Nintendo 64
5th Generation Console
Introduction
In 1995, Nintendo released their 64-bit game console called the Nintendo 64. This was a bit of a surprise for many reasons:
1) Nintendo never released a 32-bit game console that left many wondering if Nintendo was going the way of Atari and if they could come back with a new console.
2) Nintendo had also decided to stick to the cartridge format to reduce load times and because cartridges were less prone to piracy.
The second surprise had many doubting the end product as many game developers walked away from development fearing that the cartridge would not have sufficient storage to produce high quality 3D games.
While the console did produce some top selling titles, the cartridge format did prove limiting. There was little room for voiceovers, let alone full motion video. While these were significant issues, Nintendo had a deep selection of game series to pull from and enhance of the 64-bit platform.
As a result, the console sold over 30 million units before being discontinued.
Date Range: 1996 - 2002
Release Price: US$199
The Nintendo 64 was a significant improvement over the Super NES. Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 were released along with the console in Europe and North America while Japan's release also offered a third title: Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64.
Product Specs:
- 640 x 480 video
- 16bit stereo sound
- 93.75 Mhz processor
- 16.7 million colours
- 4MB RAM
- 4MB-64MB ROM
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