 | |
 Console withHarvest Moon 64 | |
| Also known as | N64 (abbreviation) Project Reality (code name) Ultra 64 (planned product name) |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo IRD |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Fifth generation |
| Release date | |
| Lifespan | 1996 (1996)–2003 (2003) |
| Discontinued | |
| Units sold | Worldwide: 31.93 million Japan: 5.54 million Americas: 19.63 million Europe & Australia: 6.75 million |
| Media | Nintendo 64 Game Pak Magnetic disk (64DD) |
| CPU | 64-bitNECVR4300 @ 93.75 MHz |
| Memory | 4 MB Rambus RDRAM (8 MB with Expansion Pak) |
| Storage | 64 MBGame Pak |
| Removable storage | 256 Kbit (32 KB)Controller Pak |
| Graphics | SGIRCP @ 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)[3] |
| Backward compatibility | No Compatibility |
| Predecessor | Super Nintendo Entertainment System |
| Successor | Nintendo GameCube |
| Related articles | Nintendo 64 technical specifications,64DD,Game Pak,Rumble Pak,games,accessories,color variants,programming characteristics |
| Website | www |
TheNintendo 64 (commonly abbreviatedN64) is ahome video game console released byNintendo. It was first released inJapan in June 1996 and was meant to compete against theSonyPlayStation and theSega Saturn. It was named after its64-bit CPU, one of the first in a consumer product. The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo's first console made for3D graphics. It usesplasticcartridges instead ofCDs or disks, making load times faster. Because of this, the games costed more to make than games for other systems during that time. The controller for the Nintendo 64 was shaped like an "M" and had 10 buttons and ajoystick. Out of the box, the Nintendo 64 had 4 MB ofRAM, and it could be upgraded to 8 MB with the expansion pak.
Nintendo released theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System (also known as the SNES) in Japan in 1990, and in North America in 1991. It was a 16-bit console. Most games it played were 2D, and any 3D games it played were not true 3D. Two years later, in 1993,Atari released a system called theJaguar. It was a 64-bit console, and its marketing made the systems from Nintendo and Sega look outdated. To make matters worse,Sony was working on a new 3D video game system to launch in 1994 that would be known as thePlayStation. By the mid 1990s, Nintendo knew it was time to move on and create their own 64-bit system. Its name in development was calledProject Reality.[4] The Nintendo 64 released in Japan in June 1996, in North America in September 1996, and in Europe in March 1997.
Because making games for the Nintendo 64 was more expensive than making games for the PlayStation, many video game companies chose to develop only for the PlayStation. Nintendo also did not like games that had a lot ofblood orviolence in them. Most companies who made these kinds of games made them for the PlayStation instead. Nintendo ended up losing their first place spot in the video game market andSony beat them because of these two things. Additionally,Sony was inspired by the N64 joystick design to make theirDualShock PlayStation controller. The production of the Nintendo 64 ended in Japan in 2002 and in 2003 worldwide, as Nintendo began to move their focus to theGameCube system.
In 2015,IGN named the Nintendo 64 the ninth-greatest video game console of all time.[5] Many great games were released on the system, with many video game series first appearing on the N64. These series includedSuper Smash Bros.,Paper Mario, andMario Party. It also had the first mario game in 3D, which wasSuper Mario 64.
5.54 million Nintendo 64 units were sold inJapan, 20.63 million in theAmericas, and 6.75 million in other regions, a total of 32.93 million units.[6]
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