Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64

• Manufacturer: Nintendo | Release Year: 1996

Nintendo's last cartridge-based home console, N64, may go down in history as something of a disappointment (compared to expectations) and primarily because of its media format, but it actually housed several major hardware innovations as well as some of the biggest and most beloved games of the generation.

The Big N had even bigger plans for the once-codenamed 'Ultra 64,' including revolutionary control mechanisms, cutting-edge graphical processing power and an exclusive list of handpicked third-parties (known as the “Dream Team”), and it certainly started the system off with a bang. Not only did legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto unveil the N64 controller complete with the uber-sensitive analog stick and rumble pak, but he also showed off the genre-shaping platformer Super Mario 64, considered to this day to be one of the greatest and most important videogames ever made.

Nintendo 64 Launch and Release Date

The system launch in Japan on June 23, 1996. Its North American debut was set for September 30th -- gamers who were excited about the prospects of the newcomer, PlayStation, were asked to wait with a national ad campaign that promised great things for the future:

Sure enough, excitement for the launch increased, especially once gamers saw Super Mario 64 in motion. Nintendo eventually changed the official launch date for the console to September 29, a Sunday, to avoid younger gamers cutting class to buy the console. Postcards sent with the new date let players know of the switch in advance.

And yet, even with a string of hits, some of them monumental, N64 never came close to matching rival PlayStation in popularity. In fact, Sony's disc-based platform outsold Nintendo's by a margin of more than three to one.

Despite the PlayStation’s bigger install-base, third-party advantage (including Dream Team members), Nintendo and Rare still churned out N64-exclusive master works from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (one of the only games to earn a perfect 10 rating from IGN.com) to Conker's Bad Fur Day and GoldenEye 007.

Notable Games

• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Widely considered to be one of the greatest videogames ever made, the N64 classic proved that the Zelda formula could not only work in 3D, but flourish.

• Super Mario 64

Classic 2D platforming reborn in full 3D without any sacrifices -- only benefits. This game changed what we thought was possible in digital entertainment.

• Wave Race 64

Slick, fast racing -- on water. Wave Race 64's responsive controls and slick water physics remain nearly unchallenged in modern day racers.

• Banjo-Kazooie

Rare's addictive platformer was proof that the UK development studio could hold its own against Nintendo's best.

• GoldenEye 007

The shooter that brought home to console owners an experience previously limited to PC users, showing gamers and developers everywhere the possibilities the genre offered.