30 Things You DIDN'T Know About the Nintendo 64

30 Things You Didn’t Know About the Nintendo 64

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at some of the most interesting facts you may not know about Nintendo’s first 3D home console, the Nintendo 64!

Known by a Different Name

Many Nintendo systems go by a codename while going through development, and the N64 is no different. It was first known internally as Project Reality. When it was revealed to the public, it was called the Ultra 64, or the Ultra Famicom in Japan; 64 in reference to the 64 bits of processing power, and Famicom continuing the naming tradition of Nintendo’s Japanese home consoles. This, interestingly, also didn’t stick. While some claimed that the name was changed because ‘Ultra Games’ was trademarked by Konami, Nintendo just wanted a unified, international name. The title ‘Nintendo 64,’ simple and clean, came from Shigesato Itoi, creator of the “Mother” series. Funnily enough, prior to the N64’s release, Nintendo partnered with Midway for some of the games it published in arcades that were planned to be ported to the console, like “Cruis’n USA” and “Killer Instinct,” which feature the Ultra 64 branding.

Sega Says No

The graphics processing unit, or GPU, that powers the N64 was created by Silicon Graphics, Inc., which was the first time the company branched out to the video game market. But Nintendo was not the company’s first choice. It actually approached Sega first, and the CEO of its American branch, Tom Kalinske, was pretty impressed by the chipset. However, it seems that Sega of Japan was not, as they rejected SGI’s tech. Silicon then went to Nintendo, and the two entered a partnership in early 1993. It’s funny to think that, in an alternate world, the Sega Saturn could have ended up with the N64’s technology.

Protecting Against Piracy

The N64 would go on to be trounced in sales by Sony’s first PlayStation. One of the biggest reasons for this was Nintendo’s insistence to stick with cartridges instead of adopting discs, which could hold a lot more data. Since cartridges were more expensive to produce, many publishers and developers opted to go with Sony. Nintendo’s decision was strange, considering its failed partnership with Sony itself to produce a disc-based add-on for the Super NES, which eventually became the PlayStation. While there were certain benefits to cartridges over CDs, many believe the biggest factor in the decision was to protect against piracy. It was easier to pirate games printed on discs, as Nintendo had learned in Japan with the Famicom Disk System, something that North American players never got an equivalent of. Nintendo is obviously extremely protective of its IP, so its reasoning was sound. Still, it hurt them in the long run.

An Important Logo

A logo is important for a brand or a product, and the Nintendo 64 has a great one. On top of it being a 3D N, obviously due to the console being Nintendo’s jump to 3D gaming, it’s also visually engaging thanks to its color scheme. But there’s a reason Nintendo chose those specific colors. In addition to the system’s controllers coming in grey and black, other colors at launch were red, green, blue, and yellow, the same colors used in the N64 logo.

Three Ways to Play

Over time, the N64’s controller has been viewed as…a bit odd. The three-pronged shape is definitely unorthodox, but it was Nintendo’s way to plan for various types of gaming, since 3D was so new at the time. Most games would end up using the middle and right prongs, having the joystick and buttons respectively, and that’s how most players probably remember using it. However, the few 2D games on the system allowed use of the left prong instead of the middle, having the D-pad. The third way to play, and the one that was least used by developers, had you hold the left and middle prongs, excluding the buttons. This was meant to replicate moving and aiming in FPS games on PC.

A Christmas Delay

The Nintendo 64 was originally meant to release around Christmas of 1995, but was delayed to the following April. Nintendo stated this was to give developers more time to work on games. But it was then delayed again to June in Japan and September in North America. Nintendo originally wanted to release the system worldwide at the same time, but these scrapped plans and the second delay were due to concerns about a lack of supply not meeting demand. Nintendo ended up using these delays as a marketing strategy, with taglines like “Wait for it,” and “Is it worth the wait? Only if you want the best!”

Christmas Woes

Another Christmas story comes in 1997, when the N64 was struggling a bit to keep up with the PlayStation’s sales. Nintendo’s line-up was looking rough, since several games that were meant to release around the time were delayed. These were “Ocarina of Time,” “Yoshi’s Story,” “Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.,” “Banjo-Kazooie,” and “Conker’s Quest,” which would eventually get reworked into “Conker’s Bad Fur Day.” Those last two came from Rare, which actually ended up saving the day. The studio reworked its racing game, “Pro-Am 64,” by tying it to a popular IP. Thus, “Diddy Kong Racing” was born, and announced last-minute as Nintendo’s big holiday game. Nintendo also lowered manufacturing prices for cartridges and announced a roughly 15% price cut for first and third-party games…not that this ended up helping sales much in the long run.

Cartridges of Many Colors

One of the more fun, but ultimately inconsequential things about the N64’s cartridges was that they could come in different colors. Nintendo made thirteen colors available, including the common grey. Gold and Silver were a bit more expensive to produce, but most of the others cost the same. However, companies that wanted something other than grey were required to order at least 50,000 copies, at least up until 1999. And if the common grey was chosen, Nintendo didn’t allow companies to change their minds. This is perhaps why some of the color options were never chosen, including pink and beige.

Outsold in Japan

Despite Nintendo being a Japanese company, the N64 was not nearly as successful there as it was in North America. It only sold 5.5 million units in Japan, falling just behind the Sega Saturn at 5.75 million and much further behind the PlayStation’s nearly 20 million. Of course, the N64 demolished the Saturn in the US; 20.63 million versus 1.8 million. But the PlayStation sold nearly twice as much in the US. Regardless, you might think that the N64 would have performed better in Nintendo’s home country. But too many people were swayed by the PlayStation and the future of gaming that was brought with it.

A Shorter Lifespan Than its Predecessor

Another sad fact about the N64’s performance in Japan is that its predecessor, the Super Famicom, actually lasted longer. And we don’t just mean in comparison. The Nintendo 64 was discontinued worldwide on April 30th, 2002. Surprisingly, Nintendo was still supporting its 16-bit console in certain regions at the time. It was discontinued in some regions in the late 90s. But in others, namely Brazil, Korea, and Japan, it lasted until 2003. It’s weird to think about; Japanese players could have gone into a store and bought a Super Famicom after the N64 was already taken off shelves.

A Meager Line-Up

There weren’t many options to choose from when it came to games at the N64’s launch. Most players were fine with this, as “Super Mario 64” was one of them. North American players only had one other option, “Pilotwings 64,” and Japanese players had a third option, “Saikyō Habu Shōgi.” There were meant to be two other games there. The port of the arcade’s “Cruis’n USA” was delayed right before launch over quality concerns. And “Mario Kart 64” fell behind schedule since Nintendo allocated resources to “Super Mario 64.” Another interesting, albeit sad, fact is that the system only received 388 games throughout its life, with 85 of them being exclusive to Japan. For comparison, the PlayStation received more than 4,000 games, with this wide divide being an obvious consequence of Nintendo choosing cartridges over discs.

The Last Game

The very last official game to release on the Nintendo 64 was “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.” This is interesting for a couple of reasons. It was released on the platform on August 20th, 2002. This was almost a year after it was released on the PlayStation 2 and, important for the Nintendo-centricity of this list, the GameCube. This was also around three months after the N64 had been discontinued worldwide, on April 30th. So, we have to imagine that most players didn’t play it here.

The Best-Selling Game

This might come as a shock to absolutely none of you, but the best-selling game on the Nintendo 64 was its first, “Super Mario 64.” Groundbreaking in every sense, it still captures the joy and imagination of players today, and has cultivated a passionate following in the speedrunning community. What you may not know is that, despite the PlayStation being a much higher seller than the N64, “Super Mario 64” still outsold the highest selling game on Sony’s first platform, though only just. While “Gran Turismo” sold 10.85 million copies, Mario’s first 3D adventure reached 11.9 million.

Mario is Good For You

In 2013, a group of scientists published a study, in which they tested the effects of video games on the gray matter of the brain, an important part of our central nervous system. Across two months, they had their participants play “Super Mario 64” for at least thirty minutes a day. And they found that doing so increased the gray matter in parts of the brain linked to motor performance, memory, planning, and navigation. Not only that, they also hypothesized that playing these types of games could combat the risk of mental stress, such as PTSD, and neurodegenerative diseases. So, the next time someone tries to tell you that video games are bad for you, you can at least prove to them that Mario isn’t.

The Aleck 64

Back in the day, Nintendo would release arcade systems that were conversions of their hardware so that players could test out their games before purchase. The company famously did this with the Nintendo VS. System, released in the US prior to the NES, so that they could test out public reception following the 1983 crash caused by Atari. However, future endeavors wouldn’t be so famous. During the N64 era, Nintendo partnered with the SETA Corporation for the Aleck 64. Like the Nintendo VS. System, it was a collection of games with improved sound design. It was available from 1998-2003, but it was only released in Japan and, naturally, featured mostly Japan-exclusive games.

Being First

Despite being the less popular of the two systems, there are a few features from the N64 controller that were implemented in later versions of that for the PlayStation. One was the control stick. Its well-received use in 3D games made it clear this was the future, and Sony would later release the Dual Analog controller with two joysticks not present in the original design. Although, Nintendo’s was digital while Sony’s was analogue, which was a bit more expensive. Additionally, the most famous accessory for the N64 was the Rumble Pak, which slotted into a controller and introduced vibration to home consoles. Vibration was included in the Japanese version of the Dual Analog, but became a key feature later in all versions of the very first DualShock.

The Hyundai Comboy 64

In the 90s, Nintendo had trouble releasing its products in South Korea due to a trade embargo. To get around this, they utilized a loophole by partnering with a Korean manufacturer, Hyundai. Yes, the car brand. South Korean players could still purchase Nintendo’s consoles, just under the Hyundai Comboy branding. Not long after this version of the Nintendo 64 was released, however, this import ban was lifted, allowing Nintendo to sell their platform without issue. Thus, the Hyundai Comboy 64 is an incredibly rare collectible, even more so than Hyundai’s version of the NES and Super Nintendo.

The iQue Player

Another alternate version of the N64 could be found in China, though it’s a bit more interesting of a case. In 2003, Nintendo released the iQue Player, but this wasn’t just a branding switch. Nintendo founded the iQue company the previous year alongside Wei Yen, a Taiwanese-American engineer. And this alternate platform was made as a plug and play system to get around China’s ban on home consoles. Nintendo also had to jump through several other hoops to get it approved. While the last game to release for it, “Animal Crossing,” came out in 2006, the service used to download new games to the iQue Player remained active until 2016. As an additional fun fact, Nintendo has used iQue to work on emulators for older game catalogues, including the N64 on both the Wii U and Switch.

The Bio Sensor

There have been many Nintendo peripherals over the years, and not all of them have made it out of Japan. For the N64, one interesting device was the Bio Sensor. It was used exclusively in, and came bundled with, “Tetris 64.” Players could attach a clip to their earlobe, which was connected by wire to a pack that was inserted into their controller. The device would read your heart beat, and gameplay would adapt to its speed. The faster your heart beat, the harder the game would become by giving you more complex block shapes to work with. Certainly an interesting gimmick, but it would understandably be difficult to make use of it in many games.

Recognizing Your Voice

Another N64 peripheral that received little use was the Voice Recognition Unit. It was a microphone that plugged into your system, and recognized certain commands from you to bring about different effects in-game. It was bundled with “Hey You, Pikachu!,” a bland pet simulation title, which is how most of us probably remember it since it was the only game in North America to use it. In Japan, there was an additional game it worked with, “Densha de Go! 64,” a train simulation game. However, there were plans for it to be used with a third game: “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.” These plans were scrapped, but can still be accessed in the game’s code. In 2018, a Rom Hacker named Zoinkitty dug through its internal data and found the commands, though they were all still in Japanese.

Wide-Boy 64

A successor to a similar device on the Famicom, the Wide-Boy 64 was a peripheral exclusive to developers and news outlets. This large cartridge slotted into the N64 and came in two versions, one that allowed Game Boy games to be played on the TV and one meant for Game Boy Advance games. Companies had to purchase this directly from Nintendo, for the surprisingly high price of $1,400. With this, it was easier to take screenshots, capture footage, or, in the case of outlets, review handheld games. But because it was never available to the public, it has become a highly sought after collectible in certain circles.

Online Connectivity

By now, you’ve probably heard of the 64DD, a disc drive add-on for the N64 that was never released outside of Japan due to it being a huge commercial flop. One of the more interesting things about it was its ability to connect to the internet, even if a lot of the planned ideas ended up getting scrapped after it failed. However, this isn’t the only way the Nintendo 64 could go online. Only in the US, players had SharkWire Online, made by InterAct, the same company behind the GameShark. Though clearly unlicensed, it used a dialup connection to let players download cheat codes and save data, as well as access gaming articles from InterAct’s partners. An even more obscure case of online connectivity was with “Morita Shogi 64,” a sequel to the Japan-only launch title, “Saikyō Habu Shōgi.” This had a modem connection port built directly into the cartridge, allowing players to compete against others throughout Japan.

The Nintendo Gateway System

Unless you traveled a lot between the early 90s and late 2000s, and had money to burn, you might have forgotten about the Nintendo Gateway System. This was a partnership with LodgeNet, which saw multiple Nintendo consoles placed inside airplanes and hotel rooms. It was successful during the SNES era. But by 1998 with the N64, the two companies extended their partnership for another ten years. Millions and millions of hotel guests played N64 games this way. It was such a hit that, by 2000, brand new games started appearing as part of the service almost as soon as they launched in stores. Considering the N64 was struggling to keep up with the PlayStation, we imagine this eased the burden.

A Joystick for PC

A stranger peripheral than the ones we’ve already talked about is one that wasn’t even for the N64. In mid-1997, Nintendo partnered with a manufacturer named Laral Group to produce a joystick for Windows 95 called the NJS-3D1, also referred to as the Nintendo 3D1 Joystick. It features the same color scheme as the standard grey N64 controller, and even bears the console’s logo. Yet, you could only use it on PC. We’re not exactly sure why Nintendo chose to greenlight an N64-themed joystick you couldn’t even use on the platform, but there you have it.

Shaking Hands

Nintendo is famously a family friendly company. While you can find multiple violent games on its platforms these days, things didn’t go so smoothly in the past. And that was especially true of games featuring violence towards other people, like in “GoldenEye 007.” James Bond murders all kinds of people throughout the game, which initially caused an issue. Shigeru Miyamoto suggested a specific scene to keep with Nintendo’s public image; an ending in which Bond visited all of his enemies in the hospital, shaking their hands. That would not have been a great idea, and Rare obviously didn’t go with it. But the studio did include a roll-call for the characters during the credits, to emphasize it as a work of fiction.

An Impressive Port

Although N64 cartridges clearly had less space than the PlayStation’s discs, there were obviously some games that were still released on both platforms. However, by far the most impressive of these cases was “Resident Evil 2.” It was released a year after the PS version, which came on two discs. Since CDs could hold around 650 megabytes of data and N64 cartridges could hold only 64 megabytes, we have to assume the developers at Capcom either performed some type of technological wizardry or sold their souls to make this work. The team somehow managed to compress all the assets, while including extra features like alternate costumes, an item randomizer, and new collectibles that expanded on series lore. It also used surround sound, and had better quality music and character animations. It is genuinely surprising how good this port is.

A Problem With the Expansion Pak

As most players are aware, the Expansion Pak was a small accessory you inserted into your N64 that increased the console’s RAM. It was required to play a few games, like “Majora’s Mask” and “Donkey Kong 64,” the latter of which it came bundled with. But it was helpful in all games, increasing their resolution and improving their graphics. There is one exception though: “Space Station Silicon Valley.” There was a bug in the North American version of the game that, when played with the Expansion Pak, would cause it to crash. In fact, a second version of the cartridge had to be issued so that people could actually play it.

Getting Past the Region Lock

Most players might assume that they can’t play Japanese games on their North American N64, and vice versa. But there’s a surprisingly simple way to get around the system’s region lock. The problem comes down to the slightly different shape of the cartridge from each region, making it so they don’t fit. However, all you have to do is remove the back of the cart with a screwdriver, and replace it with the back of a cart you don’t care about from your region. And voila! You can now play Japanese games on your North American system. Sadly, this wouldn’t work for European cartridges, since the PAL versions of games run a fair bit slower than the others.

Canceled Cabbage

“Cabbage” was first announced in 1997, in development for the 64DD, that future failed add-on for the system. It was essentially a pet simulation game, where players would care for a strange fictional creature. And it would have used the disc drive’s internal real-time clock, as well as Game Boy connectivity to bring your Cabbage with you. Nintendo never showed off any footage of “Cabbage,” and elements of it went into “Nintendogs” and “Animal Crossing.” Its cancellation was due to several factors. It was a joint creative effort between Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata, future president of Nintendo who was then at HAL Laboratory, Shigesato Itoi, creator of “Mother,” and Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of The Pokemon Company. But the 64DD ended up a huge failure, Itoi got busy with what would become “Mother 3,” and Ishihara had the Pokemon empire to oversee. Still, it’s interesting to know where the roots of “Nintendogs” and “Animal Crossing” began.

Moving On

There are a handful of interesting cases of games beginning development on the N64 before moving on to Nintendo’s next console, the GameCube. One of the most famous examples is Rare’s “Dinosaur Planet,” which was reworked to be “Starfox Adventures” upon Miyamoto’s request. Other first party titles are “Luigi’s Mansion,” “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem,” and “Pikmin,” which was quite different conceptually than what we eventually got. Additionally, “Earthbound 64” disappeared for years before its story was reworked for the GBA title, “Mother 3.” It also happened with non-first party titles as well, including “Die Hard 64,” which became “Die Hard: Vendetta,” and “Resident Evil Zero.”

Do you know of any other fun facts about the N64 that other players might not? Share your knowledge with us in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!