendo 64 was one of the first modern consoles to implement a unified memory subsystem, instead of having separate banks of memory for CPU, audio, and video, for example. The memory itself consists of 4 megabytes of RDRAM, made by Rambus. The RAM is expandable to 8 MB with the Expansion Pak. Rambus was quite new at the time and offered Nintendo a way to provide a large amount of bandwidth for a relatively low cost.

The system allows for video output in two formats: composite video[57] and S-Video. The composite and S-Video cables are the same as those used with the earlier SNES and later GameCube systems.

The Nintendo 64 supports 16.8 million unique color variations.[58] The system can display resolutions of 256 × 224, 320 × 240 and 640 × 480 pixels.[58] It supports standard-definition resolutions up to 480i (576i for units in the PAL region). Few games made use of this mode, and many of them required use of the Expansion Pak RAM upgrade. The majority of games instead used the system's low-definition 240p (288p for PAL models) modes. A number of games also support a video display ratio of up to 16:9 using either Anamorphic widescreen or Letterboxing. However, very few of its games provided options to use this feature.

Color variants

Main article: Nintendo 64 color variants
A Nintendo 64 console and controller in Fire-Orange color.

The Nintendo 64 comes in several colors. The standard Nintendo 64 is dark gray, nearly black,[59] and the controller is light gray (later releases in America included a bonus second controller in Atomic Purple). Various color variations and special editions were released.

The majority of Nintendo 64 game cartridges were gray in color; however, some games were released on a colored cartridge.[60] Fourteen games had black cartridges, while other colors (such as green, blue, red, yellow and gold) were each used for six or fewer games. Several games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, were released both in standard gray and in colored, limited edition versions.[61]

Accessories

Main article: Nintendo 64 accessories

A number of accessories, from the Rumble Pak to the Transfer Pak, were available for the Nintendo 64.

The controller was shaped like an "M", employing a joystick in the center. Popular Electronics called its shape "evocative of some alien space ship." While noting that the three handles could be confusing, the magazine said "the separate grips allow different hand positions for various game types."[19]

Disk Drive

When the Nintendo 64's sales were at its peak, Nintendo created an add-on called Nintendo 64DD ('DD' standing for 'Disk Drive'). This large add on allowed players to play Nintendo 64 disk games that were released by connecting to the N64 through a slot on the bottom of the console. Not long after release on the website RandNet, the add-on became a failure. Only nine games, among them the three Mario Artist games (Talent Studio, Polygon Studio, and Paint Studio), were released for the Nintendo 64DD. The Nintendo 64DD was released only in Japan.

Programming characteristics

Main article: Nintendo 64 programming characteristics

Programming for the Nintendo 64 presented unique challenges. The Economist described effective programming for the Nintendo 64 as being "horrendously complex."[62] The Nintendo 64 had weaknesses that were caused by a combination of oversight on the part of the hardware designers, limitations on 3D technology of the time, and manufacturing capabilities.

As the Nintendo 64 reached the end of its lifecycle, hardware development chief Genyo Takeda referred to the programming challenges using the word hansei (Template:Lang-ja "reflective regret"). Looking back, Takeda said "When we made Nintendo 64, we thought it was logical that if you want to make advanced games, it becomes technically more difficult. We were wrong. We now understand it's the cruising speed that matters, not the momentary flash of peak power."[63]

References

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  3. ^ "All Time Top 20 Best Selling Games". 2003-05-21. Archived from the original on 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2008-03-27.[dead link]
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  26. ^ "Promotions: Mills Gets Foot Up with Nintendo Link-up." BRANDWEEK formerly Adweek Marketing Week. (JANUARY 18, 1999 ): 277 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date Accessed: 2013/07/24.
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  36. ^ "Ocarina of Time Hits Virtual Console". 1UP.com. Retrieved February 2, 2010. This news article refers to Ocarina of Time as "the apex of 6-4bit gaming and oft-cited "Best Game Ever Made..."
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