Nintendo 64 is a home video game console developed by Nintendo.
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31 Facts About Nintendo 64
2.
The Nintendo 64 was discontinued in 2002 following the 2001 launch of its successor, the GameCube.
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3.
The Nintendo 64 was critically acclaimed and remains one of the most recognized video game consoles.
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4.
Nintendo 64 sought to enhance the SNES's capabilities by outsourcing existing media companies as licensed developers for a proposed SNES CD-ROM peripheral.
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5.
Nintendo 64 created a design proposal for a video game system, seeking an established partner in that market.
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6.
On June 23, 1994, Nintendo 64 announced the new official name of the still unfinished console as "Ultra 64".
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8.
Nintendo 64 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.
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9.
The new global name "Nintendo 64" was proposed by Earthbound series developer Shigesato Itoi.
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10.
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".
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11.
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.
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12.
Electronic Gaming Monthly editor Ed Semrad even suggested that Nintendo 64 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.
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13.
Nintendo 64 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.
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14.
The Nintendo 64 was first sold in North America on September 26, 1996, though having been advertised for the 29th.
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15.
Nintendo 64 priced the console as an impulse purchase, a strategy from the toy industry.
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16.
In terms of its random-access memory, the Nintendo 64 was one of the first consoles to implement a unified memory subsystem, instead of having separate banks of memory for CPU, audio, and video operations.
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17.
Controller of the Nintendo 64 is designed in an "M" shape and features 10 buttons, one analog control stick and a directional pad.
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18.
Nintendo 64 is one of the first gaming consoles to have four controller ports.
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19.
Nintendo 64 cited the fact that cartridges are more difficult to pirate than CDs, thus resisting copyright infringement, albeit at the expense of lowered profit margin for Nintendo 64.
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20.
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.
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21.
Some who remained released fewer games to the Nintendo 64; Konami released fifty PlayStation games, but only twenty nine for the Nintendo 64.
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22.
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.
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23.
The standard Nintendo 64 is dark gray, nearly black, and the controller is light gray.
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24.
Nintendo 64 initially stated that regional lock-out chips would be the chief distinction to localize games.
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25.
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.
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26.
Several Nintendo 64 games have been released for the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console services and are playable with the Classic Controller, GameCube controller, Wii U Pro Controller, or Wii U GamePad.
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28.
Nintendo 64 released a peripheral platform called 64DD, where "DD" stands for "Disk Drive".
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29.
Time credited the Nintendo 64 with revitalizing the video game market, "rescuing this industry from the dustbin of entertainment history".
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30.
The magazine said celebrities Matthew Perry, Steven Spielberg, and Chicago Bulls players called Nintendo 64 to ask for special treatment to get their hands on the console.
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31.
Nintendo 64 remains one of the most recognized video game systems in history, and the games it spawned have had an indelible impact on the games industry; in particular, the console spawned numerous new franchises as well as establishing a thriving speed running community that persists to this day.
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