Nintendo 64
"N64" redirects here. For other uses, see N64 (disambiguation).
Nintendo 64 Nintendo 64 Logo.svg
Nintendo-64-wController-L.jpg
A charcoal grey Nintendo 64 console and grey controller
Also known as Project Reality (code name), Ultra 64 (planned product name)
Developer Nintendo IRD
Manufacturer Nintendo
Type Home video game console
Generation Fifth generation
Release date
JP: June 23, 1996[3]
NA: September 26, 1996 (Limited)[1] September 29, 1996 (Official)
EU: March 1, 1997
AU: March 1, 1997
BRA: December 10, 1997
Retail availability 1996–2003
Discontinued
JP: April 30, 2002
EU: May 16, 2003
AU: 2003
BR: 2003
NA: November 30, 2003
Units sold Worldwide: 32.93 million
Japan: 5.54 million
Americas: 20.63 million
Europe & Australia: 6.75 million
Media Nintendo 64 Game Pak
Magnetic disc (64DD)
CPU 64-bit NEC VR4300 @ 93.75 MHz
Memory 4 MB Rambus RDRAM (8 MB with Expansion Pak)
Storage 64 MB Game Pak
Removable storage 256 Kbit (32 KB) Controller Pak
Graphics SGI RCP @ 62.5 MHz
Sound 16 bit, 48 or 44.1 kHz Stereo
Controller input Nintendo 64 controller
Power Switching power supply, 12V and 3.3V DC
Online services Randnet (Japan only)
SharkWire Online (third-party)
Best-selling game Super Mario 64, 11.62 million (as of May 21, 2003)
Predecessor Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Successor GameCube
Related articles Nintendo 64 technical specifications, 64DD, Game Pak, Rumble Pak, games, accessories, color variants, programming characteristics
Website www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/nintendo64/index.jsp
The Nintendo 64 (Japanese: ニンテンドウ64 Hepburn: Nintendō Rokujūyon), stylized as the NINTENDO64 and abbreviated to N64, 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 was the last major home console to use the cartridge as its primary storage format until Nintendo's seventh console, the Nintendo Switch, released in 2017. Though succeeded by Nintendo's MiniDVD-based GameCube in September 2001, the Nintendo 64 was sold until the system was retired in late 2003.
Codenamed "Project Reality", the N64 design was mostly complete by mid-1995, but its launch was delayed until 1996, when Time named it Machine of the Year. It launched with three games: Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, released worldwide, and Saikyō Habu Shōgi, released only in Japan. As part of the fifth generation of gaming, the system competed primarily with the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. The suggested retail price at its United States launch was US$199.99, and it sold 32.93 million units worldwide. The console was released in a range of colors and designs over its lifetime. In 2015, IGN named it the 9th greatest video game console of all time.
History
Development
"At the heart of the [Project Reality] system will be a version of the MIPS(r) Multimedia Engine, a chip-set consisting of a 64-bit MIPS RISC microprocessor, a graphics co-processor chip and Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs)". "The product, which will be developed specifically for Nintendo, will be unveiled in arcades in 1994, and will be available for home use by late 1995. The target U.S. price for the home system is below $250". "For the first time, leading-edge MIPS RISC microprocessor technology will be used in the video entertainment industry and already powers computers ranging from PCs to supercomputers".
—SGI press release, August 23, 1993
At the beginning of the 1990s, Nintendo led the video game industry with its Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Although the NES follow-up console, the Super NES (SNES), was successful, sales took a hit from the Japanese recession. Competition from long-time rival Sega, and relative newcomer Sony, emphasized Nintendo's need to develop a successor for the SNES, or risk losing market dominance to its competitors. Further complicating matters, Nintendo also faced a backlash from third-party developers unhappy with Nintendo's strict licensing policies.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI), a long-time leader in graphics visualization and supercomputing, was interested in expanding its business by adapting its technology into the higher volume realm of consumer products, starting with the video game market. Based upon its MIPS R4000 family of supercomputing and workstation CPUs, SGI developed a CPU requiring a fraction of the resources—consuming only 0.5 watts of power instead of 1.5 to 2 watts, with an estimated target price of US$40 instead of US$80–200. The company created a design proposal for a video game system, seeking an already well established partner in that market. Jim Clark, founder of SGI, initially offered the proposal to Tom Kalinske, who was the CEO of Sega of America. The next candidate would be Nintendo.
The historical details of these preliminary negotiations were controversial between the two competing suitors. Tom Kalinske said that he and Joe Miller of Sega of America were "quite impressed" with SGI's prototype, inviting their hardware team to travel from Japan to meet with SGI. The engineers from Sega Enterprises claimed that their evaluation of the early prototype had uncovered several unresolved hardware issues and deficiencies. Those were subsequently resolved, but Sega had already decided against SGI's design. Nintendo resisted that summary conclusion, arguing that the real reason for SGI's ultimate choice of partner is that Nintendo was a more appealing business partner than Sega. While Sega demanded exclusive rights to the chip, Nintendo was willing to license the technology on a non-exclusive basis. Michael Slater, publisher of Microprocessor Report said, "The mere fact of a business relationship there is significant because of Nintendo's phenomenal ability to drive volume. If it works at all, it could bring MIPS to levels of volume never dreamed of".
Jim Clark met with Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi in early 1993, thus initiating Project Reality.[10] On August 23, 1993, the two companies announced a global joint development and licensing agreement surrounding Project Reality,[13][9] projecting that the yet unnamed eventual product would be "developed specifically for Nintendo, will be unveiled in arcades in 1994, and will be available for home use by late 1995 ... below $250". This announcement coincided with Nintendo's August 1993 Shoshinkai trade show.
"Reality Immersion Technology" is the name SGI had given the set of core componentry, which would be first utilized in Project Reality: the MIPS R4300i CPU, the MIPS Reality Coprocessor, and the embedded software. Some chip technology and manufacturing was provided by NEC, Toshiba, and Sharp. SGI had recently acquired MIPS Computer Systems (renamed to MIPS Technologies), and the two worked together to be ultimately responsible for the design of the Reality Immersion Technology chips under chief hardware architect Tim Van Hook.
Deskside Onyx
The initial Project Reality game development platform was developed and sold by SGI in the form of its US$100,000[19]–US$250,000[20][18] Onyx supercomputer loaded with the namesake US$50,000[21] RealityEngine2 graphics boards and four 150 MHz R4400 CPUs,[19] and with early Project Reality application and emulation APIs based upon Performer and OpenGL. This graphics supercomputing platform had served as the source design which SGI had reduced down to become the Reality Immersion Technology for Project Reality. The game controller was a modified Super NES controller with a primitive analog joystick and Z trigger.
Under maximal secrecy even from the rest of the company, a LucasArts developer said his team would "furtively hide the prototype controller in a cardboard box while we used it. In answer to the inevitable questions about what we were doing, we replied jokingly that it was a new type of controller—a bowl of liquid that absorbed your thoughts through your fingertips. Of course, you had to think in Japanese..."
On June 23, 1994, Nintendo announced the new official name of the still unfinished console as "Ultra 64". The first group of elite developers selected by Nintendo was nicknamed the "Dream Team": Silicon Graphics, Inc.; Alias Research, Inc.; Software Creations; Rambus, Inc.; MultiGen, Inc.; Rare, Ltd. and Rare Coin-It Toys & Games, Inc.; WMS Industries, Inc.; Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.; Williams Entertainment, Inc.; Paradigm Simulation, Inc.; Spectrum Holobyte; DMA Design Ltd.; Angel Studios; Ocean; Time Warner Interactive; and Mindscape.
By purchasing and developing upon Project Reality's graphics supercomputing platform, Nintendo and its Dream Team could begin prototyping their games according to SGI's estimated console performance profile, prior to the finalization of the console hardware specifications. When the Ultra 64 hardware was finalized, that supercomputer-based prototyping platform was later supplanted by a much cheaper and fully accurate console simulation board to be hosted within a low-end SGI Indy workstation in July 1995. SGI's early performance estimates based upon its supercomputing platform were ultimately reported to have been fairly accurate to the final Ultra 64 product, allowing LucasArts developers to port their Star Wars game prototype to console reference hardware in only three days.
The console's design was publicly revealed for the first time in late Q2 1994. Images of the console displayed the Nintendo Ultra 64 logo, a ROM cartridge, but no controller. This prototype console's form factor would be retained by the product when it eventually launched. Having initially indicated the possibility of utilizing the increasingly popular CD-ROM if the medium's endemic performance problems were solved,:77 the company now announced a much faster but space-limited cartridge-based system, which prompted open analysis by the gaming press. The system was frequently marketed as the world's first 64-bit gaming system, often stating the console was more powerful than the first moon landing computers. Atari had already claimed to have made the first 64-bit game console with their Atari Jaguar, but the Jaguar only uses a general 64-bit architecture in conjunction with two 32-bit RISC processors and a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000.
For more details on Nintendo's storage strategies, see Nintendo 64 Game Pak and 64DD.
Later in Q2 1994, Nintendo signed a licensing agreement with Midway's parent company which enabled Midway to develop and market arcade games and formed a joint venture company called "Williams/Nintendo" to market Nintendo-exclusive home conversions of these games. The result is two arcade games, Killer Instinct and Cruis'n USA, which boasted their upcoming debut on the arcade branch of the Nintendo Ultra 64 platform. Completely unrelated to Project Reality's console-based branch of Ultra 64, the arcade branch uses a different MIPS CPU, has no Reality Coprocessor, and uses onboard ROM chips and a hard drive instead of a cartridge. Killer Instinct features 3D character artwork pre-rendered into 2D form, and CG movie backgrounds that are streamed off the hard drive and animated as the characters move horizontally.
Previously, the plan had been to release the console with the name "Ultra Famicom" in Japan and "Nintendo Ultra 64" in other markets. Rumors circulated attributing the name change to the possibility of legal action by Konami's ownership of the Ultra Games trademark. Nintendo said that trademark issues were not a factor, and the sole reason for any name change was to establish a single worldwide brand and logo for the console. The new global name "Nintendo 64" was proposed by Earthbound series developer Shigesato Itoi. The prefix for the model numbering scheme for hardware and software across the Nintendo 64 platform is "NUS-", a reference to the console's original name of "Nintendo Ultra Sixty-four".
Announcement
The newly renamed Nintendo 64 console was fully unveiled to the public in playable form on November 24, 1995, at Nintendo's 7th Annual Shoshinkai trade show. Eager for a preview, "hordes of Japanese schoolkids huddled in the cold outside ... the electricity of anticipation clearly rippling through their ranks". Photos of the event were disseminated online by Game Zero magazine two days later. Official coverage by Nintendo followed later via the Nintendo Power website and print magazine.
The console was originally slated for release by Christmas of 1995. In May 1995, Nintendo delayed the release to April 1996. Consumers anticipating a Nintendo release the following year at a lower price than the competition reportedly reduced the sales of competing Sega and Sony consoles during the important Christmas shopping season.:24 Electronic Gaming Monthly editor Ed Semrad even suggested that Nintendo may have announced the April 1996 release date with this end in mind, knowing in advance that the system would not be ready by that date.
In its explanation of the delay, Nintendo claimed it needed more time for Nintendo 64 software to mature,[10] and for third-party developers to produce games. 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. In 1996, the Nintendo 64's software development kit was completely redesigned as the Windows-based Partner-N64 system, by Kyoto Microcomputer, Co. Ltd. of Japan.
The Nintendo 64's release date was later delayed again, to June 23, 1996. Nintendo said the reason for this latest delay, and in particular the cancellation of plans to release the console in all markets worldwide simultaneously, was that the company's marketing studies now indicated that they would not be able to manufacture enough units to meet demand by April 1996, potentially angering retailers in the same way Sega had done with its surprise early launch of the Saturn in North America and Europe.
To counteract the possibility that gamers would grow impatient with the wait for the Nintendo 64 and purchase one of the several competing consoles already on the market, Nintendo ran ads for the system well in advance of its announced release dates, with slogans like "Wait for it..." and "Is it worth the wait? Only if you want the best!"
Release
Popular Electronics called the launch a "much hyped, long-anticipated moment". Several months before the launch, GamePro reported that many gamers, including a large percentage of their own editorial staff, were already saying they favored the Nintendo 64 over the Saturn and PlayStation.
The console was first released in Japan on June 23, 1996. Though the initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out on the first day, Nintendo successfully avoided a repeat of the Super Famicom launch day pandemonium, in part by using a wider retail network which included convenience stores. In the months between the Japanese and North American launches, the Nintendo 64 saw brisk sales on the American grey market, despite import stores charging as much as $699 plus shipping for the system. The Nintendo 64 was first sold in North America on September 26, 1996, despite having been advertised for the 29th. It was 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".:77 The PAL version of the console was released in Europe on March 1, 1997. According to Nintendo of America representatives, Nintendo had been planning a simultaneous launch in Japan, North America, and Europe, but market studies indicated that worldwide demand for the system far exceeded the number of units they could have ready by launch, potentially leading to consumer and retailer frustration.
Originally intended to be priced at US$250, the console was ultimately launched at US$199.99 to make it competitive with Sony and Sega offerings, as both the Saturn and PlayStation had been lowered to $199.99 earlier that summer. Nintendo priced the console as an impulse purchase, a strategy from the toy industry. The price of the console in the United States was further reduced in August 1998.
Further information: Nintendo 64 § Sales
Promotion
The Nintendo 64's North American launch was backed with a $54 million marketing campaign (meaning over $100 in marketing per North American N64 unit that had been manufactured up to this point). While the competing Saturn and PlayStation both set teenagers and adults as their target audience, the N64's target audience was pre-teens.
To boost sales during the slow post-Christmas season, Nintendo and General Mills worked together on a promotional campaign that appeared in early 1999. 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. Ninety different tips were available, with three variations of thirty tips each.
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.
Reception
Critical reception
The Nintendo 64 received generally positive reviews from critics. Reviewers praised the console's advanced 3D graphics and gameplay, while criticizing the lack of games. On G4techTV's (now G4's) Filter, the Nintendo 64 was voted up to No. 1 by registered users.
In February 1996, Next Generation magazine called the Nintendo Ultra 64 the "best kept secret in videogames" and the "world's most powerful game machine". It called the system's November 24, 1995 unveiling at Shoshinkai "the most anticipated videogaming event of the 1990s, possibly of all time". Previewing the Nintendo 64 shortly prior to its launch, Time magazine praised the realistic movement and gameplay provided by the combination of fast graphics processing, pressure-sensitive controller, and the Super Mario 64 game. The review praised the "fastest, smoothest game action yet attainable via joystick at the service of equally virtuoso motion", where "for once, the movement on the screen feels real".:61
At launch, the Los Angeles Times called the system "quite simply, the fastest, most graceful game machine on the market". Its form factor was described as small, light, and "built for heavy play by kids" unlike the "relatively fragile Sega Saturn". Showing concern for a major console product launch during a sharp, several-year long, decline in the game console market, the review said that the long-delayed Nintendo 64 was "worth the wait" in the company's pursuit of quality. Nintendo's "penchant for perfection" in game quality control was praised, though with concerns about having only two launch titles at retail and twelve expected by Christmas. Describing the quality control incentives associated with cartridge-based development, the Times cited Nintendo's position that cartridge game developers tend to "place a premium on substance over flash", and noted that the launch titles lack the "poorly acted live-action sequences or half-baked musical overtures" which it says tend to be found on CD-ROM games. Praising Nintendo's controversial choice of the cartridge medium with its "nonexistent" load times and "continuous, fast-paced action CD-ROMs simply cannot deliver", the review concluded that "the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 delivers blistering speed and tack-sharp graphics that are unheard of on personal computers and make competing 32-bit, disc-based consoles from Sega and Sony seem downright sluggish".
Time 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 20th century. 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".:73
Popular Electronics complimented the system's hardware, calling its specifications "quite impressive". It found the controller "comfortable to hold, and the controls to be accurate and responsive".
Developer Factor 5, who created some of the system's most technologically advanced games along with the system's audio development tools for Nintendo, said, "The N64 is really sexy because it combines the performance of an SGI machine with a cartridge. We're big arcade fans, and cartridges are still the best for arcade games or perhaps a really fast CD-ROM. But there's no such thing for consoles yet as of 1998".
Sales
The Nintendo 64 was in heavy demand upon its release. David Cole, industry analyst, said "You have people fighting to get it from stores."[53] Time 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.
During the system's first three days on the market, retailers sold 350,000 of 500,000 available console units.[53] During its first four months, the console yielded 500,000 unit sales in North America. Nintendo successfully outsold Sony and Sega early in 1997 in the United States; and by the end of its first full year, 3.6 million units were sold in the U.S. BusinessWire reported that the Nintendo 64 was responsible for Nintendo's sales having increased by 156% by 1997.
After a strong launch year, the decision to use the cartridge format is said to have contributed to the diminished release pace and higher price of games compared to the competition, and thus Nintendo was unable to maintain its lead in the United States. The console would continue to outsell the Sega Saturn throughout the generation, but would trail behind the PlayStation.
In Japan, the console was not as successful, failing to outsell the PlayStation and even the Sega Saturn. Benimaru Itō, a developer for EarthBound 64 and friend of Shigeru Miyamoto, speculated in 1997 that the Nintendo 64's lower popularity in Japan was due to the lack of role-playing video games.
Nintendo reported that the system's vintage hardware and software sales had ceased by 2004, three years after the GameCube's launch; as of December 31, 2009, the Nintendo 64 had yielded a lifetime total of 5.54 million system units sold in Japan, 20.63 million in the Americas, and 6.75 million in other regions, for a total of 32.93 million units.
Legacy
The Nintendo 64 remains one of the most recognized video game systems in history and its games still have impact on the games industry. Designed in tandem with the controller, Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are widely considered by critics and the public to be two of the greatest and most influential games of all time. GoldenEye 007 is one of the most influential games for the shooter genre.
The Aleck 64 is a Nintendo 64 design in arcade form, designed by Seta in cooperation with Nintendo, and sold from 1998 to 2003 only in Japan.
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 388 games were released for the console, though there were a few that were exclusively sold in Japan. For comparison, rivals PlayStation and the Sega Saturn received around 1,100 games and 600 games respectively, while previous Nintendo consoles such as the NES and SNES had 768 and 725 games released in the United States. However, the Nintendo 64 game library included a high number of critically acclaimed and widely sold games. Super Mario 64 is the best selling game of the generation, with 11 million units sold and beating the PlayStation's Gran Turismo (at 10.85 million) and Final Fantasy VII (at 9.72 million) in sales. The game also received much praise from critics and helped to pioneer three-dimensional control schemes. GoldenEye 007 was important in the evolution of the first-person shooter, and has been named one of the greatest in the genre. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time set the standard for future 3D action-adventure games and is considered by many to be one of the greatest games ever made. This trend followed Hiroshi Yamauchi's strategy, announced during his speech at the Nintendo 64's November 1995 unveiling, that Nintendo restrict the number of titles produced for the Nintendo 64 so that developers would focus on developing games to a higher standard instead of trying to outdo their competitors with sheer quantity.
Graphics
The most graphically demanding Nintendo 64 games that arrived on larger 32 or 64 MB cartridges are the most advanced and detailed of the 32-bit/64-bit generation. In order to maximize use of the Nintendo 64 hardware developers had to create their own custom microcode. Nintendo 64 games running on custom microcode benefited from much higher polygon counts in tandem with more advanced lighting, animation, physics and AI routines than its 32-bit competition. Conker's Bad Fur Day is arguably the pinnacle of its generation combining multicolored real-time lighting that illuminates each area to real-time shadowing and detailed texturing replete with a full in game facial animation system. The Nintendo 64's graphics chip is capable of executing many more advanced and complex rendering techniques than its competitors. It is the first home console to feature trilinear filtering, which allowed textures to look very smooth. This contrasted with the Saturn and PlayStation, which used nearest-neighbor interpolation and produced more pixelated textures. Overall however the results of the Nintendo cartridge system were mixed and this was tied primarily to its storage medium.
The smaller storage size of ROM cartridges limited the number of available textures. As a result, many games which utilized much smaller 8 or 12 MB cartridges are forced to stretch textures over larger surfaces. Compounded by a limit of 4,096 bytes of on-chip texture memory, the end-result is often a distorted, out-of-proportion appearance. Many titles that feature larger 32 or 64 MB cartridges avoided this issue entirely, notable games include Resident Evil 2, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Earth, and Conker's Bad Fur Day as they feature more ROM space, allowing for more detailed graphics by utilizing multiple, multi-layered textures across all surfaces.
Game Paks
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Main article: Nintendo 64 Game Pak
Open and unopened N64 Game Pak
Nintendo 64 games are ROM cartridge based. Cartridge size varies from 4 to 64 MB. Many cartridges include the ability to save games internally.
Nintendo cited several advantages for making the Nintendo 64 cartridge-based. 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 Nintendo 64. Although vulnerable to long-term environmental damage the cartridges are far more resistant to physical damage than compact discs. Nintendo also cited the fact that cartridges are more difficult to pirate than CDs.
The big strength was the N64 cartridge. We use the cartridge almost like normal RAM and are streaming all level data, textures, animations, music, sound and even program code while the game is running. With the final size of the levels and the amount of textures, the RAM of the N64 never would have been even remotely enough to fit any individual level. So the cartridge technology really saved the day.
Factor 5, Bringing Indy to N64 at IGN
On the downside, cartridges took longer to manufacture than CDs, with each production run (from order to delivery) taking two weeks or more. This meant that publishers of Nintendo 64 games 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. The cost of producing a Nintendo 64 cartridge was also far higher than for a CD. Publishers passed these expenses onto the consumer. Nintendo 64 games cost an average of $10 more when compared to games produced for rival consoles. The higher cost also created the potential for much greater losses to the game's publisher in the case of a flop, making the less risky CD medium tempting for third party companies.
As fifth generation games became more complex in content, sound and graphics, games began to exceed the limits of cartridge storage capacity. Nintendo 64 cartridges had a maximum of 64 MB of data, whereas CDs held 650 MB. Software ported from other platforms was often heavily compressed or redesigned with the storage limits of a cartridge in mind. Due to the cartridge's space limitations, full motion video was not usually feasible for use in cutscenes. When it was present, it was heavily compressed to fit on the cartridge and usually of very brief length. Some third party companies also complained that they were at an unfair disadvantage when publishing games for Nintendo consoles, since Nintendo owned the manufacturing plant where cartridges for their consoles are made and therefore could sell their first party games at a lower price.
The era's competing systems from Sony and Sega (the PlayStation and Saturn, respectively) used CD-ROM discs to store their games. As a result, game developers who had traditionally supported Nintendo game consoles were now developing games for the competition. Some third-party developers, such as Square and Enix, whose Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Warrior VII were initially planned for the Nintendo 64, switched to the PlayStation, citing the insufficient storage capacity of the N64 cartridges. Some who remained released fewer games to the Nintendo 64; Konami released fifty PlayStation games, but only thirteen for the Nintendo 64. New Nintendo 64 game releases were infrequent while new games were coming out rapidly for the PlayStation.
Through the difficulties with third parties, the Nintendo 64 supported popular games such as GoldenEye 007, giving it a long market life. Additionally, Nintendo's strong first-party franchises such as Mario had strong name brand appeal. Second-parties of Nintendo, such as Rare, helped.
Nintendo's controversial selection of the cartridge medium for the Nintendo 64 has been cited as a key factor in Nintendo losing its dominant position in the gaming market. Some of the cartridge's advantages are difficult for developers to manifest prominently, requiring innovative solutions which only came late in the console's life cycle.
One of its technical drawbacks is a limited texture cache, which can hold textures of limited dimensions and reduced color depth, which must be stretched to cover larger in-game surfaces. Its vintage ROM cartridges are constrained by small capacity and high production expenses, compared to the compact disc format used by its chief competitors. Some third-party publishers that supported Nintendo's previous consoles reduced their output or stopped publishing for the console; the Nintendo 64's most successful games came from first-party or second-party studios.
Further information: Nintendo 64 programming characteristics
Emulation
See also: Virtual Console and List of Nintendo 64 console emulators
Several Nintendo 64 games have been released for the Wii's and Wii U's Virtual Console service and are playable with either the Classic Controller, Nintendo GameCube controller, Wii U Pro Controller, or Wii U GamePad. 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 Nintendo 64 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 games 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. However one exception was Donkey Kong 64, which was released in April 2015 on the Wii U Virtual Console since Nintendo owns the rights to that game.
Several unofficial emulators have been developed in order to execute Nintendo 64 titles on multiple platforms, such as PCs.
Accessories
Main article: Nintendo 64 accessories
A number of accessories were produced for the Nintendo 64, including the Rumble Pak and the Transfer Pak.
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".
64DD
Main article: 64DD
Nintendo released a peripheral platform called 64DD, where "DD" stands for "Disk Drive". Connecting to the expansion slot at the bottom of the system, the 64DD turns the Nintendo 64 console into an Internet appliance, a multimedia workstation, and an expanded gaming platform. This large peripheral allows players to play Nintendo 64 disk-based games, capture images from an external video source, and it allowed players to connect to the now-defunct Japanese Randnet online service. Not long after its limited mail-order release, the peripheral was discontinued. Only nine games were released, including the four Mario Artist games (Paint Studio, Talent Studio, Communication Kit, and Polygon Studio). Many more planned games were eventually released in cartridge format or on other game consoles. The 64DD and the accompanying Randnet online service were released only in Japan, despite always being announced for America and Europe.
To illustrate the fundamental significance of the 64DD to all game development at Nintendo, lead designer Shigesato Itoi said: "I came up with a lot of ideas because of the 64DD. All things start with the 64DD. There are so many ideas I wouldn’t have been allowed to come up with if we didn’t have the 64DD". Shigeru Miyamoto concluded: "Almost every new project for the N64 is based on the 64DD. ... we’ll make the game on a cartridge first, then add the technology we’ve cultivated to finish it up as a full-out 64DD game".
Technical specifications
Hardware
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. Popular Electronics said it had power similar to the Pentium processors found in desktop computers. Except for its narrower 32-bit system bus, the VR4300 retained the computational abilities of the more powerful 64-bit MIPS R4300i, though software rarely took advantage of 64-bit data precision operations. Nintendo 64 games generally used faster (and more compact) 32-bit data-operations, as these were sufficient to generate 3D-scene data for the console's RSP (Reality Signal Processor) unit. In addition, 32-bit code executes faster and requires less storage space (which is at a premium on the Nintendo 64's cartridges).
In terms of its random-access memory, or RAM, the Nintendo 64 is 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 sound chip is a 64-bit DSP running at 44.1 kHz.
The system allows for video output in two formats: composite video and S-Video. The composite and S-Video cables are the same as those used with the earlier SNES and later GameCube systems. However, it does not support RGB or Component natively that the Super Nintendo and other competing consoles benefited from at the time.
The Nintendo 64 supports 16.8 million colors.[citation needed] The system can display resolutions from 320 × 240 up to 640 × 480 pixels. Most games that made use of the system's higher resolution 640 x 480 mode required use of the Expansion Pak RAM upgrade; there were a number however which did not, such as Acclaim's NFL Quarterback Club series and EA Sports 2nd generation Madden, FIFA, Supercross, and NHL games which arrived on the system. The majority of games used the system's low resolution 320 × 240 mode. A number of games also support a video display ratio of up to 16:9 using either Anamorphic widescreen or Letterboxing.
The Nintendo 64 was one of the first gaming consoles to have four controller ports. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo opted to have four controller ports because the Nintendo 64 was their first console which could handle a four player split screen without significant slowdown.
Further information: Nintendo 64 programming characteristics
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, and the controller is light gray (later releases in the U.S. and in Australia included a bonus second controller in Atomic Purple). Various colorations and special editions were released.
Most Nintendo 64 game cartridges are gray in color, but some games have a colored cartridge. Fourteen games have black cartridges, and other colors (such as yellow, blue, red, gold and green) 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.
Programming characteristics
Main article: Nintendo 64 programming characteristics
The programming characteristics of the Nintendo 64 present unique challenges, with distinct potential advantages. The Economist described effective programming for the Nintendo 64 as being "horrendously complex". As with many other game consoles and other types of embedded systems, the Nintendo 64's architectural optimizations are uniquely acute, due to 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 repeatedly referred to the programming challenges using the word hansei (Japanese: 反省 "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".
Regional lockout
While the Nintendo 64 units for each region use essentially identical hardware design, regional lockout chips prevent games from one region from being played on a Nintendo 64 console from a different region.
Complete Game List Below:
1080° Snowboarding Nintendo April 1998
64 de Hakken! Tamagotchi Minna de Tamagotchi World (Japan only)
64 Hanafuda: Tenshi no Yakusoku (Japan only)
64 Oozumou 2 (Japan only)
64 Oozumou (Japan only)
64 Trummp Collection: Alice no Waku Waku Trump World (Japan only)
A Bug’s Life
Aero Fighters Assault Video System November 1997
AeroGauge Ascii April 1998
AI Shogi (Japan only)
Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage THQ March 2001
Air Boarder 64 (Japan only)
All-Star Tennis 99 Ubi Soft September 1999
All-Star Baseball 2000 Acclaim April 1999
All-Star Baseball 2001 Acclaim March 2000
All-Star Baseball ’99 Acclaim May 1998
Armorines: Project SWARM Acclaim November 1999
Army Men: Air Combat 3DO July 2000
Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 2 3DO September 2000
Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 3DO September 1999
Asteroids Hyper 64Crave Entertainment December 1999
Automobili Lamborghini Titus November 1997
editB
Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh (Japan only)
Bakushou Jinesi 64 (Japan only)
Banjo-Kazooie Nintendo June 1998
Banjo Tooie Nintendo November 2000
Bass Masters 2000 Take 2 Interactive December 1999
Bass Rush (Japan only)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Kemco December 2000
Battletanx: Global Assault 3DO October 1999
BattleTanx 3DO January 1999
Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs Crave Entertainment March 2000
Beetle Adventure Racing EA Sports March 1999
Big Mountain 2000 South Peak Interactive October 2000
Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. Midway May 1998
Blast Corps. Nintendo March 1997
Blitz 2000 Midway August 1999
Blues Brothers 2000 Titus November 2000
Body Harvest Midway October 1998
Bomberman 64: The Second Attack Vatical Entertainment May 2000
Bomberman 64 Nintendo December 1997
Bomberman Hero Nintendo August 1998
Bottom of the 9th
Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling THQ December 1999
Buck Bumble Ubi Soft November 1998
Bust A Move 2 Arcade Edition Acclaim May 1998
Bust A Move 99 Acclaim April 1999
editC
California Speed Midway March 1999
Carmageddon 64 Titus July 2000
Castlevania Konami January 1999
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness Konami December 1999
Centre Court Tennis (Europe, Japan)
Chameleon Twist 2 Sunsoft May 1999
Chameleon Twist Sunsoft December 1997
Charlie Blast’s Territory Kemco April 1999
Chef’s Luv Shack Acclaim December 1999
Chopper Attack Midway June 1998
Choro Q 64 2 (Japan only)
Choro Q 64 (Japan only)
Clay Fighter 63 1/3 Interplay October 1997
Clay Fighter: Sculptor’s Cut Interplay May 1998
Command and Conquer Nintendo June 1999
Conker’s Bad Fur Day Nintendo March 2001
Cruis’n Exotica Nintendo October 2000
Cruis’n USA Nintendo December 1996
Cruis’n World Nintendo September 1998
Custom Robo V2 (Japan only)
Custom Robo (64) (Japan only)
Cybertiger EA Sports March 2000
Daikatana Kemco November 2000
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum (Japan only)
Dark Rift Vic Tokai June 1997
Deadly Arts Konami September 1998
Densha de Go! 64 (Japan only)
Derby Stallion 64 (Japan only)
Destruction Derby 64 THQ October 1999
Dezaemon 3D (Japan only)
Diddy Kong Racing Nintendo November 1997
Disney’s A Bug’s Life Activision May 1999
Disney’s Tarzan
Disney’s Toy Story 2: Space Invaders Activision November 1999
Disney’s Tigger’s Honey Hunt Ubi Soft November 2000
Disney’s Donald Duck’s Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft December 2000 (Titled Disney’s Donald Duck’s Quack Attack in PAL)
Donkey Kong 64 Nintendo November 1999
Doom 64 Midway April 1997
Doraemon 2 (Japan only)
Doraemon 3: Nobi Dai no Machi SOS! (Japan only)
Doraemon (Japan only)
Doubutsu no Mori (Japan only)
Dr. Mario 64 Nintendo April 2001
Dual Heroes Electro Brain November 1998
Duke Nukem 64 GT Interactive November 1997
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour GT Interactive August 1999
Earthworm Jim 3D Interplay October 1999
ECW Hardcore Revolution Acclaim February 2000
Eikou no Saint Andrews (Japan only)
Elmo’s Letter Adventure Newkidco November 1999
Elmo’s Number Parade Newkidco November 1999 (LABEL SAYS “Number JOURNEY” Not Parade”)
Eltale Monsters (Japan only)
Excitebike 64 Nintendo May 2000
Extreme-G 2 Acclaim November 1998
Extreme G Acclaim October 1997
editF
F1 Pole Position 64 Ubi Soft October 1997
F1 Racing Championship (Europe only)
F-1 World Grand Prix II
F-1 World Grand Prix Nintendo July 1998
Famista 64 (Japan only)
FIFA Soccer 64 EA Sports March 1997
FIFA 99 EA Sports December 1998
FIFA Road to World Cup 98 EA Sports December 1997
Fighters Destiny 2 South Peak Interactive June 2000
Fighter’s Destiny Ocean January 1998
Fighting Force 64 Eidos Interactive May 1999
Flying Dragon Natsume October 1998
Forsaken 64 Acclaim May 1998
Fox Sports College Hoops ’99 Fox Interactive November 1998
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 2 (Japan only)
F-Zero X Nintendo October 1998
editG
Ganbare Goemon: Mononoke Sugoroku (Japan only)
Ganbare Nippon! Olympic 2000 (Japan only)
Gauntlet Legends Midway September 1999
Getter Love!! (Japan only)
Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos Interactive October 1999
Gex 64: Enter the Gecko Midway August 1998
Glover Hasbro Interactive November 1998
Goemon’s Great Adventure Konami September 1999
Golden Nugget 64 Virgin Interactive December 1998
GoldenEye 007 Nintendo August 1997
GT 64: Championship Edition Ocean November 1998
Gun Turret Legend (Japan only)
Hamster Monogatari 64 (Japan only)
Haruka Naru Augusta Masters ’98 (Japan only)
Harvest Moon 64 Natsume December 1999
Heiwa Pachinko World 64 (Japan only)
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Titus November 2000
Hexen GT Interactive June 1997
Hey You, Pikachu! Nintendo November 2000
Hiryu No Ken Twin (Japan only)
Hot Wheels Turbo Racing EA Sports September 1999
Human Grand Prix: New Generation (Japan only)
Hybrid Heaven Konami August 1999
Hydro Thunder Midway March 2000
Ide Yosuke no Mahjong Juku (Japan only)
Iggy’s Reckin’ Balls Acclaim August 1998
In Fisherman Bass Hunter 64 Take 2 Interactive July 1999 (Label just says “Bass Hunter 64”)
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Lucas Arts December 2000
Indy Racing 2000 Infogrames June 2000
International Superstar Soccer 2000
International Superstar Soccer 64 Konami July 1997
International Superstar Soccer ’98 Konami August 1998
International Track & Field 2000
Itoi Shigesato no Bus Tsuri No. 1Ketteihan! (Japan only)
Jeopardy! Gametek March 1998
Jeremy McGrath Super Cross 2000 Acclaim February 2000
Jet Force Gemini Nintendo October 1999
Jikkyou GI Stable (Japan only)
Jikkyou J-League 1999 Perfect Striker 2 (Japan only)
Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker (Japan only)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2000 (Japan only)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 4 (Japan only)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 5 (Japan only)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 6 (Japan only)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Basic-hen 2001 (Japan only)
Jikkyou World Soccer 3 (Japan only)
Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France ’98 (Japan only)
Jinsei Game 64 (Japan only)
J-League Dynamite Soccer 64 (Japan only)
J-League Eleven Beat (Japan only)
J-League Live 64 (Japan only)
J-League Tactics Soccer (Japan only)
Kakutou Denshou: F-Cup Maniax (Japan only)
Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest Nintendo May 1999
Killer Instinct Gold Nintendo November 1996
Kira to Kaiketsu! 64 Tanteidan (Japan only)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Nintendo June 2000
Knife Edge: Nose Gunner Kemco November 1998
Knockout Kings 2000 EA Sports October 1999
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside 2 Nintendo November 1999
Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside Nintendo April 1998
editL
Last Legion UX (Japan only)
LEGO Racers LEGO Media October 1999
Lode Runner 3-D Infogrames March 1999
Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers Starring Daffy Duck Infogrames September 2000
Looney Tunes: Space Race
Mace: The Dark Age Midway October 1997
Madden 64 EA Sports October 1997
Madden NFL 2000 EA Sports August 1999
Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports September 2000
Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports September 2001
Madden NFL 99 EA Sports September 1998
Magical Tetris Challenge Capcom January 1999
Mahjong 64 (Japan only)
Mahjong Hourouki Classic (Japan only)
Mahjong Master (Japan only)
Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey, Jr. Nintendo May 1998
Major League Soccer
Mario Golf Nintendo July 1999 (Released as Mario Golf 64 in Japan)
Mario Kart 64 Nintendo February 1997
Mario no Photopi (Japan only)
Mario Party 2 Nintendo January 2000
Mario Party 3 Nintendo May 2001
Mario Party Nintendo February 1999
Mario Tennis Nintendo August 2000
Mega Man 64 Capcom February 2001
Mia Hamm Soccer 64 South Peak Interactive November 2000
Mickey’s Speedway USA Nintendo November 2000
Micro Machines 64 Turbo Midway March 1999
Midway’s Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 1 Midway November 2000
Mike Piazza’s Strike Zone GT Interactive June 1998
Milo’s Astro Lanes Crave Entertainment November 1998
Mischief Makers Nintendo September 1997
Mission: Impossible Ocean July 1998
MLBPA Bottom of the 9th Konami April 1999
Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft September 1999
Monopoly Hasbro Interactive December 1999
Monster Truck Madness 64 Take 2 Interactive July 1999
Morita Shogi 64 (Japan only)
Mortal Kombat 4 Midway June 1998
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero Midway December 1997
Mortal Kombat Trilogy Midway November 1996
Mother 3 (Japan only)
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness Namco November 2000
Multi Racing Championship Ocean August 1997
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon Konami April 1998
Nagano Winter Olympics ’98 Konami January 1998
Namco Museum 64 Namco November 1999
NASCAR 2000 EA Sports September 1999
Nascar ’99 EA Sports September 1998
NBA Courtside 2 Featuring Kobe Bryant Nintendo November 1999
NBA Hang Time Midway January 1997
NBA In The Zone 2000 Konami February 2000
NBA In The Zone 98 Konami February 1998
NBA In the Zone 99 Konami April 1999
NBA Jam 2000 Acclaim November 1999
NBA Jam ’99 Acclaim December 1998
NBA Live 2000 EA Sports November 1999
NBA Live 99 EA Sports November 1998
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC Midway November 1999
Neon Genesis Evangelion 64
New Japan Pro Wrestling: Toukon Retsuden – Brave Spirits (Japan only)
New Japan Pro Wrestling: Toukon Road 2 – The Next Generation
NFL Blitz 2000 Midway August 1999
NFL Blitz 2001 Midway September 2000
NFL Blitz Special Edition
NFL Blitz Midway September 1998
NFL QB Club 2001 Acclaim August 2000
NFL Quarterback Club 2000 Acclaim September 1999
NFL Quarterback Club 98 Acclaim October 1997
NFL Quarterback Club ’99 Acclaim November 1998
NHL ’99 EA Sports October 1998
NHL Blades of Steel 2000
NHL Blades of Steel ’98
NHL Blades of Steel 99 Konami March 1999
NHL Blades of Steel
NHL Breakaway 98 Acclaim February 1998
NHL Breakaway ’99 Acclaim December 1998
NHLPA and NHL Present Wayne Gretzky’s 3-D Hockey ’98, The Midway December 1997
NHLPA and NHL Present Wayne Gretzky’s 3-D Hockey, The Midway November 1996
Nightmare Creatures Activision November 1998
Nuclear Strike THQ December 1999
Nushi Tsuri 64: Shiokaze Ninotte (Japan only)
Nushi Tsuri 64 (Japan only)
editO
Off Road Challenge Midway June 1998
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber Atlus Software October 2000
Olympic Hockey Nagano 98 Midway February 1998
Onegai Monster (Japan only)
Oshitamaran Tarou Game Gallery (Japan only)
editP
Pachinko 365 Hi (Japan only)
Paper Mario Nintendo February 2001
Paperboy Mindscape October 1999
Parlor! Pro 64 (Japan only)
PD Ultraman Battle Collection (Japan only)
Penny Racers THQ February 1999
Perfect Dark Nintendo May 2000
PGA European Tour
PilotWings 64 Nintendo September 1996
Pokémon Puzzle League Nintendo September 2000
Pokémon Snap Nintendo July 1999
Pokémon Stadium 2 (USA)/Pokémon Stadium 3 (Japan) Nintendo March 2001
Pokémon Stadium (USA)/Pokémon Stadium 2 (Japan) Nintendo March 2000
Pokémon Stadium (Japan)
Polaris Snocross Vatical Entertainment December 2000
Power League (Japan only)
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue THQ October 2000
Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-traction Bay Area Mutimedia November 2001
Premier Manager 64 (Europe only)
Pro Mahjong Kiwame 64 (Japan only)
Pro Mahjong Tsuwamono 64 (Japan only)
Puyo Puyo Sun 64 (Japan only)
Puyo Puyo~n Party (Japan only)
Puzzle Bobble 64 (Japan only)
Quake Midway March 1998
Quake II Activision June 1999
Quest 64 THQ June 1998
Rainbow Six Red Storm November 1999
Rakuga Kids (Europe, Japan)
Rally ’99 (Japan only)
Rally Challenge 2000 South Peak Interactive June 2000
Rampage 2: Universal Tour Midway March 1999
Rampage World Tour Midway March 1998
Rat Attack Mindscape March 2000
Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubi Soft November 1999
Razor Freestyle Scooter
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Midway November 2000
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Midway November 1999
Resident Evil 2 Capcom November 1999
Re-Volt Acclaim August 1999
Ridge Racer 64 Nintendo February 2000
Road Rash 64 EA Sports September 1999
Roadsters Trophy Titus December 1999
Robopon 64: Robot Ponkotto 64 (Japan only)
Robotron 64 Crave Entertainment January 1998
Rocket: Robot on Wheels Ubi Soft November 1999
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie THQ November 2000
Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt THQ June 1999
Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA Midway November 1998
Saikyou Haniu Shogi (Japan only)
San Francisco Rush 2049 Midway September 2000
San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing Midway November 1997
S.C.A.R.S. Ubi Soft December 1998
Scooby Doo: Classic Creep Capers THQ December 2000
SD Hiryu no Ken Densetsu (Japan only)
Shadow Man Acclaim August 1999
Shadowgate 64: Trial of the Four Towers Kemco June 1999
Shigesato Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing: Definitive Edition (Japan only)
Shinme! Taisen Pazurudama: Toukon Marutama Machi (Japan only)
SimCity 2000
Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Earth (??? tsumi to batsu) (Japan only)
Snow Speeder (Japan only)
Snowboard Kids 2 Atlus Software March 1999
Snowboard Kids Atlus Software February 1998
South Park Rally Acclaim February 2000
South Park: Chef’s Luv ShackAcclaim December 1999
South Park Acclaim December 1998
Space Invaders (N64) Activision December 1999
Space Station Silicon Valley Take 2 Interactive October 1998
Spider-Man Activision November 2000
Star Fox 64 Nintendo June 1997
Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth Electro Brain December 1998
Star Wars: Episode I Battle for Naboo Lucas Arts December 2000
Star Wars: Episode I Racer Nintendo May 1999
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Nintendo December 1998
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Nintendo December 1996
Starcraft 64 Nintendo June 2000
Starshot: Space Circus Fever Ocean June 1999
Stunt Racer 64
Super B-Daman Battle Phoenix 64 (Japan only)
Super Bowling UFO February 2001
Super Mario 64 Nintendo September 1996
Super Robot Spirits (Japan only)
Super Robot Taisen 64
Super Smash Bros. Nintendo April 1999
Super Speed Racer 64 (Japan only)
Supercross 2000 EA Sports December 1999
Superman 64 Titus May 1999
Suzumegou Simulation Mahjong Michi 64 (Japan only)
Sydney 2000 (Europe only)
Taz Express (Europe only)
Tetris 64 (Japan only)
Tetrisphere Nintendo August 1997
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask Nintendo October 2000
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Nintendo November 1998
The New Tetris Nintendo July 1999
The World Is Not Enough Electronic Arts October 2000
Tom & Jerry: Fists of Furry NewKidCo December 2000
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Red Storm November 1999
Tonic Trouble Ubi Soft September 1999
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Activision August 2001
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 Activision August 2002
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Activision March 2000
Top Gear Hyper Bike Kemco March 2000
Top Gear Overdrive Kemco November 1998
Top Gear Rally 2 EA Sports December 1999
Top Gear Rally Midway October 1997
Tranformers Beast Wars: Transmetals Bay Area Multimedia November 2000
Triple Play 2000 EA Sports March 1999
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil Acclaim December 1998
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Acclaim August 2000
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Acclaim February 1997
Turok: Rage Wars Acclaim November 1999
Twisted Edge Snowboarding Midway November 1998
Uchhannanchan no Honoo no Challenge: Denryuu IraIra Bou (Japan only)
Vigilante 8: Second Offense Activision February 2000
Vigilante 8 Activision March 1999
Virtual Chess 64 Titus June 1998
Virtual Pool 64 Crave Entertainment November 1998
Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Oudou Keishou
Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 (Japan only)
V-Rally Edition 99 Infogrames September 1999
Waialae Country Club: True Golf Classics Nintendo July 1998
War Gods Midway May 1997
Wave Race 64 Kawasaki Jet Ski Nintendo November 1996
WCW Backstage Assault Electronic Arts December 2000
WCW Mayhem Electronic Arts September 1999
WCW Nitro THQ February 1999
WCW vs. nWo: World Tour THQ November 1997
WCW/nWo Revenge THQ October 1998
Wetrix Ocean June 1998
Wheel of Fortune Gametek December 1997
Wild Choppers (Japan only)
WinBack Koei October 1999
Wipeout 64 Psygnosis November 1998
Wonder Project J2 (Japan only)
World Cup 98 EA Sports May 1998
World Driver Championship Midway June 1999
Worms Armageddon Infogrames March 2000
WWF No Mercy THQ November 2000
WWF Wrestlemania 2000 THQ November 1999
WWF Attitude Acclaim August 1999
WWF War Zone Acclaim August 1998
Xena Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate Titus December 1999
X-Men: Mutant Academy
Yakouchuu 2: Satsujin Kouru (Japan only)
Yoshi’s Story Nintendo March 1998
Yuke Yuke! Trouble Makers (Japan only. Sold in the US as Mischief Makers)
editZ
Zulu (Japan only)