Nintendo 64

"Get N or Get Out!

Change the System!

"Nintendo Sixty-FOUUUUURRR!!! OH MY GOD!""

Nintendo didn't drag their feet with the system this time, and released the Nintendo 64 to compete with the struggling Sega Saturn and the newbie Play Station.

The N64 was a big hit in its early life, but it lost many key franchises because of Nintendo's reluctance to use CDs after the fiasco with Sony and Phillips on the CD add-on for the SNES (as well as Nintendo's general ham-handedness regarding third parties during the SNES period). One of these franchises was Final Fantasy, as Squaresoft (now Square Enix) took Final Fantasy VII to the PlayStation -- which offered more storage space and less censorship for games -- and watched it become the system's Killer App. Nintendo never recovered from the lack of third-party support, and it relied on Rare to help define the system. The N64 also began Nintendo's focus on local multiplayer party games.

Nintendo's adherence to bulky, expensive cartridges instead of the far-cheaper-to-produce CD-ROM format appears to have been in part to be a fear of piracy (Nintendo's early experiment with floppy disks, the Famicom Disk System, resulted in rampant piracy). The company's fear hurt everyone else: not only did multi-platform developers have to chop out features and add fogging so a game would fit on an N64 cartridge (as well as map controls to the system's unique controller), but the consumer typically paid at least $10 more than Saturn, Playstation, and Dreamcast titles.

Processors

 * The CPU, a MIPS R4300i (the 64-bit version of the R3000 in the Play Station) runs at 93.75 MHz and has an internal 64-bit word size, but it also has a 32-bit mode. This was mainly used by the games because A) the bus is only 32 bits, B) the 64-bit mode uses twice as much memory and bandwidth, and C) until high definition graphics, anything more than 32 bits was actually redundant for 3D graphics. So, in other words, the "64" in the name was mostly for marketing, even if the processor actually was technically capable of running 64-bit code.
 * Besides, like most systems so far, the graphics are mainly handled by the GPU, called the "Reality Co-Processor". It runs at 62.5 MHz.
 * It has a Vector Unit built into, to handle special programming, called "Microcodes".
 * These offered even more system control than vector units today, but (perhaps) fears of abuse kept Nintendo from directly sharing their codes with developers. Some had to make their own, and they often made superior codes than Nintendo's anyway. Factor 5 was such a developer.
 * The GPU can also process sound, but it took away processing power for other stuff like lighting effects, or system bottlenecks kept getting in the way.

Memory

 * Memory is where the N64 runs into trouble. Just about everything about the system's memory tends to have some limitation on performance, called a "Bottleneck".
 * There are 4 MB of RAM, which is "unified". The system can use any amount it wants for main, video, and audio. Unfortunately, Nintendo chose Rambus DRAM for the system. It has a high clock speed and well over twice the bandwidth of the Play Station memory, but the latency is so slow those advantages are negated.
 * Ironically, RDRAM is great for playing FMV, and the one game that used those (a port of Resident Evil 2) showed them pretty well despite the heavy compression.
 * The CPU also doesn't have direct access to the memory. Not that the bus went through the GPU, as a lot of systems do that, but those systems use dynamic memory access to allow smooth access through processors, and the N64 doesn't allow the CPU to do that.
 * Just as bad, the system can hold as many textures as it needs in the RAM, but the buffer for textures to pass though during rendering is just 4 KB. Not only did that mean no single texture could be larger than that, if they were all that large, they would have to go through one at a time. Combined with the slow latency of the RAM, and this would slow the system to molasses of there wasn't some sort of compromise.
 * Nintendo's method was to use textures only for objects that were the least animated, which included backgrounds. Anything more complex, like the player character, was instead detailed by gouraud shading, which is basically filling in a single color over one or more polygons. Link in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a good example — aside from possibly his face, he's not detailed by textures at all. This does lose some detail up close, but it allows complex animations without having to go through the texture buffer.
 * Another solution was to limit the polygon count in order to have complex textures over every object, for example GoldenEye — the textures are over almost every object, but the draw distance suffers and characters look goofy up close.
 * The best method took a few years to develop. It was to program the textures to steadily stream through the buffer. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, but developers like Rare and Factor 5 got the most advanced graphics from the N64 through this method.
 * The frame buffer had a problem in that the default Z-buffering, which told the system which texel is supposed to be in front of the other, would slow down the fill rate, which is how fast the frame buffer can draw the graphics on the screen. Custom z-buffering through the microcodes did get around this.
 * The N64 had an optional cart that could be swapped for the Expansion Pak, which added an extra 4 megabytes of RDRAM in addition to the internally included 4MB. Unfortunately, since this was still the Rambus DRAM it still had the tiny texture buffer. So it could have increased texture detail, but not by much. Its main use was increasing the screen resolution and draw distance. It also tended to cause framerate issues with game not made for it, so the old RAM pack had to be swapped back in.
 * Once through all that, the 64 MB maximum cart size doesn't look so bad. But this was only available late into the console's life. Yet the system was capable of compression like the Genesis and SNES. It was simply that the carts cost too much, so developers had to put up with compressing textures and limited the amount of texture variety used in smaller cartridge sizes.

Graphics

 * Although the system would have poorer performance if not coded properly, it did have a few features built in, that worked no matter the coding.
 * It was the first major home console to have anti-aliasing.
 * It was also the first to have tri-linear filtering, which removes the blocky look of textures.
 * The system can actually push 500,000 polygons in real time, five times what the Playstation and Saturn can do...yet that required a code that was never released before the system was discontinued. Some codes could still push the system up to 180,000 polygons, but only one or two games went that far. Most N64 games just pushed 100,000 polygons or slightly lower.
 * In addition to the above effects, the N64 did have probably the best effects of the 5th generation, including real-time lighting in a few games.

Add-Ons and Expansions

 * Aside from the aforementioned memory expansion module, Nintendo and other companies released several other expansion modules that could be plugged straight into the system's controller.
 * The Controller Pak (a removable storage medium which could be used to save in-game progress).
 * The Rumble Pak (which, packaged with Star Fox 64, made the N64 the first home system on the market to support force feedback, a feature which Sony would eventually incorporate into their own Dual Shock controllers).
 * The Transfer Pak (let players plug in their Game Boy cartridges for gameplay benefits, such as being able to use Pokémon caught in the Game Boy titles in Pokémon Stadium).
 * The Bio Sensor (made by SETA, for use with Tetris 64's Bio Tetris mode, where the pace of the game increases to the beat of your heart).
 * The Mouse, bundled with Mario Artist: Paint Studio, usable with the entire Mario Artist series and Starcraft I 64.
 * The 64DD, a disk drive that could be attached to an N64, allowed players to play games off of larger magnetic disks, access the RANDnet service and also increased the system's memory capacity. The add-on was a commercial failure, and never made it to the West.
 * The Modem Cartridge, The Phone Cable and The RANDnet Browser Disc, used for browsing the internet.
 * The Keyboard, usable only with the RANDnet software, for browsing the net and typing messages.
 * The Capture Cartridge and The Microphone, they were bundled with Mario Artist: Talent Studio and used as input method for pictures, video and audio.

Games and Series:

 * 1080° Snowboarding
 * 64 Hanafuda: Promise of an Angel
 * 64 Professional Sumo Wrestling
 * 64 Professional Sumo Wrestling 2
 * 64 Trump Collection - Alice's Exciting Trip to Trump World
 * Aidyn Chronicles (Last game released in Brazil)
 * Air Boarder 64
 * Animal Crossing
 * Army Men: Sarge's Heroes
 * Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2
 * Army Men: Air Combat
 * Asteroids Hyper 64
 * Automobili Lamborghini (Super Speed Race 64 in Japan)
 * Bakushō Jinsei 64: Mezase! Resort Ō
 * Banjo-Kazooie
 * Banjo-Tooie
 * Bass Hunter 64
 * Batman Beyond Return of the Joker
 * Battle Tanx
 * BattleTanx: Global Assault
 * Battlezone 1998: Rise of the Black Dogs'
 * Beetle Adventure Racing (HSV Adventure Racing in Australia, As Aventuras do Fusca in Brazil)
 * Blast Corps
 * Body Harvest
 * Bomberman 64 (Explosive Bomberman in Japan)
 * Bomberman Hero
 * Bomberman 64: The Second Attack
 * Bomberman 64 (Last game released in Japan)
 * Buck Bumble
 * Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition
 * Bust-A-Move 3 DX (Puzzle Bobble 64 in Japan, Bust-A-Move '99 in America)
 * Carmageddon 64
 * Castlevania 64
 * Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
 * Chameleon Twist
 * Chameleon Twist 2
 * Choro Q 64 (Penny Racers outside Japan)
 * Choro Q 64 2: Hachamecha Grand Prix Race
 * Clay Fighter 63⅓
 * Clay Fighter: Sculptor's Cut
 * Command and Conquer
 * Conkers Bad Fur Day
 * Custom Robo
 * Custom Robo V2
 * Daikatana
 * Dance Dance Revolution Disney Dancing Museum
 * Dark Rift
 * Densha De Go! 64
 * Derby Stallion 64
 * Destruction Derby 64
 * Diddy Kong Racing
 * Disney's Tarzan
 * Donkey Kong 64
 * Doom 64
 * Dr. Mario 64
 * Duke Nukem 64
 * Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
 * Earthworm Jim 3D
 * Excitebike 64
 * Explosive Invincible Bangaioh
 * Extreme-G
 * Extreme-G 2
 * Extreme Pro Mahjong
 * F-1 World Grand Prix
 * F-1 World Grand Prix II
 * F-Zero X
 * F1 Pole Position 64 (Human Grand Prix: The New Generation in Japan)
 * Famista 64
 * FIFA Soccer 64
 * FIFA: Road to World Cup 98
 * FIFA 99
 * Fighting Force 64
 * Forsaken 64
 * Game of Life 64
 * Gauntlet Legends
 * Gex 64: Enter the Gecko
 * Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
 * Glover
 * Golden Nugget 64
 * GoldenEye 007
 * The World Is Not Enough
 * GT 64: Championship Edition (City Tour Grandprix: Zen Nihon GT Senshuken in Japan)
 * Hamster Story 64
 * Harvest Moon 64
 * Heiwa Pachinko World 64
 * Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
 * Hexen
 * Hey You Pikachu
 * Hot Wheels Turbo Racing
 * Hybrid Heaven
 * Hydro Thunder
 * Ide Yōsuke no Mahjong Juku
 * Iggy's Reckin' Balls (Iggy Kun no Bura 2 Poyon in Japan)
 * Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine
 * Indy Racing 2000
 * International Superstar Soccer 64 (Jikkyou J-League Perfect Striker/Jikkyou World Soccer 3 in Japan)
 * International Superstar Soccer 98 (Jikkyou World Soccer: World Cup France 1998 in Japan)
 * International Superstar Soccer 2000 (Jikkyou J-League 1999 Perfect Striker 2 in Japan)
 * International Track and Field 2000
 * J. League Live 64
 * J-League Dynamite Soccer 64
 * J-League Eleven Beat 1997
 * J-League Tactics Soccer
 * Jangō Simulation Mahjong-dō 64
 * Series/Jeopardy
 * Jeremy Mc Grath Supercross 2000
 * Jet Force Gemini
 * Killer Instinct Gold
 * Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
 * The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
 * LEGO Racers
 * Live Powerful Pro Baseball 4
 * Live Powerful Pro Baseball 5
 * Live Powerful Pro Baseball 6
 * Live Powerful Pro Baseball 2000
 * Live Powerful Pro Baseball Basic-ban 2001
 * Lode Runner 3-D
 * Mace the Dark Age
 * Madden Football 64
 * Madden NFL 99
 * Madden NFL 2000
 * Madden NFL 2001
 * Madden NFL 2002
 * Mahjong 64
 * Mario Kart 64
 * Mario no Photopi
 * Mario Party
 * Mario Party 2
 * Mario Party 3 (Last game released in Europe)
 * Mario Golf (Mario Golf 64 in Japan)
 * Mario Tennis
 * Master of Fishing 64
 * Master of Fishing 64: The Sea Ride
 * Mega Man Legends 64
 * Mia Hamm 64 Soccer (Michael Owen's World League Soccer 2000 in The United Kingdom, RTL World League Soccer 2000 in Germany, Telefoot Soccer 2000 in France)
 * Mickey's Speedway USA
 * Micro Machines 64 Turbo
 * Mischief Makers
 * Monopoly
 * Morita Shogi 64 (The cartridges have a built-in RJ-42 Modem Connection port with which you were able to connect to now dead servers to play against other gamers all around Japan)
 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy
 * Mortal Kombat Mythologies Sub Zero
 * Mortal Kombat 4
 * Monster Truck Madness 64
 * Morita Shogi 64
 * Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness
 * Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
 * Goemon's Great Adventure
 * Goemon Sugoroku of Mononoke
 * Namco Museum 64
 * NBA Jam '99
 * NBA Jam 2000
 * Neon Genesis Evangelion (The first - and, to date, one of the only - Evangelion-licensed games to actually allow players to control the titular mechas, known for pushing the limits of the Nintendo 64's hardware)
 * The New Superman Aventures (also known as Superman and Superman 64, often considered one of the worst games of all time)
 * NHL 99
 * Nightmare Creatures
 * Nintama Rantarou 64 Game Gallery
 * Nuclear Strike 64
 * OgreBattle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber
 * Parlor! Pro 64: Pachinko Jikki Simulation
 * Paperboy 64
 * Paper Mario
 * PD Ultraman Battle Collection 64
 * Perfect Dark
 * Pilotwings 64
 * Pokémon Puzzle League
 * Pokémon Snap
 * Pokémon Stadium
 * Pokémon Stadium 2 (Pokémon Stadium outside Japan)
 * Pokémon Stadium 3 (Pokémon Stadium 2 outside Japan)
 * Power League 64
 * Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
 * Premier Manager 64
 * Pro Shinan Mahjong Tsuwamono 64: Jansō Battle ni Chōsen
 * Puyo Puyo Sun 64
 * Puyo Puyo~n Party
 * Quake 64
 * Quake II (notable in that several changes were made from the PC original)
 * Quest 64 (Eltale Monsters in Japan, Holy Magic Century in PAL Territories)
 * Rampage World Tour
 * Rampage 2: Universal Tour
 * Rayman 2: The Great Escape
 * Resident Evil 2
 * Ridge Racer 64
 * Road Rash 64
 * Robot Ponkottsu 64: Caramel of the Seven Seas
 * Robotron 2084 64
 * Rocket Robot On Wheels
 * San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing
 * San Francisco Rush 2049
 * Shadow Man (Multi-platform but closely associated with the N64, where its mature themes stood out more and was one of two games officially translated to Brazilian Portuguese)
 * Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers
 * Shigesato Itoi's No. 1 Bass Fishing
 * Shining And Solving! 64 Detective Club
 * Sim City 2000
 * Sin and Punishment
 * Snowboard Kids (Snobow Kids in Japan)
 * Snowboard Kids 2 (Super Snobow Kids in Japan)
 * South Park (Multi-platform, was one of two games officially translated to Brazilian Portuguese)
 * South Park: Chef's Luv Shack
 * South Park Rally
 * Spider-Man
 * Space Invaders
 * Space Station Silicon Valley
 * Starcraft I 64
 * Star Fox 64 (known as Lylat Wars in Europe and Australia)
 * Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth
 * Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo
 * Star Wars Episode I: Racer
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
 * Strongest Habu Shogi
 * Stunt Racer 64
 * Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64
 * Super Mario 64 (Renowned, along with the subsequent Ocarina of Time, for being the title to revolutionize 3D gameplay with features such as a fully-rotatable camera and analog-controlled movement)
 * Super Robot Spirits
 * Super Robot Wars 64
 * Super Smash Bros.
 * Tamagotchi 64: Minna de Tamagotchi World
 * Tetrisphere
 * Tetris 64
 * The New Tetris
 * Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
 * Tonic Trouble
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (Last game released in North America)
 * Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
 * Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
 * Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
 * Turok: Rage Wars
 * Twisted Edge Extreme Snowboarding (King Hill 64: Extreme Snowboarding in Japan)
 * Vigilante 8
 * Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
 * Virtual Chess 64
 * Virtual Pool 64
 * Virtual Pro Wrestling 64
 * Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Ōdō Keishō
 * WWF Wrestlemania 2000
 * WWF No Mercy
 * Wave Race 64
 * Wipeout 64
 * Wonder Project J2: Josette of the Corlo Forest
 * World Driver Championship
 * Worms Armageddon
 * Yoshis Story

64DD Games:

 * Doshin the Giant
 * Doshin the Giant: Rescue from the Front by the Toddlers that Tinkle at the Large Meeting Hall
 * F-Zero X Expansion Kit
 * Japan Pro Golf Tour 64
 * Mario Artist
 * Communication Kit
 * Paint Studio
 * Polygon Studio
 * Talent Studio
 * Sim City 64

Tropes:

 * Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition:
 * The console had a "Limited Edition" only for sale in Daiei Hawks stores in Japan with a transparent orange top and a transparent black bottom. The controller with a transparent orange top and a black bottom that came with the console was also sold separately.
 * The console had a "Jusco 30th Anniversary Edition" only for sale in Jusco stores in Japan to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Jusco chain of stores with a transparent light gray top and a transparent white bottom. The controller with a transparent light gray top and a transparent white bottom that came with the console was also sold separately.
 * The controller with a black top and a gray bottom had two variants
 * One sold only in Hello Mac stores in Japan with a lion emblem on top.
 * One sold only in Toys Я Us stores in Japan with a Geoffrey the Giraffe emblem on top.
 * 64 Professional Sumo Wrestling came with a Controller Pak.
 * Choro Q 64 came with an assemblable toy car.
 * Disney's Tarzan came with a Tarzan figurine.
 * Densha de Go! 64 has a "Driver Pack"that came with a Voice Recognition Unit microphone.
 * Extreme-G has a "Special Edition" in Germany that came with a music CD.
 * Gauntlet Legends came with a Warrior miniature.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
 * It has a "Collector's Edition" in America and Australia that came with a Gold Cartridge.
 * It has a "Limited Edition" in Germany that came with a Strategy Guide and a shirt (possibly unlicensed).
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
 * It has a "Collector’s Edition" in America that came with a cartridge that had a holografic label.
 * It has a "Limited Edition Adventure Set" in Europe limited to 1000 pieces that came with a shirt, a watch, a 2 CD soundtrack, a poster, a sticker and 2 pin badges.
 * The New Superman Aventures has a "Collector's Edition" that came with a tie-in comic book.
 * Pokémon Stadium has a "Battle Set" in Europe that came with a Nintendo 64 with a blue top with yellow Reset button, Power button, dust tray and bottom
 * Rampage 2: Universal Tour
 * It came with a Rampage Baby, one of three possible plush keychains of George, Lizzie, and Ralph.
 * It came with a shirt.
 * World Driver Championship came with a shirt.
 * Market Based Title:
 * Various games had this happen to them.
 * The Smoke Black and Grape Purple consoles were released in Japan as Clear Black and Midnight Blue.
 * The Atomic Purple controller was released in Australia as Clear Purple.
 * Tonka Tough: Nintendo 64s are built like tanks, and are guaranteed to last you for decades. One TV show even tried to destroy one, and it took two whacks from a large mallet before any visible cracks appeared!
 * Averted, sadly, with the Nintendo 64 joystick. It was built in such a way that the plastic quickly wore itself down from the rotation, resulting in a stick with excessive center play. By contrast, it uses optical encoders instead of the potentiometers that later Nintendo controllers use, which are more durable and precise due to their contactless nature. Too bad the gimbal/pivot parts of the joystick can't hold up compared to the sensors.
 * Super Title 64 Advance: One of the Trope Namers.
 * Writing Around Trademarks: The iQue Player, a plug-and-play variant released in China. Its purpose was to run through the holes in China's anti-console policy, and it was also meant to curb piracy. It was a brilliant idea, but never released anywhere else, ironically.