The Decade of the N64

1up is running a piece looking back at the ten years since the N64's launch. The start of Nintendo's slump, the N64 still managed to come out of the console wars with some great and lasting memories, like GoldenEye, Smash Bros., and Ocarina of Time. From the article: "Nintendo certainly gave players plenty of time to get all 120 stars. By the end of 1996, the N64 still had fewer than a dozen games, and even that anemic library was glutted with mediocrity like Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Cruis'n USA. Sure, there were gems like Mario Kart 64 and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and there was the stubborn optimism of Nintendo of America President Howard Lincoln (who insisted N64 games sold more than 250,000 per title), but industry commentators were starting to see through the emperor's clothes. Meanwhile, Sony was turning up the heat with massive blockbusters like Final Fantasy VII." The Press the Buttons blog has some additional commentary on Nintendo's first 'meh' console.

Comments

Meh?

[AKAImBatman]

The Press the Buttons blog has some additional commentary on Nintendo's first 'meh' console.

I'm not following this sudden 'meh' comment. The N64 was a great machine with a lot of great games. Its only real failing was that it was bloody expensive due to its cartridge format. Nintendo still had a solid base going into the Gamecube. It's just too bad they pissed it away with a poor launch lineup, loss of third party support, and a rather small library of *good* games.

Probably the biggest blow, however, was the loss of Rare and its properties. Rare carried the N64 with its Donkey Kong, Banjo & Kazooie, and Conqeror titles. Unfortunately, the loss was internal to Rare, so there wasn't much Nintendo could do other than unload it. :(

Re:Meh?

[AKAImBatman]

I don't remember playing much of anything after that.

*deep breath*

Mario Party 1-3, Mario Kart 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, Donkey Kong 64, BlastCorp, Diddy Kong Racing, Killer Instinct Gold, Banjo-Tooie, Wave Race 64, Mario Golf, Super Smash Bros., F-Zero X, Hydro Thunder, SF Rush, SF Rush 2049, and that's without even trying.

You must have had your head stuck in the sand to not be able to find a good game, especially considering that the N64 had a much higher signal to noise ratio than the Playstation.

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Re:Uh Perfect Dark?

[voice_of_all_reason]

Nothing could truly perpare you for unlocking darksims, eagerly loading them into the next slo-motion multiplayer game and watching them spin their torso around and shooting at you while continuing to climb a ladder.

List 'o memories:

-You killing Elvis' friend in the underwater mission. "Everything's going wrong!" while he tears at his hair in an eerily poignant moment.
-The amusing lines of other guards when you headshot someone in another room with a silenced weapon. "MY GOD! Whhhyyyyyy!"
-The bonus mission where you replay an earlier level but get access to other areas (alien suicide mission to blow up the spaceship so it doesn't fall into human hands). I always liked those "you should not be here..." wall textures in other early FPS.
-...and Morgan Freeman as "The President"
-Laptop sentry guns saving the day in combat simulator challenge missions

PS vs N64

[bussdriver]

PS: 50+ copied games
played 8 of them
replayed 3
heavily played 1

N64: 12 games, many rented
played 11
replayed 9
heavily played 3

The best game of the period, Mario Kart 64:
Priceless.