The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
The N64 has certainly had a rough ride since its birth; having being thrown straight into the battlefield with the PlayStation, and later on against the Sega Dreamcast, there’s no doubt that the console has had a tough job right until its eventual recent demise, with the last game coming out for the battle-worn console.
However, the old cliché of “it was good while it lasted” can be applied here, as it offered a plethora of top notch games oozing of gameplay and addictiveness; but as I find myself playing more and more on the PS2, even abandoning the PC in terms of games, and with the rest of my time allocated to keeping up with college work, it’s fair to say that the N64 tucked away in the drawer will remain there for quite some time. In addition, Nintendo’s new console is set to catch up and overtake Microsoft’s own Xbox pretty soon after its release on 3rd May, so I have therefore decided to write this moderately dull piece as a “tribute” to the curviest console I’ve ever bought.
The SNES was a fantastic console. Classics such as Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country all contributed to its long lasting status. Alas, technology was ever improving, and Nintendo released the N64 to great acclaim with instant classics such as Super Mario 64 firstly in Japan, and (much) later on the N64 made its way to the UK on the 1st March, 1997.
Having been released almost half a decade ago, I can’t remember the specs that made up the console; I vaguely remember that it had 4MB of initial graphics memory, but I only remember that because I purchased the Expansion Pak to play Perfect Dark.
Anyway, it’s the games that make a particular console a success or a flop, so the technical specification wasn’t realty important. What was important though was the price; and the console was released with the RRP of £249.99, with games retailing at £49.99.
Although the price of the console itself was respectable (remember this was five years ago - nowadays, just under £200 would be respectable - anything more would isolate sales to the fanatic, the power hungry and the rich), I (and probably thousands of other UK N64 owners) found the £50 price tag for each game a little too costly. Of course, way before the console release in Japan, it was decided that the cartridge format would still be used in place of the new CD format (it as new in terms of consoles, at least). There weren’t many reasons not to continue using it, after all - for example, would you use the tried and tested format that your company has been using since its breach into home entertainment gaming (and every other successful post 80’s consoles), or the format that your nearest competitor uses, but with a failure rate not in PlayStation’s favour? I’m sure that after the company directors saw the speedy falls of the CD-I, CD32 and the Saturn (please correct me if I’m wrong here - I don’t have much knowledge regarding consoles that were operating in my early life), it was obvious which direction they would choose.
Added to that Nintendo’s previous experience (and success) in using cartridges, their almost instant (and quiet) loading times and the ability to generate data onto the screen instantly, it seemed to Nintendo that they could do no wrong with the cartridges. And they should have been right.
Of course, there had to be drawbacks, besides the price of a cartridge, which would prevent Nintendo from leading both in terms of quality games and market share. The most significant one was the storage space included on a typical cartridge; although there has been a few that used the 512 Megabit size (equivalent to 64 Megabytes of space), including Resident Evil 2 and later on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, there was still a struggle that was ever present for developers throughout the N64’s life to squeeze their game content onto a typical 128Mb cartridge i.e.16MB, which was quite small even back then, especially when compared to the maximum 700MB that could be stored on a single compact disc using the PlayStation format.
Shigeru Miyamoto argued, however, that games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time was not possible using the CD format, as it would require a constant stream of data to be read and then stored into the N64’s memory, which was just not possible with the 4MB that came with the console, unless sacrifices such as extreme fogging and pop up were made. It was much better to use cartridges, as the data was already there to be used; just think of the cartridge as an extension to the console’s main memory - when required, it could be accessed instantly and shown on-screen right after, with none of the delay that was needed for the media to memory to screen process.
However, third party developers found it hard building games using the hardware, especially with the initial “Dream Team” approach adopted by Nintendo, which turned a blind eye to the lesser known developers and publishers, and therefore restricting dev kits only to “the elite”. This, along with the cons associated with the choice of media, I believe were the reasons to why the N64 wasn’t as successful as it should have been. Of course, it can be said that if Nintendo did employ CDs as the format instead of cartridges, classic games such as Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Banjo Tooie (to name a few) would not have been possible, as the limited memory would have severely restricted viewing distance. To take things further, the N64 would probably have been less successful than it actually was, because without these features that made quality games exclusive to the N64, it would not have sold anywhere near the actual quantity. Why? Well, take Ocarina of Time for example. It uses the successful Zelda franchise, and by creating a highly innovative and playable game with a well executed story (it’s still my favourite game of all time, beating Metal Gear Solid 2), it has turned out to be a console shifter - i.e. helping N64 sales improve over the Christmas period when the game was still fresh in stores. However, at the time console technology did not incorporate oodles of memory for the developer to exploit; all in-game graphics and other computer operations had to be efficiently produced in order for the game to work as well as it did, and graphics were pretty limited and had to be continually spooled from the media source. This was the advantage of the cartridge over the compact disc - where the latter would take a while before the graphics would fit into the console’s memory to be used in the game, the cartridge would fetch and discard the data direct from the cartridge extremely quickly, contributing to the fast (and silent) loading times.
The N64 controller was one that can be heralded as a revolution at its time; a fully analogue, mini joy-stick never before seen on a joypad was included made up the controller’s main new innovation. Other areas of the pad were: large A and B buttons that were perfect for your fingers when playing, the L and R buttons brought over from the SNES controller, the D-Pad, C buttons beside the A and B buttons for extra commands and other game movements (such as the in-game camera) and the Z trigger. These buttons were all placed in optimum gaming positions, and although it may look large compared to the PlaySation pad, it certainly was comfy. Although the stick was ever so slightly painful to use at times, especially after extended gaming sessions, it provided complete grip with the grooved circled on the top of the stick. However, the placement of the Z-trigger makes up for this, and in first person shooters such as Goldeneye, along with a Rumble Pak inserted in the slot in the controller, shooting was a pleasure in itself.
Later on, the Transfer Pak, which allowed data to be transferred (obviously, given the name) from a Game Boy cartridge to the games that supported such an accessory on the N64, sold quite well, and although it was known primarily for transferring gamers’ Pokemon collection from their version of the game to the Pokemon Stadium (and near the end, Pokemon Stadium 2) cart, giving those the pleasure of watching their nurtured creatures in full 3D, there were other (albeit small and minor) uses for it, such as unlocking hard to get cheats in Perfect Dark (this required the GBC of Perfect Dark to be plugged into the Transfer Pak, naturally). Hopefully, developers will use the announced connectivity between the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube much more effectively and creatively in the future, as this in itself is a unique selling point that Nintendo must (and are intending to) exploit.
Back to the history - despite a draught in the flow of games that appeared for the console, the N64 still managed to keep afloat, what with the already installed and loyal customer base, content for the time being at least. Then, when Zelda: Ocarina of Time appeared - and in my opinion, the best game ever - sales of the N64 increased at a rapid rate, and it had to be taken seriously by its competition.
However, even though the games drought that gamers experienced at the start of the console’s launch was now less of a problem, the quantity of games that were released was nothing compared to the level released for the PlayStation. Although I, and many, many others will still stick by the adage, “it’s the quality, and not the quantity, that counts”, the public In general seemed to disagree with this at the time, as the PS continued to outsell the N64.
Of course, it can be said that the range provided by the PlayStation library that grew over time accounted to more stereotypes (and I say that in the kindest possible way) being provided for in terms of games, therefore upping the sales of PS software and its console in general.
In spite of this, the N64 still refused to give up, and although by now a comparison of sales with the PS was like comparing a blockbuster movie to a cult one, Nintendo did exactly what a cult series would do - continue to provide its audience with the best service available (although this doesn’t really apply to N64 owners in the UK, with a countless number of release data delays, higher prices and a several games unable to make it to British shores). Late in its life, Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Banjo-Tooie, along with others, managed to entertain the N64 owner will hours of quality entertaining gameplay. And this was what the audience wanted.
In 2000, it was revealed that a new console was under development by Nintendo - and this new baby, later to be called the Gamecube, was released more than a year later in Japan on 14th September, 2001. Although sales were “quiet” compared to the Playstation2, the successor of the original PS, it could hardly be considered as disastrous (just look at the Xbox figures in Japan as proof); and with the lack of any killer apps such as a Mario or Zelda game at launch, sales were actually pretty good. The American launch a few weeks later was much better, rivalling Xbox sales (roughly) at its home turf. With the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in Japan soon after, which contributed to a rush in Gamecube sales, the future is definitely looking rosy for Nintendo.
However, the old cliché of “it was good while it lasted” can be applied here, as it offered a plethora of top notch games oozing of gameplay and addictiveness; but as I find myself playing more and more on the PS2, even abandoning the PC in terms of games, and with the rest of my time allocated to keeping up with college work, it’s fair to say that the N64 tucked away in the drawer will remain there for quite some time. In addition, Nintendo’s new console is set to catch up and overtake Microsoft’s own Xbox pretty soon after its release on 3rd May, so I have therefore decided to write this moderately dull piece as a “tribute” to the curviest console I’ve ever bought.
The SNES was a fantastic console. Classics such as Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country all contributed to its long lasting status. Alas, technology was ever improving, and Nintendo released the N64 to great acclaim with instant classics such as Super Mario 64 firstly in Japan, and (much) later on the N64 made its way to the UK on the 1st March, 1997.
Having been released almost half a decade ago, I can’t remember the specs that made up the console; I vaguely remember that it had 4MB of initial graphics memory, but I only remember that because I purchased the Expansion Pak to play Perfect Dark.
Anyway, it’s the games that make a particular console a success or a flop, so the technical specification wasn’t realty important. What was important though was the price; and the console was released with the RRP of £249.99, with games retailing at £49.99.
Although the price of the console itself was respectable (remember this was five years ago - nowadays, just under £200 would be respectable - anything more would isolate sales to the fanatic, the power hungry and the rich), I (and probably thousands of other UK N64 owners) found the £50 price tag for each game a little too costly. Of course, way before the console release in Japan, it was decided that the cartridge format would still be used in place of the new CD format (it as new in terms of consoles, at least). There weren’t many reasons not to continue using it, after all - for example, would you use the tried and tested format that your company has been using since its breach into home entertainment gaming (and every other successful post 80’s consoles), or the format that your nearest competitor uses, but with a failure rate not in PlayStation’s favour? I’m sure that after the company directors saw the speedy falls of the CD-I, CD32 and the Saturn (please correct me if I’m wrong here - I don’t have much knowledge regarding consoles that were operating in my early life), it was obvious which direction they would choose.
Added to that Nintendo’s previous experience (and success) in using cartridges, their almost instant (and quiet) loading times and the ability to generate data onto the screen instantly, it seemed to Nintendo that they could do no wrong with the cartridges. And they should have been right.
Of course, there had to be drawbacks, besides the price of a cartridge, which would prevent Nintendo from leading both in terms of quality games and market share. The most significant one was the storage space included on a typical cartridge; although there has been a few that used the 512 Megabit size (equivalent to 64 Megabytes of space), including Resident Evil 2 and later on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, there was still a struggle that was ever present for developers throughout the N64’s life to squeeze their game content onto a typical 128Mb cartridge i.e.16MB, which was quite small even back then, especially when compared to the maximum 700MB that could be stored on a single compact disc using the PlayStation format.
Shigeru Miyamoto argued, however, that games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time was not possible using the CD format, as it would require a constant stream of data to be read and then stored into the N64’s memory, which was just not possible with the 4MB that came with the console, unless sacrifices such as extreme fogging and pop up were made. It was much better to use cartridges, as the data was already there to be used; just think of the cartridge as an extension to the console’s main memory - when required, it could be accessed instantly and shown on-screen right after, with none of the delay that was needed for the media to memory to screen process.
However, third party developers found it hard building games using the hardware, especially with the initial “Dream Team” approach adopted by Nintendo, which turned a blind eye to the lesser known developers and publishers, and therefore restricting dev kits only to “the elite”. This, along with the cons associated with the choice of media, I believe were the reasons to why the N64 wasn’t as successful as it should have been. Of course, it can be said that if Nintendo did employ CDs as the format instead of cartridges, classic games such as Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Banjo Tooie (to name a few) would not have been possible, as the limited memory would have severely restricted viewing distance. To take things further, the N64 would probably have been less successful than it actually was, because without these features that made quality games exclusive to the N64, it would not have sold anywhere near the actual quantity. Why? Well, take Ocarina of Time for example. It uses the successful Zelda franchise, and by creating a highly innovative and playable game with a well executed story (it’s still my favourite game of all time, beating Metal Gear Solid 2), it has turned out to be a console shifter - i.e. helping N64 sales improve over the Christmas period when the game was still fresh in stores. However, at the time console technology did not incorporate oodles of memory for the developer to exploit; all in-game graphics and other computer operations had to be efficiently produced in order for the game to work as well as it did, and graphics were pretty limited and had to be continually spooled from the media source. This was the advantage of the cartridge over the compact disc - where the latter would take a while before the graphics would fit into the console’s memory to be used in the game, the cartridge would fetch and discard the data direct from the cartridge extremely quickly, contributing to the fast (and silent) loading times.
The N64 controller was one that can be heralded as a revolution at its time; a fully analogue, mini joy-stick never before seen on a joypad was included made up the controller’s main new innovation. Other areas of the pad were: large A and B buttons that were perfect for your fingers when playing, the L and R buttons brought over from the SNES controller, the D-Pad, C buttons beside the A and B buttons for extra commands and other game movements (such as the in-game camera) and the Z trigger. These buttons were all placed in optimum gaming positions, and although it may look large compared to the PlaySation pad, it certainly was comfy. Although the stick was ever so slightly painful to use at times, especially after extended gaming sessions, it provided complete grip with the grooved circled on the top of the stick. However, the placement of the Z-trigger makes up for this, and in first person shooters such as Goldeneye, along with a Rumble Pak inserted in the slot in the controller, shooting was a pleasure in itself.
Later on, the Transfer Pak, which allowed data to be transferred (obviously, given the name) from a Game Boy cartridge to the games that supported such an accessory on the N64, sold quite well, and although it was known primarily for transferring gamers’ Pokemon collection from their version of the game to the Pokemon Stadium (and near the end, Pokemon Stadium 2) cart, giving those the pleasure of watching their nurtured creatures in full 3D, there were other (albeit small and minor) uses for it, such as unlocking hard to get cheats in Perfect Dark (this required the GBC of Perfect Dark to be plugged into the Transfer Pak, naturally). Hopefully, developers will use the announced connectivity between the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube much more effectively and creatively in the future, as this in itself is a unique selling point that Nintendo must (and are intending to) exploit.
Back to the history - despite a draught in the flow of games that appeared for the console, the N64 still managed to keep afloat, what with the already installed and loyal customer base, content for the time being at least. Then, when Zelda: Ocarina of Time appeared - and in my opinion, the best game ever - sales of the N64 increased at a rapid rate, and it had to be taken seriously by its competition.
However, even though the games drought that gamers experienced at the start of the console’s launch was now less of a problem, the quantity of games that were released was nothing compared to the level released for the PlayStation. Although I, and many, many others will still stick by the adage, “it’s the quality, and not the quantity, that counts”, the public In general seemed to disagree with this at the time, as the PS continued to outsell the N64.
Of course, it can be said that the range provided by the PlayStation library that grew over time accounted to more stereotypes (and I say that in the kindest possible way) being provided for in terms of games, therefore upping the sales of PS software and its console in general.
In spite of this, the N64 still refused to give up, and although by now a comparison of sales with the PS was like comparing a blockbuster movie to a cult one, Nintendo did exactly what a cult series would do - continue to provide its audience with the best service available (although this doesn’t really apply to N64 owners in the UK, with a countless number of release data delays, higher prices and a several games unable to make it to British shores). Late in its life, Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Banjo-Tooie, along with others, managed to entertain the N64 owner will hours of quality entertaining gameplay. And this was what the audience wanted.
In 2000, it was revealed that a new console was under development by Nintendo - and this new baby, later to be called the Gamecube, was released more than a year later in Japan on 14th September, 2001. Although sales were “quiet” compared to the Playstation2, the successor of the original PS, it could hardly be considered as disastrous (just look at the Xbox figures in Japan as proof); and with the lack of any killer apps such as a Mario or Zelda game at launch, sales were actually pretty good. The American launch a few weeks later was much better, rivalling Xbox sales (roughly) at its home turf. With the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in Japan soon after, which contributed to a rush in Gamecube sales, the future is definitely looking rosy for Nintendo.
Page:
Thanks for your comments, Res€vilfan.
To be honest, I'm not that happy about the rubery PS2 dual analog sticks -although they provide quite a bit of grip, I find it rather twitchy, especially when playing games that require precision movements of the analog stick. However, for games such as World Rally Championship, the twitchiness provided by the controls works to its advantage.
The reason why Resident Evil 2 (and 3) is easy on loading times isbecause they use pre rendered, 2D backgrounds, with a few interactive points in that scene. With most games that use 3D scenery, more data is required, and that acoounts for the extensive loading times you see in games that use 3D backgrounds.
Another way to reduce loading times when using a lot of 3D scenery without having to continually access the DVD is to make the playing area small - look at the tanker section of Metal Gear Solid 2 for a prime example.
I agree with what you said about Mario 64 - never liked itat launch and certainly not at present.
Finally, Official Nintendo Magazine is written by people who are targetting the kiddie audience - and I mean kiddy. As long as they can shove pages filled with pictures in their lead review, and have a free gift every month, they'll sell. Their opinions don't really mean much in the industry - Nintendo themselves probably ignore the praise go
given to their games in the magazine's reviews.
To be honest, I'm not that happy about the rubery PS2 dual analog sticks -although they provide quite a bit of grip, I find it rather twitchy, especially when playing games that require precision movements of the analog stick. However, for games such as World Rally Championship, the twitchiness provided by the controls works to its advantage.
The reason why Resident Evil 2 (and 3) is easy on loading times isbecause they use pre rendered, 2D backgrounds, with a few interactive points in that scene. With most games that use 3D scenery, more data is required, and that acoounts for the extensive loading times you see in games that use 3D backgrounds.
Another way to reduce loading times when using a lot of 3D scenery without having to continually access the DVD is to make the playing area small - look at the tanker section of Metal Gear Solid 2 for a prime example.
I agree with what you said about Mario 64 - never liked itat launch and certainly not at present.
Finally, Official Nintendo Magazine is written by people who are targetting the kiddie audience - and I mean kiddy. As long as they can shove pages filled with pictures in their lead review, and have a free gift every month, they'll sell. Their opinions don't really mean much in the industry - Nintendo themselves probably ignore the praise go
given to their games in the magazine's reviews.
Res€vilfan wrote:
> Joe Dark wrote:
> The PS may have a vast selection of titles but about 50% of them are
> crap.
>
> so you agree that 50% of PS games are worth while purchases.
Yes but some are better than others in that 50%
> Joe Dark wrote:
> The PS may have a vast selection of titles but about 50% of them are
> crap.
>
> so you agree that 50% of PS games are worth while purchases.
Yes but some are better than others in that 50%
Protoss wrote:
> What was the last game released on the N64?
> Was it Kirby?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, I think.
> What was the last game released on the N64?
> Was it Kirby?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, I think.
Joe Dark wrote:
> The PS may have a vast selection of titles but about 50% of them are
> crap.
so you agree that 50% of PS games are worth while purchases.
The N64 didnt have many titles but what it did have was quality,
> I have 17 N64 games and only one on them is pap - World Cup '98 and
> there are still loads and loads of games I want.
I also have that, pants innit.
>The N64 - Quality not Quantity
With nintendo's new Philosophy of 'short and sweet' games thats certaintly all you'll get :-D
> The PS may have a vast selection of titles but about 50% of them are
> crap.
so you agree that 50% of PS games are worth while purchases.
The N64 didnt have many titles but what it did have was quality,
> I have 17 N64 games and only one on them is pap - World Cup '98 and
> there are still loads and loads of games I want.
I also have that, pants innit.
>The N64 - Quality not Quantity
With nintendo's new Philosophy of 'short and sweet' games thats certaintly all you'll get :-D
The PS may have a vast selection of titles but about 50% of them are crap. The N64 didnt have many titles but what it did have was quality, I have 17 N64 games na donly one on them is pap - World Cup '98 and there are still loads and loads of games I want. The N64 - Quality not Quantity
If that was shorter it may have been a worthy GAD attempt, either way you have some interesting points and my personal opinion on the matter is I think the playstation was just better. The N64 analog stick is a monster to handle, you have to move your whole hand way up just to yank it forward making the character run and the lack of grip doesn't make it any easier. Then there's the thing about batteries for the gigantic rumble pack, no I think think the playstation pad is near perfect, the handles could do with being just a tad bigger then you really have an excellent pad. Analog sticks are rubber and incredibly sensitive and well everythings where it should be with dual shock power straight from the console.
As you said Zelda:Ocarina of Time is a good game but do you really think it couldn't have been pulled off on a CD? Someone else on these forums said "Any loading would interupt gameplay and spoil the experience@ well first off every door, log or area he moves through there's a fade out offering the perfect opertunity to load. Resident Evil 2 on the PS, one of the games known for it's loading pulls off 2-3 second smooth opening doors barely reminding you that it's loading. Personally I don't think the N64 is great at all, Zelda has some weird sound effects every so often which don't really match the game and it's quite dated, Super Mario 64 is another thats dated, I still play the original NES versions to this day and they're still as good now as they were then but Mario 64 tried to present itself in this beautiful 3D world which for the day was quite remarkable but now the graphics have dated. Perfect Dark is probably my favourite N64 game but assisted aiming makes you hit nearly every shot without even trying and the controls do my head in. Red Faction, Timesplitters, Half Life, quake etc play alot better especially using both analog sticks and Donkey Kong 64 man o man 96% in Official Nintendo Magazine but to me it's just dumb which is why I prefer the Playstation's vast selection of classic titles.
(sorry I went on a bit)
As you said Zelda:Ocarina of Time is a good game but do you really think it couldn't have been pulled off on a CD? Someone else on these forums said "Any loading would interupt gameplay and spoil the experience@ well first off every door, log or area he moves through there's a fade out offering the perfect opertunity to load. Resident Evil 2 on the PS, one of the games known for it's loading pulls off 2-3 second smooth opening doors barely reminding you that it's loading. Personally I don't think the N64 is great at all, Zelda has some weird sound effects every so often which don't really match the game and it's quite dated, Super Mario 64 is another thats dated, I still play the original NES versions to this day and they're still as good now as they were then but Mario 64 tried to present itself in this beautiful 3D world which for the day was quite remarkable but now the graphics have dated. Perfect Dark is probably my favourite N64 game but assisted aiming makes you hit nearly every shot without even trying and the controls do my head in. Red Faction, Timesplitters, Half Life, quake etc play alot better especially using both analog sticks and Donkey Kong 64 man o man 96% in Official Nintendo Magazine but to me it's just dumb which is why I prefer the Playstation's vast selection of classic titles.
(sorry I went on a bit)
What was the last game released on the N64?
Was it Kirby?
Was it Kirby?
I love the N64, even though it is dying out...
The N64 has certainly had a rough ride since its birth; having being thrown straight into the battlefield with the PlayStation, and later on against the Sega Dreamcast, there’s no doubt that the console has had a tough job right until its eventual recent demise, with the last game coming out for the battle-worn console.
However, the old cliché of “it was good while it lasted” can be applied here, as it offered a plethora of top notch games oozing of gameplay and addictiveness; but as I find myself playing more and more on the PS2, even abandoning the PC in terms of games, and with the rest of my time allocated to keeping up with college work, it’s fair to say that the N64 tucked away in the drawer will remain there for quite some time. In addition, Nintendo’s new console is set to catch up and overtake Microsoft’s own Xbox pretty soon after its release on 3rd May, so I have therefore decided to write this moderately dull piece as a “tribute” to the curviest console I’ve ever bought.
The SNES was a fantastic console. Classics such as Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country all contributed to its long lasting status. Alas, technology was ever improving, and Nintendo released the N64 to great acclaim with instant classics such as Super Mario 64 firstly in Japan, and (much) later on the N64 made its way to the UK on the 1st March, 1997.
Having been released almost half a decade ago, I can’t remember the specs that made up the console; I vaguely remember that it had 4MB of initial graphics memory, but I only remember that because I purchased the Expansion Pak to play Perfect Dark.
Anyway, it’s the games that make a particular console a success or a flop, so the technical specification wasn’t realty important. What was important though was the price; and the console was released with the RRP of £249.99, with games retailing at £49.99.
Although the price of the console itself was respectable (remember this was five years ago - nowadays, just under £200 would be respectable - anything more would isolate sales to the fanatic, the power hungry and the rich), I (and probably thousands of other UK N64 owners) found the £50 price tag for each game a little too costly. Of course, way before the console release in Japan, it was decided that the cartridge format would still be used in place of the new CD format (it as new in terms of consoles, at least). There weren’t many reasons not to continue using it, after all - for example, would you use the tried and tested format that your company has been using since its breach into home entertainment gaming (and every other successful post 80’s consoles), or the format that your nearest competitor uses, but with a failure rate not in PlayStation’s favour? I’m sure that after the company directors saw the speedy falls of the CD-I, CD32 and the Saturn (please correct me if I’m wrong here - I don’t have much knowledge regarding consoles that were operating in my early life), it was obvious which direction they would choose.
Added to that Nintendo’s previous experience (and success) in using cartridges, their almost instant (and quiet) loading times and the ability to generate data onto the screen instantly, it seemed to Nintendo that they could do no wrong with the cartridges. And they should have been right.
Of course, there had to be drawbacks, besides the price of a cartridge, which would prevent Nintendo from leading both in terms of quality games and market share. The most significant one was the storage space included on a typical cartridge; although there has been a few that used the 512 Megabit size (equivalent to 64 Megabytes of space), including Resident Evil 2 and later on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, there was still a struggle that was ever present for developers throughout the N64’s life to squeeze their game content onto a typical 128Mb cartridge i.e.16MB, which was quite small even back then, especially when compared to the maximum 700MB that could be stored on a single compact disc using the PlayStation format.
Shigeru Miyamoto argued, however, that games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time was not possible using the CD format, as it would require a constant stream of data to be read and then stored into the N64’s memory, which was just not possible with the 4MB that came with the console, unless sacrifices such as extreme fogging and pop up were made. It was much better to use cartridges, as the data was already there to be used; just think of the cartridge as an extension to the console’s main memory - when required, it could be accessed instantly and shown on-screen right after, with none of the delay that was needed for the media to memory to screen process.
However, third party developers found it hard building games using the hardware, especially with the initial “Dream Team” approach adopted by Nintendo, which turned a blind eye to the lesser known developers and publishers, and therefore restricting dev kits only to “the elite”. This, along with the cons associated with the choice of media, I believe were the reasons to why the N64 wasn’t as successful as it should have been. Of course, it can be said that if Nintendo did employ CDs as the format instead of cartridges, classic games such as Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Banjo Tooie (to name a few) would not have been possible, as the limited memory would have severely restricted viewing distance. To take things further, the N64 would probably have been less successful than it actually was, because without these features that made quality games exclusive to the N64, it would not have sold anywhere near the actual quantity. Why? Well, take Ocarina of Time for example. It uses the successful Zelda franchise, and by creating a highly innovative and playable game with a well executed story (it’s still my favourite game of all time, beating Metal Gear Solid 2), it has turned out to be a console shifter - i.e. helping N64 sales improve over the Christmas period when the game was still fresh in stores. However, at the time console technology did not incorporate oodles of memory for the developer to exploit; all in-game graphics and other computer operations had to be efficiently produced in order for the game to work as well as it did, and graphics were pretty limited and had to be continually spooled from the media source. This was the advantage of the cartridge over the compact disc - where the latter would take a while before the graphics would fit into the console’s memory to be used in the game, the cartridge would fetch and discard the data direct from the cartridge extremely quickly, contributing to the fast (and silent) loading times.
The N64 controller was one that can be heralded as a revolution at its time; a fully analogue, mini joy-stick never before seen on a joypad was included made up the controller’s main new innovation. Other areas of the pad were: large A and B buttons that were perfect for your fingers when playing, the L and R buttons brought over from the SNES controller, the D-Pad, C buttons beside the A and B buttons for extra commands and other game movements (such as the in-game camera) and the Z trigger. These buttons were all placed in optimum gaming positions, and although it may look large compared to the PlaySation pad, it certainly was comfy. Although the stick was ever so slightly painful to use at times, especially after extended gaming sessions, it provided complete grip with the grooved circled on the top of the stick. However, the placement of the Z-trigger makes up for this, and in first person shooters such as Goldeneye, along with a Rumble Pak inserted in the slot in the controller, shooting was a pleasure in itself.
Later on, the Transfer Pak, which allowed data to be transferred (obviously, given the name) from a Game Boy cartridge to the games that supported such an accessory on the N64, sold quite well, and although it was known primarily for transferring gamers’ Pokemon collection from their version of the game to the Pokemon Stadium (and near the end, Pokemon Stadium 2) cart, giving those the pleasure of watching their nurtured creatures in full 3D, there were other (albeit small and minor) uses for it, such as unlocking hard to get cheats in Perfect Dark (this required the GBC of Perfect Dark to be plugged into the Transfer Pak, naturally). Hopefully, developers will use the announced connectivity between the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube much more effectively and creatively in the future, as this in itself is a unique selling point that Nintendo must (and are intending to) exploit.
Back to the history - despite a draught in the flow of games that appeared for the console, the N64 still managed to keep afloat, what with the already installed and loyal customer base, content for the time being at least. Then, when Zelda: Ocarina of Time appeared - and in my opinion, the best game ever - sales of the N64 increased at a rapid rate, and it had to be taken seriously by its competition.
However, even though the games drought that gamers experienced at the start of the console’s launch was now less of a problem, the quantity of games that were released was nothing compared to the level released for the PlayStation. Although I, and many, many others will still stick by the adage, “it’s the quality, and not the quantity, that counts”, the public In general seemed to disagree with this at the time, as the PS continued to outsell the N64.
Of course, it can be said that the range provided by the PlayStation library that grew over time accounted to more stereotypes (and I say that in the kindest possible way) being provided for in terms of games, therefore upping the sales of PS software and its console in general.
In spite of this, the N64 still refused to give up, and although by now a comparison of sales with the PS was like comparing a blockbuster movie to a cult one, Nintendo did exactly what a cult series would do - continue to provide its audience with the best service available (although this doesn’t really apply to N64 owners in the UK, with a countless number of release data delays, higher prices and a several games unable to make it to British shores). Late in its life, Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Banjo-Tooie, along with others, managed to entertain the N64 owner will hours of quality entertaining gameplay. And this was what the audience wanted.
In 2000, it was revealed that a new console was under development by Nintendo - and this new baby, later to be called the Gamecube, was released more than a year later in Japan on 14th September, 2001. Although sales were “quiet” compared to the Playstation2, the successor of the original PS, it could hardly be considered as disastrous (just look at the Xbox figures in Japan as proof); and with the lack of any killer apps such as a Mario or Zelda game at launch, sales were actually pretty good. The American launch a few weeks later was much better, rivalling Xbox sales (roughly) at its home turf. With the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in Japan soon after, which contributed to a rush in Gamecube sales, the future is definitely looking rosy for Nintendo.
However, the old cliché of “it was good while it lasted” can be applied here, as it offered a plethora of top notch games oozing of gameplay and addictiveness; but as I find myself playing more and more on the PS2, even abandoning the PC in terms of games, and with the rest of my time allocated to keeping up with college work, it’s fair to say that the N64 tucked away in the drawer will remain there for quite some time. In addition, Nintendo’s new console is set to catch up and overtake Microsoft’s own Xbox pretty soon after its release on 3rd May, so I have therefore decided to write this moderately dull piece as a “tribute” to the curviest console I’ve ever bought.
The SNES was a fantastic console. Classics such as Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Donkey Kong Country all contributed to its long lasting status. Alas, technology was ever improving, and Nintendo released the N64 to great acclaim with instant classics such as Super Mario 64 firstly in Japan, and (much) later on the N64 made its way to the UK on the 1st March, 1997.
Having been released almost half a decade ago, I can’t remember the specs that made up the console; I vaguely remember that it had 4MB of initial graphics memory, but I only remember that because I purchased the Expansion Pak to play Perfect Dark.
Anyway, it’s the games that make a particular console a success or a flop, so the technical specification wasn’t realty important. What was important though was the price; and the console was released with the RRP of £249.99, with games retailing at £49.99.
Although the price of the console itself was respectable (remember this was five years ago - nowadays, just under £200 would be respectable - anything more would isolate sales to the fanatic, the power hungry and the rich), I (and probably thousands of other UK N64 owners) found the £50 price tag for each game a little too costly. Of course, way before the console release in Japan, it was decided that the cartridge format would still be used in place of the new CD format (it as new in terms of consoles, at least). There weren’t many reasons not to continue using it, after all - for example, would you use the tried and tested format that your company has been using since its breach into home entertainment gaming (and every other successful post 80’s consoles), or the format that your nearest competitor uses, but with a failure rate not in PlayStation’s favour? I’m sure that after the company directors saw the speedy falls of the CD-I, CD32 and the Saturn (please correct me if I’m wrong here - I don’t have much knowledge regarding consoles that were operating in my early life), it was obvious which direction they would choose.
Added to that Nintendo’s previous experience (and success) in using cartridges, their almost instant (and quiet) loading times and the ability to generate data onto the screen instantly, it seemed to Nintendo that they could do no wrong with the cartridges. And they should have been right.
Of course, there had to be drawbacks, besides the price of a cartridge, which would prevent Nintendo from leading both in terms of quality games and market share. The most significant one was the storage space included on a typical cartridge; although there has been a few that used the 512 Megabit size (equivalent to 64 Megabytes of space), including Resident Evil 2 and later on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, there was still a struggle that was ever present for developers throughout the N64’s life to squeeze their game content onto a typical 128Mb cartridge i.e.16MB, which was quite small even back then, especially when compared to the maximum 700MB that could be stored on a single compact disc using the PlayStation format.
Shigeru Miyamoto argued, however, that games such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time was not possible using the CD format, as it would require a constant stream of data to be read and then stored into the N64’s memory, which was just not possible with the 4MB that came with the console, unless sacrifices such as extreme fogging and pop up were made. It was much better to use cartridges, as the data was already there to be used; just think of the cartridge as an extension to the console’s main memory - when required, it could be accessed instantly and shown on-screen right after, with none of the delay that was needed for the media to memory to screen process.
However, third party developers found it hard building games using the hardware, especially with the initial “Dream Team” approach adopted by Nintendo, which turned a blind eye to the lesser known developers and publishers, and therefore restricting dev kits only to “the elite”. This, along with the cons associated with the choice of media, I believe were the reasons to why the N64 wasn’t as successful as it should have been. Of course, it can be said that if Nintendo did employ CDs as the format instead of cartridges, classic games such as Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Banjo Tooie (to name a few) would not have been possible, as the limited memory would have severely restricted viewing distance. To take things further, the N64 would probably have been less successful than it actually was, because without these features that made quality games exclusive to the N64, it would not have sold anywhere near the actual quantity. Why? Well, take Ocarina of Time for example. It uses the successful Zelda franchise, and by creating a highly innovative and playable game with a well executed story (it’s still my favourite game of all time, beating Metal Gear Solid 2), it has turned out to be a console shifter - i.e. helping N64 sales improve over the Christmas period when the game was still fresh in stores. However, at the time console technology did not incorporate oodles of memory for the developer to exploit; all in-game graphics and other computer operations had to be efficiently produced in order for the game to work as well as it did, and graphics were pretty limited and had to be continually spooled from the media source. This was the advantage of the cartridge over the compact disc - where the latter would take a while before the graphics would fit into the console’s memory to be used in the game, the cartridge would fetch and discard the data direct from the cartridge extremely quickly, contributing to the fast (and silent) loading times.
The N64 controller was one that can be heralded as a revolution at its time; a fully analogue, mini joy-stick never before seen on a joypad was included made up the controller’s main new innovation. Other areas of the pad were: large A and B buttons that were perfect for your fingers when playing, the L and R buttons brought over from the SNES controller, the D-Pad, C buttons beside the A and B buttons for extra commands and other game movements (such as the in-game camera) and the Z trigger. These buttons were all placed in optimum gaming positions, and although it may look large compared to the PlaySation pad, it certainly was comfy. Although the stick was ever so slightly painful to use at times, especially after extended gaming sessions, it provided complete grip with the grooved circled on the top of the stick. However, the placement of the Z-trigger makes up for this, and in first person shooters such as Goldeneye, along with a Rumble Pak inserted in the slot in the controller, shooting was a pleasure in itself.
Later on, the Transfer Pak, which allowed data to be transferred (obviously, given the name) from a Game Boy cartridge to the games that supported such an accessory on the N64, sold quite well, and although it was known primarily for transferring gamers’ Pokemon collection from their version of the game to the Pokemon Stadium (and near the end, Pokemon Stadium 2) cart, giving those the pleasure of watching their nurtured creatures in full 3D, there were other (albeit small and minor) uses for it, such as unlocking hard to get cheats in Perfect Dark (this required the GBC of Perfect Dark to be plugged into the Transfer Pak, naturally). Hopefully, developers will use the announced connectivity between the Game Boy Advance and the Gamecube much more effectively and creatively in the future, as this in itself is a unique selling point that Nintendo must (and are intending to) exploit.
Back to the history - despite a draught in the flow of games that appeared for the console, the N64 still managed to keep afloat, what with the already installed and loyal customer base, content for the time being at least. Then, when Zelda: Ocarina of Time appeared - and in my opinion, the best game ever - sales of the N64 increased at a rapid rate, and it had to be taken seriously by its competition.
However, even though the games drought that gamers experienced at the start of the console’s launch was now less of a problem, the quantity of games that were released was nothing compared to the level released for the PlayStation. Although I, and many, many others will still stick by the adage, “it’s the quality, and not the quantity, that counts”, the public In general seemed to disagree with this at the time, as the PS continued to outsell the N64.
Of course, it can be said that the range provided by the PlayStation library that grew over time accounted to more stereotypes (and I say that in the kindest possible way) being provided for in terms of games, therefore upping the sales of PS software and its console in general.
In spite of this, the N64 still refused to give up, and although by now a comparison of sales with the PS was like comparing a blockbuster movie to a cult one, Nintendo did exactly what a cult series would do - continue to provide its audience with the best service available (although this doesn’t really apply to N64 owners in the UK, with a countless number of release data delays, higher prices and a several games unable to make it to British shores). Late in its life, Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Banjo-Tooie, along with others, managed to entertain the N64 owner will hours of quality entertaining gameplay. And this was what the audience wanted.
In 2000, it was revealed that a new console was under development by Nintendo - and this new baby, later to be called the Gamecube, was released more than a year later in Japan on 14th September, 2001. Although sales were “quiet” compared to the Playstation2, the successor of the original PS, it could hardly be considered as disastrous (just look at the Xbox figures in Japan as proof); and with the lack of any killer apps such as a Mario or Zelda game at launch, sales were actually pretty good. The American launch a few weeks later was much better, rivalling Xbox sales (roughly) at its home turf. With the release of Super Smash Bros. Melee in Japan soon after, which contributed to a rush in Gamecube sales, the future is definitely looking rosy for Nintendo.
Page: