Nintendo 64

This article is about the Nintendo console. For the treasure from Wario World, see Wonky Circus § Treasures. For the sixty-fourth online Nintendo level in Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, see List of official Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars online levels § Nintendo 64.

Nintendo 64
Generation	Fifth generation
Release date	June 23, 1996 September 29, 1996 March 1, 1997 March 1, 1997 July 19, 1997 December 10, 1997 November 17, 2003 (iQue Player)
Discontinued	April 30, 2002 May 11, 2003 May 16, 2003 November 30, 2003 December 31, 2016 (iQue Player)
Predecessor	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Successor	Nintendo GameCube

“Get N or get out!”

—The N64 slogan

The Nintendo 64 (formatted on the logo as NINTENDO_®⁶⁴), also referred to as the N64, as well as rebranded as the Hyundai Comboy 64 in South Korea, is a video game console created by Nintendo. It was released in 1996 to compete with the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation. It was codenamed "Project Reality" during development and is the first Nintendo home console to use the same name and design between the Japanese and international versions.

After failing to beat the PlayStation and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's sales, the Nintendo 64 was described as "a step backwards for the company in terms of commercial success" due to a number of poor business decisions associated with the system, most notably the choice to use ROM cartridges for its games (instead of the higher-capacity CD-ROMs used by competing systems) and a lack of substantial third-party support, the latter of which is commonly pinned on frustrations with Nintendo's licensing policies. Despite this, the Nintendo 64 gained popularity during the first few months of its release, mainly due to the release of the critically acclaimed Super Mario 64. Furthermore, although its sales figures were lackluster, the Nintendo 64 is not considered a true commercial failure, still generating a profit for Nintendo and outselling the Sega Saturn outside Japan.

Super Mario 64 was one of the first games of its kind to feature full 3D graphics and depth of field effects. The Nintendo 64 was able to pull this off because it was the first system to feature a 64-bit processor and 32-bit graphics chip (aside from the failed Atari Jaguar, which featured multiple coprocessors using 64-bit architecture on a 32-bit main processor). The Nintendo 64 also featured the first successful analog control stick implementation and four built-in controller ports, unlike its competitors, the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. The console is also Nintendo's first with 16:9 widescreen support (in addition to the traditional 4:3), though only 13 titles supported this feature, with Donkey Kong 64 being the sole game related to the Super Mario franchise among them. Conversely, the Nintendo 64 is noted as the last home console system to use cartridges until the Nintendo Switch. Starting with the Nintendo GameCube and carrying on until the Wii U, Nintendo would shift to using optical discs like its competitors, albeit with proprietary formats instead of industry standard ones.

The Nintendo 64 is best known for games such as Super Mario 64, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, Paper Mario, Donkey Kong 64, Star Fox 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, and F-Zero X. Production of the Nintendo 64 ended in 2002. The Nintendo 64 sold 32.93 million units during its lifetime.

In 1999, Nintendo released the Nintendo 64DD; similarly to the Family Computer Disk System, it was an add-on that enabled support for games on proprietary magnetic disks. The add-on was intended as a cheaper alternative to optical disc-based competitors, but it ultimately became a commercial failure due to its belated and limited release. In total, four games of the Super Mario franchise were released on the 64DD, all in the Mario Artist series.

In 2003, the iQue Player was released in China, serving as the Chinese equivalent of the Nintendo 64, albeit with a differently designed controller. Its D-Pad and analog stick are placed as on the Nintendo GameCube Controller. The entire system consists of only the controller, which has the chip onboard. It has a limited selection of Super Mario titles, all of which were released for the Nintendo 64 outside China. These include Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Paper Mario, Yoshi's Story, Dr. Mario 64, and Super Smash Bros.

Accessories

Nintendo 64 Controller

The original Nintendo 64 and six controller colors

The Nintendo 64 Controller, the standard controller for playing Nintendo 64 games

LodgeNet Nintendo 64 Controller

The Nintendo 64 Controller is the standard controller for the Nintendo 64. It is unique among video game controllers, as it has three grips instead of the more common two, resembling the letter M. There are many color variations of the controller, including solid and clear colors. This was a unique concept at the time.

The Nintendo 64 is not the first console to use analog control sticks; it is just the first successful console to use them. The Vectrex was the first home console to have an analog stick; it also had four controller ports, a feature that was not popularized until the Nintendo 64.

There was also a LodgeNet controller that was exclusive to hotels.

Buttons

The Nintendo 64 Controller lost the , , and buttons from the SNES but instead features additional buttons:

• A
• B
• Camera Buttons/C Buttons *
  • Camera Up/C-Up *
  • Camera Right/C-Right *
  • Camera Down/C-Down *
  • Camera Left/C-Left *
• START
• Z Trigger *
• L Trigger
• R Trigger
• Control Stick *
• Control Pad

* – Signifies new buttons

Controller Pak

Controller Pak

Although this item was not required like for the Nintendo 64's competitor, the PlayStation, some games utilized external storage by the use of the Controller Pak, such as Mario Kart 64, which can save ghosts for Time Trials.

Transfer Pak

Main article: Transfer Pak

Transfer Pak

The Transfer Pak allows Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to connect to select Nintendo 64 games. It was bundled with Pokémon Stadium, although Mario Golf (Nintendo 64) and Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64) can connect with Mario Golf (Game Boy Color) and Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color), respectively. The Game Boy Camera is the only Game Boy game to connect with a Nintendo 64DD game: Mario Artist: Paint Studio.

Rumble Pak

NintendoWiki article: Rumble (feature)#Nintendo 64

Rumble Pak

Promotional artwork of Mario to showcase the Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak, and how it is inserted into the controller

Bundled with Star Fox 64, the Rumble Pak is an accessory inserted into the controller's memory cartridge slot, although this prevents simultaneous use of the Controller Pak. The Rumble Pak made the Nintendo 64 the first home console to utilize force-feedback vibration and has since become standard in gaming. Almost all Super Mario games include it as a feature. Super Mario 64 initially did not have Rumble Pak support, but later a Rumble Pak-supported version named Super Mario 64: Shindō Pak Taiō Version was released.

Expansion Pak

NintendoWiki article: Expansion Pak

The Expansion Pak

The Expansion Pak is a RAM expansion that adds four additional megabytes of RAM to the console while in use, increasing the total amount of RAM accessible to eight megabytes. It is added console by removing the cover marked "Memory Expansion" in front of the cartridge slot and inserting it into the slot underneath, replacing the system's pre-installed Jumper Pak.

One Super Mario-related game requires the use of the Expansion Pak, Donkey Kong 64, and because of to this, a free Expansion Pak was bundled with earlier copies of the game. A rumor states that Donkey Kong 64 required the Expansion Pak as the result of a memory leak or game-breaking bug, reinforced by a video created by former Rare employee Chris Marlow. However, this has been denied by Donkey Kong 64 developer Mark Stevenson, who suggested that the rumor was a byproduct of the conflation of two separate stories involving the Expansion Pak and a severe bug, respectively.

Nintendo 64DD

Main article: Nintendo 64DD

The Nintendo 64DD attached to a Nintendo 64

The Nintendo 64DD accessory was commercially available only in Japan and was a failure, although it was planned for an international release. Only four Super Mario games were released for it, all of them being part of the Mario Artist series.

Super Mario appearances

• In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, there is a chance that Wrinkly Kong plays on a Nintendo 64 in Wrinkly's Save Cave.
• In Yoshi's Story, a Nintendo 64 can be seen in the backgrounds of a few levels.
• In Super Smash Bros. Melee in the background of the stand where all of the player's trophies are, a Nintendo 64 with the controller and the Super Smash Bros. game cartridge and box appear on a shelf, along with various other Nintendo systems.
• In Wario World, a Nintendo 64 appears as a treasure.
• In Super Paper Mario, in one of Francis's rooms, a Nintendo 64 can be seen alongside the other Nintendo platforms released by that time, as well as a Virtual Boy.
• In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, one of the names that can appear whenever a player presses the random button when they are naming their custom stage is "N64."
• In WarioWare Gold, the Nintendo 64 appears as a collectible Nintendo souvenir.
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, there was a Spirit Board event focused on spirits from the Nintendo 64 era. The name of the event was the slogan of the Nintendo 64.
• In WarioWare: Get It Together! in 9-Volt's Nintendo Classics level, the boss that appears in the intermission before the boss microgame wears an upside-down Nintendo 64 Controller as a crown.
• In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, one of the islands surrounding the Mushroom Kingdom is in the shape of a Nintendo 64 controller with the left grip broken off.

• 

  Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Super Paper Mario

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  WarioWare: Get It Together!

• 

  The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Nintendo 64.

• 

  Diddy Kong Racing

• 

  Donkey Kong 64

• 

  Dr. Mario 64

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  Mario Golf

• 

  Mario Kart 64

• 

  Mario no Photopi

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  Mario Party

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  Mario Party 2

• 

  Mario Party 3

• 

  Mario Tennis

• 

  Paper Mario

• 

  Super Mario 64

• 

  Super Mario 64: Shindō Pak Taiō Version

• 

  Super Smash Bros.

• 

  Yoshi's Story

Trivia

• Guinness World Records 2011: Gamer's Edition falsely states that Super Mario Bros. was ported to the Nintendo 64.
• Several Nintendo 64 games depict the cartridges with a different artwork than their corresponding box art (e.g., Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Donkey Kong 64, etc.).
• In Japan, the Nintendo 64 was discontinued before the Famicom and Super Famicom.
• Super Mario 64 helped to define the layout of the N64 Controller: the Control Stick and buttons respectively being incorporated for better movement in a 3D environment and better free-camera control.
• The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo's last system to be distributed by Hyundai Electronics in South Korea. Later systems would be distributed in the region by Nintendo themselves, owed to South Korea lifting most of its bans on Japanese cultural imports between 1998 and 2004. Consequently, it is also Nintendo's last system to go under a different name in an international market, one generation after abandoning the practice in North America and PAL regions.