Hi all this is a new network wide feature of sorts ill be doing for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Around 1988 Nintendo was still enjoying the success of it?s NES / Famicom system and didn?t see any need to jump on the 16-bit bandwagon. However the NEC PCengine / Turbografix in Japan, and the Sega Genesis in the US were beginning to dominate the videogame market. Nintendo's jump to 16-bit was no real surprise. Oddly enough Nintendo wanted the original Famicom to be 16-bit, but resources at the time were too expensive to make it happen, but now was the opportunity to take Nintendo to the next level.
The Super Famicom was released in November 1989, and immediately took over 80 percent of the Japanese market. They still had a lot of ground to cover to catch up with the other 16-bit systems. The console itself was quite impressive, and introduced scaling and rotation effects (the famous Mode 7) that could not be duplicated on the other systems.
Nintendo was still slow to release the system overseas. A shortage of supplies, and the fact that the NES was still making money in the US delayed the Super Famicom?s release. The system was finally released in the US on September 1st 1991, and called the SuperNES. The SuperNES was also released in Europe a year later in April 1992.
The SuperNES soon amassed a large library and battled toe to toe with Sega. Their popular character franchises and exclusive games kept them in a heated rivalry. Arcade games played a strong role in the competition. SuperNES got the jump on Sega by releasing the popular arcade title ?Street Fighter 2? with temporary exclusivity. Soon after they lost the edge when they chose to censor another popular arcade fighter ?Mortal Kombat?, which Sega released unedited.
The SuperNES remained popular for the next few years. Sega began introducing game enhancing add-ons such as the Sega CD, and 3D gaming was growing in popularity. Nintendo refused to fall behind the times, and also began working on a CD based add-on. With numerous disagreements with Sony, Phillips, and with production delays, Nintendo scrapped the project. They approached A new developer named Argonaut Software who produced a chip that could be added to game carts. This chip would allow the SuperNES to produce 3D graphics. The SuperFX chip gave the SuperNES new life, and produced popular games such as Star Fox which was released in 1993.
Nintendo continued to use chip enhanced cartridges to maintain the SuperNES?s popularity. Even as 32-bit consoles began to surface, Nintendo continued to surprise gamers. In 1994, Nintendo teamed with a 3rd party developer named RARE. Together both companies produced Donkey Kong Country which used rendered graphics. The game looked as good as first generation 32-bit titles, and kept the SuperNES selling even in a 32-bit generation.
In March 27th of 1998 Nintendo decided to release a scaled down cheaper model Super Famicom in Japan. It was called Super Famicom Jr and retailed for 7,800 Yen. Not only did Nintendo cut the size of the console, but they also cut out the A/V out port and the expansion port. The redesigned model was also released in the US shortly after the debut of Nintendo 64, and called SNES2. Both designs and redesigns of the Super Famicom and SuperNES are shown above.
FACT: Nintendo seemed to get a lot of trouble calls with their NES because gamers had a bad habit of setting drinks on top of it. When they designed the SuperNES, they added rounded edges and raised areas so that you could not set a drink on it. This apparently reduced the amount of troubles called in the United States.
Chip enhanced cartridges kept the SuperNES alive well through the 1990's. Some of the chips included the SuperFX, SuperFX2, DSP1, DSP2, SA-1, C4, SDD1, and lord knows what else.
So now its over to you and we ask whats the greatest Snes Game ever and why? If you cant decide then let us know your favourite 3
Finally before i cross over to you the info above is from a big friend of DCEmu called DW whos site has expired it seems, hopefully i can get Martin to bring his excellent console history site to DCEmu or at least rehosted.
First of all let me say that this site is a homage to Dark Watcher a good friend of DCEmu and whos Console History Site is now on an expired domain, my plan is to relaunch the site with all the features DCEmu users expect and a new look site that carrys on the good work of old DW and maybe he will come back and take over the site
The site will appear soon, well as soon as Plesk is fixed
until then all new history of pages will appear in the announcement forum for a week and dragged across to this forum.
Hi all this is a network wide feature of sorts ill be doing for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Talk about a success story. Nintendo's jump into the console market was a gamble which turned a simple toy company into one of the biggest videogame console manufacturers in the biz.
Nintendo began it's gaming history producing arcade hits like Donkey Kong and Mario Bros, and selling the licensing rights to those games for home console use (See Colecovision). Eventually Nintendo decided to take a crack at the home console industry.
The Nintendo Famicom (FAMIly COMputer) videogame system was released in Japan in 1984. The console's great specs, and ports on Nintendo's popular arcade titles, quickly made it a popular favorite in Japan. The Famicom sold 2.5 million systems in that same year. With success achieved in Japan, Nintendo set it's eyes on the American gaming market. They began negotiations with the American videogame console industry leader Atari to bring the Famicom to the U.S.
The "Great Videogame Crash of 1984", and some poor business announcements forced Atari to pull out of the agreement. After the negotiations with Atari to sell the Famicom fell through, Nintendo decided to release the system on their own regardless of the weak videogame market or the recent crash occurring in the States. Nintendo take a chance? You bet, but they were not going to gamble without doing their homework.
They called the US. version of the Famicom the 'Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)', and designed it to look less like a videogame console and more like something that would fit in with other home entertainment appliances. Nintendo took steps to make the system seem like a computer or a VCR. Nintendo even agreed to buy back all unsold inventory in order to get retailers to take a chance on them.
The NES also used 72 pin cartridges (The Famicom used 60 pin). Four of the additional pins were used for Nintendo's patented lockout chip. This initially prevented software developers from producing unlicensed games for the NES. Nintendo used the lockout chip and restrictions on 3rd party software developers to prevent the over saturation of bad games that contributed to the "Videogame Crash".
The system was originally targeted for release in spring of 1985, but the release date was pushed back. After test-marketing in the New York City area in late fall, the system was released nationwide in February of 1986.
The Nintendo NES was an amazing success, and revived the videogame console market in the United States. Nintendo ushered in the 3rd Generation of console gaming.
Nintendo would later debut the NES successor, but would still try to cash in on the remainder of the NES's success. In 1993, Nintendo released a top loading NES model 2. This newer model was scaled down to nearly half the size of the original. The case was a sleeker design (Like a smoother Famicom). The cartridge port was more stable, and used eject & power buttons similar to it's successor the SuperNES. Even the controller had the "bone-like" shape of the SuperNES. This new model sold for $45. The cheaper price came at the loss of the original model's interface and A/V output ports. Nintendo dropped support for this new model a year later. Today, it's a collectors item.
The NES had sold over 62 million systems and over 500 million games, making it the most popular videogame system of it's time.
FACT: Nintendo's success introduced some of the most interesting accessories and conversions. Who could forget the "Power Glove", and "Rob the Robot". Nintendo slapped "NES-like" hardware into an Arcade cabinet and released Nintendo Playchoice to arcades everywhere. In Japan they released a disk drive accessory that allowed gamers to download games from vending machines onto a disk.
Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest NES Game Ever ?
Hi all this is a network wide feature of sorts ill be doing for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Sega Dreamcast
Around March 12th, 1997 rumors began to surface about what began as a 64-bit upgrade for the Sega Saturn. Eventually news began to leak about Sega?s development of a totally new console. By June 1997, Sega had two different design specs under consideration to become the new console. One design was code-named ?Black Belt?, and the other code-named ?Dural?.
?Black Belt? was being designed by Sega of America. The console would sport an IBM/Motorola PowerPC 603e CPU with 3Dfx Voodoo graphics chipset. As a result of the programming difficulties of the Sega Saturn, Sega of America also approached big time Windows developer Microsoft to create an easy to program operating system for the console (Probably where Microsoft took an interest in the console market). Sega of Japan however began developing ?Dural? which would sport a Hitachi SH-4 CPU with PowerVR2 graphics chipset designed by old console rival NEC/Videologic (Maker of the Turbografx 16, Turbo Duo, and PC-FX). Both designs were brought to the big shots at Sega, and compared side by side. It was determined that the ?Dural? design would be used, but would incorporate elements of the ?Black Belt? design. As a result most of the members of the American design team quit the company. 3Dfx then filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Sega.
Sega worked with Microsoft, Hitachi, NEC/Video Logic and Yamaha to produce the new console. It was announced to the public as the Sega 'Katana' on September 7th 1997, and would be the first 128-bit console to enter the videogame market. Sega fueled the console?s hype by spending $100 million to launch it.
The system now called Sega Dreamcast was re-scheduled a number of times due to the demand for units. . Dreamcast was finally released on November 25th 1998 in Japan. By 16th July 1999, the Dreamcast was outselling the Nintendo 64 by a 3 to 1 ratio. Meanwhile in America, advertising for the Dreamcast was taking place and by August 1999 it had broken many sales records by grossing an estimated 98 million dollars. Europe also saw a successful release on October 14th 1999.
The Dreamcast was an impressive system boasting powerful specs, a simple to program Windows CE operating system, and a built in modem for use in internet browsing and online gameplay. The year long wait from the Japanese release gave 3rd Party Developers ample time to bring an impressive collection of software titles for the console's release.
After some delays, SegaNet was finally introduced. SegaNet gave Dreamcast users the ability to play games online. In January 2000, 30% of Japanese Dreamcast owners were online, and by February 17th this had risen to almost 50%. In the US over 300,000 people were using DC's Internet and in Europe over 200,000 were reported. It would seem that Sega had finally corrected the mistakes that plagued them in the past.
Even with the success of Dreamcast all was not well in the world of Sega. Sega faced numerous lawsuits from companies such as 3Dfx, and were attempting to recover from a failed merger with Japanese company Bandai that occurred in January 23 1997. The eventual release of Sony?s 128-bit over hyped successor complicated matters with it?s backwards compatibility and ability to play DVD?s (more bang for the buck). The President of Sega Sholchiro Irimajiri steped down and was replaced by Isao Ohkawa. One of Ohkawa's first steps is to issue an ultimatum and 500 million dollars to Sega of America to make the Dreamcast strong in the U.S market again. Sega began facing difficulties with price wars against Sony. Sega initially could not afford to lower the price of the console because they would never meet the break-even point ( losses from previous console failures did not help matters. Console manufacturers actually lose money for each console sold, and recap losses by licensing each game released for the console.) Obviously with Nintendo and Microsoft?s announcement of new consoles, Sega knew they couldn?t hold out.
On January 31 2001, Sega of America announced a major restructuring. The price the Sega Dreamcast dropped to $99.95 on February 4, and production of new Dreamcasts ceased on March 31. Sega left behind the hardware business and became a 3rd party software developer. Sega of Japan followed suit two days later.
The Sega Dreamcast was an amazing console, and possibly one of Sega?s greatest successes. It opened the gateway to console online gaming, and it's heart lives on in Sega?s NAOMI arcade board. It?s a shame that the Dreamcast?s success could not save Sega as a hardware company, but it?s amazing game library lives on in console and PC ports.
FACT: Sega?s choice to use a simplistic operating system to run it?s Dreamcast console was not only a benefit to 3rd Party Software developers, but also to private programmers around the world. Even after Sega announced they would no longer support the console, the Dreamcast lives on special thanks to these amazing private software authors. .
Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Dreamcast Game Ever ?
Hi all this is a network wide feature of sorts ill be doing for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Sony Playstation / PSOne
Japanese electronics company Sony?s involvement in the videogame industry began as a manufacturer of a custom sound chip used in Nintendo?s SuperNES console.
Rival companies NEC and Sega had taken the leap to CD based gaming, and Nintendo had no intentions of being left behind. They immediately partnered up with Sony to develop their CD based system. Sony went on to develop two units. One was a 16-bit add-on for the Super Famicom / SuperNES that sat underneath the system and allowed CD based gaming (SNES CD ), and another as a stand-alone unit. Initially the agreement allowed Sony the ability to license CD based games for the system. Nintendo was not willing to relinquish control over software licensing. They dropped Sony from the project, and approached Phillips to develop the add-on.
Ken Kutaragi, the Sony researcher who had worked on the "SNES PlayStation" prototype and the sound chip for the SNES (Sony SPC700), did not want to give up the hard work put into the unit. He wanted to continue working on this project and so he approached the then Sony President Norio Ogha to develop the stand-alone console without Nintendo. The project continued, and the new Sony Computer Entertainment Division was formed (SCEA).
Sony announced the console dubbed ?Playstation? at the Tokyo International Electronics Show on October 1991. The original Playstation concept would be able to play SNES games, as well as educational CD software. Nintendo would try to re-negotiate with Sony in fear that they would drop support for the SuperNES sound chip, but the joint effort between the companies never saw the light of day. Ken Kutaragi went back to develop the Playstation from scratch making it a 32-bit console that was simple yet powerful, easy to program for, and cheap. The new Sony Computer Entertainment division (SCE, SCEA, SCEE) began to use their company connections, and financial influence to persuade 160 3rd party software developers in North America alone, and over 400 worldwide, to develop for the newly designed Playstation.
The Playstation (a.k.a PSX) was released shortly after the Sega Saturn on December 2nd 1994. The console was an immediate success selling over 100,000 units it?s first weekend. Developers found the Playstation simpler to develop for then it?s 32-bit rival Saturn. Sony then took it?s console abroad. The Sony Playstation immediately saw success in America on September 9th 1995. Europe saw releases a month later.
The PSX success was driven by a strong advertising campaign, and a price $100 cheaper then Sega Saturn. The PSX eventually claimed the number one videogame console sales position by beating out the Saturn, and even maintaining it?s position after the eventual release of Nintendo?s 64-bit console.
Even after the release of next generation systems, Sony saw an opportunity to make even more money out of the PSX. In 1999 Sony released the PSOne. This remodeled PSX console was made to the size of a portable CD Disk player. It was also both cheaper to buy, and cheaper to produce. LCD screens, battery packs, and vehicle power outlets also made the console somewhat portable.
The PSX had one of the largest libraries of software spanning 1000+ releases, and a wide assortment of accessories. Ken Kutaragi's desire to keep Playstation going ushered in he next level of three dimensional CD-based videogaming, and helped make Sony a dominate force in the videogame industry.
FACT: In mid 1997, Ken Kutaragi brought back an idea that had not been seen in almost 20 years. A special version of the Playstation called Net Yaroze (Yaroze meaning ?Let?s do it together?) was released in limited quantities for around $750USD. This unit was a simplified development kit that would allow users to make their own PSX games using the C program language. Such an idea was last introduced back in 1979 with the Bally Professional Arcade (Bally BASIC), the Magnavox Odyssey2 (Computer Intro), and the Atari 2600 (BASIC Programming).
The console contained both S-video and A/V ports with cables and software to connect to any Windows / Mac PC. The unique thing about the Yaroze is that it did not contain region lockouts... so pretty much any game from any country could be played. However it did come with a special memory card that was required to start the console. The memory card contained protections that prevented copied games from running. Sony even established a website to assist programmers in development.
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Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Playstation Game Ever ?
Check out PS2 Emulation for info on Playstation Emulators and Homebrew and Emulators for the Playstation.
Continuing our network wide feature for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Genesis / Megadrive
Sega made a good attempt with their Master System against Nintendo's virtual monopoly of the console industry, but they were about to introduce next generation gaming to the masses.
After two years of development the Sega Megadrive was released in Japan in October of 1988, and was the first true 16-bit console to enter the console market. The Megadrive achieved moderate success in Japan after being beat to the market by NEC's PC Engine (Turbografx) ( released only four months earlier). Sega had a lot of hits in the arcade such as After Burner and Golden Axe, and part of the appeal of the Megadrive was that now these games were not only playable at home, but were fairly close to the arcade versions.
Once again Sega set their sites on the rest of the console playing world. Sega began an aggressive marketing campaign, not only to customers, but also to developers. They quickly gained the support of western third party developer Electronic Arts, and quickly produced a line-up of quality arcade conversions and killer sports games (Games that appeal more to American gamers).
The Sega Genesis was released in America in September 1989. By the end of 1990 there were over 30 third-party developers writing games for the new system. The Sega Genesis reached a great level of success in America, but launched the system to all new heights of popularity when they released a secret project in the summer of 1992. Sonic the Hedgehog pushed the Genesis to the limit with spectacular graphics, animation, sound, and incredible speed. Sonic also became the official mascot and icon for Sega, and became part of marketing campaign to compete against Nintendo's soon to be released console which contained a slower processor (Sega dubbed the techniques used in Sonic as "Blast Processing").
Genesis saw many changes over the years. The console was remodeled in 1994, and offered a sleeker / smaller case, and a reduced price (At the expense of the head phone jack and volume control). In 1998, Majesco reserved the rights to manufacture certain Sega systems. They decided to redesign the Genesis yet again. The Genesis 3 was released in the US for under $50. It was made even smaller, but lacked the ability to interface with Sega CD and 32X.
FACT: Over the years the Genesis / Megadrive became the center point to many upgrades and add ons. The Powerbase converter allowed Master System games to be played on the Genesis. It bypassed the main 68000 processor in the Genesis and used the Z80 sound processor to run the original Master System code. While rumors circulated of a Game Gear to Genesis converter, it never made it past the prototype stage. Others served as upgrades namely the Sega CD and 32X which will be discussed later on.
Between 1993 - 1994, 3D gaming was growing in popularity. Sega's rival Nintendo collaborated with another company to develop a chip that could enhance games with 3D polygon abilities (the Super FX chip). Not to be outdone Sega teamed up with Hitachi to create the 'Sega Virtual Processor'. The SVP chip was primarily designed for Sega's 3D arcade titles, but one game was released for the Genesis with the chip installed in the cart. In 1994 "Virtua Racing" was released and retailed for $90-$100USD.
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Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Megadrive/Genesis Game Ever ?
Continuing our network wide feature for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Nintendo GameCube
At Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 1999, Nintendo announced the initial specifications for its next-generation console, code-named Dolphin. The first thing that Nintendo made clear was that the new system would not use a cartridge medium. The Nintendo 64 had done ok with the format, but the games were expensive, and the format alienated some 3rd Party developers.
More specifics were released about the new console as months past. Nintendo would have several companies involved in the project. IBM designed and manufactured the console processor called the ?Gekko?. The graphics processor called ?Flipper? was designed by a small startup company called ArtX who was later bought out by ATI. The graphics chip was manufactured by NEC. Macronix and Factor 5 contributed the sound with MoSys providing the system memory. Lastly the console would use a proprietary 8cm optical disc game format capable of holding 1.5GB of data (twice the capacity of CD-ROMs). This disk was developed and manufactured by Matsushita (best known by its Panasonic brand name). It became clear that Nintendo was indeed developing something impressive.
Nintendo?s new console was revealed on August 24, 2000 at their Nintendo Spaceworld show. The console, which was being called Starcube, was officially named the Nintendo GameCube. A fitting name for one of the smallest console system in recent history. The GameCube?s power was demonstrated with a tech demo of a game simply called ?Mario 128?.
Displaying textures would be the GameCube's most potent asset. GameCube used 6-to-1 texture compression, which will let texture data be shrunk to one-sixth its original size, with no appreciable hit on the hardware. This was clearly apparent as onlookers watched 128 rendered Mario character models running around the screen at once.
Many questioned why Nintendo would not utilize the immense DVD storage format and movie playback that rival consoles were using. Nintendo would state that they had created a next-generation, powerful, easy to understand, and easy to develop gaming system, and that would be their only focus. Roughly translated "We don't care about movie playback, and will not pay the fee associated with using the DVD standard. The Gamecube is a game console...nuff said."
Nintendo launched the GameCube in Japan on September 14 2001. Although Nintendo would market the console in other colors, only the Indigo (purple) version was initially available. Nintendo was ble to market the GameCube for around $100 less then the Playstation 2 and Xbox (Japan retailed at 25,000 yen).
A lack of initial game titles, plus a subdued publicity campaign, may have hindered the Japanese GameCube launch. Nintendo released only three games (Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball, and Wave Race: Blue Storm) and managed to sell 300,000 of 450,000 shipped units. Clearly not the usual publicized launch that usually occurs abroad, but another contributing factor may have been the world?s focus on the September 11th Terrorist Attack on the US.
The GameCube launch in the US was originally scheduled for November 5, 2001. Nintendo felt it wiser to delay the release in order to make more units and launch titles available. The GameCube was officially launched on November 18th, only a mere few days after the release of Microsoft?s Xbox. Over 700,000 units and 8 launch titles were available at launch. Even with two other next generation consoles on the market, the GameCube still managed to sell out it?s initial shipment. The success followed with the European launch in May of 2002.
As the other rival consoles went about unveiling their online gaming strategies, Nintendo merely announced the availability of a network adapter that could be used with Phantasy Star Online (oddly enough a game from former rival Sega who began console online gaming with Dreamcast). It appeared as if online gaming was not part on Nintendo?s overall strategy at that point. Nintendo's solution for multiplayer gaming was instead the concept of 'connectivity'.
Nintendo unveiled new forms of connectivity between Nintendo GameCube and their popular handheld portable Game Boy? Advance. By linking the two systems, the Game Boy Advance can be used as more than a controller. For instance, players can transfer a character trained on GameCube onto Game Boy Advance to continue game play while away from home. Or, transport characters or items via Game Boy Advance to trade with friends. Games such as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Pac Man VS, and Legend of Zelda: Four Swords would allow up to four gamers to play multiplayer games with the Game Boy? Advance being used for status or split screen action.
Their main focus was to release quality game titles which had slowed to a trickle since the console?s debut. Toward the end of 2002 however, the GameCube saw the release of many quality ?must have? exclusive games. Remakes and sequels to Nintendo?s popular franchise characters helped push software sales for the console well into 2005. It seems Nintendo had done well to continue their console legacy, but they still had not managed to reach the level of dominance they once held.
FACT: In Japan it appeared as if the Playstation 2 gained many hardware sales by being a low costing DVD player. Nintendo partner Matsushita saw an opportunity to also cash in. The result? The Panasonic Q. A machine that combines a Nintendo GameCube and Panasonic DVD player into one.. The Panasonic Q is currently only sold for retail in Japan, however it can be purchased through import retailers. To help garner the attention of import consumers, establishments such as Upstate Games have gone the extra mile to make it totally region friendly, enabling you to play all region DVDs in addition to Japanese and US GameCube software. However, importing this puppy would run you close to $474.99USD.
Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Gamecube Game Ever ?
Today another site joins the DCEmu Network, a site that over the next few months will build into a massive place to find history on consoles you have and have not heard of.
I am hoping to build the site in different colours and so the official launch will happen soon but for now browse the site and consoles we have already covered.
Continuing our network wide feature for just about every console thats emulated and that we own, in time it can be used as a reference point for people to look at what games are the very best on each system
Firstly heres a look at each system and a description to remind you of the history of the console.
Nintendo 64
Nintendo stretched the life of their 16-bit console for as long as they could. Their initial attempts at entering the market with a 32-bit CD add-on (see Playstation) never saw the light of day. After the releases of Sony and Sega?s 32-bit systems, Nintendo began spreading the word of their new console in development. The leap to a 64-bit console became known as Project Reality. The system was a joint venture by Nintendo and Silicon Graphics. Nintendo would later change the name to ?Ultra 64?.
Nintendo shocked developers and gamers alike with the decision to remain with a cartridge format instead of CD?s, which had become the most favorable game media for the time. This turned away many 3rd Party software developers who felt the cartridge did not have the storage capacity to handle their game projects (a weakness that hurt the Atari Jaguar). Nintendo stuck by the cartridge format saying that it was the best media to use with the Ultra 64, and that CD?s would be plagued with extreme ?load? times. Also carts were more durable then CD?s which are prone to scratching (particularly with younger kids). Eventually Nintendo would put all doubts to rest in 1995 with a playable Super Mario 64 shown at a Japanese trade show. Super Mario 64?s lush 3D visuals were enough to regain interest in Nintendo?s new console.
On June 20th, 1996, the console was again renamed Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan along with Super Mario 64, and two other games. It was then released in USA on 26 September of the same year. Other countries saw N64 releases soon after.
The console was an immediate success, but a shortage of quality games began to slow system sales. Games were released in small trickles. Developers found the cartridge format limiting. Effects such as Full Motion Video and large quantities of voiceover, music, and sound effects could not be reproduced due to the limited storage capacity (keep in mind however that N64 can produce CD quality sound). Gamers found some of the N64 3rd Party game releases cheaper on rival consoles CD formats (Carts had a high manufacturing price which was filtered down, naturally, to the consumer. The same held for other game titles large in size. The more megabits the cart the... the higher the price).
Even with the small amount of game releases, Nintendo managed to release amazing game titles based on franchise characters from their SuperNES / NES days. Also with help from RARE, the company that breathed new life into the SuperNES with ?Donkey Kong Country?, The Nintendo 64 saw some great game exclusives that kept gamers happy with their console choice. While 64-bit updates to popular SuperNES games was the way to go, it also generated a Nintendo 64 stereotype of being a ?Kiddy? console (although most of those supposed kiddy games are amazingly fun). Rival console manufacturers would use this stereotype to their advantage in an effort to attract older ?hardcore? gamers.
Nintendo clearly understood that the cartridge storage abilities would limit 3rd Party developers. In 1997 they began announcing a device called the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive or N64DD for short. It would be a magnetic disk drive, which connected to the N64?s expansion port. The device would add an addition 4 megabytes of RAM to the N64, and offer 64 megabytes of additional read / writeable RAM for developers to use. The device saw numerous delays, and eventually was released in Japan only. Other countries however did receive the N64 Expansion Pack. This accessory was released around 1998. It added an additional 4Mb of RAM . Games specifically made to take advantage of it?s capability could increase the game's resolution, improve graphics, make levels larger, etc. For other games however it did nothing.
In the end Nintendo 64 was a remarkable machine that brought about innovations such as controller ?rumble? effects, and analog / digital controllers. The console was supported well into 2002, and sold over 30 million units worldwide. It also marked the end of the ?Cartridge Era?.
FACT: The N64 console was developed in a wide assortment of colors. Even a special edition Pikachu(ph33r the Pikachu!) unit was created.
Thanks again to Dark Watcher for his info above.
Now heres our question to you - Whats the greatest Nintendo64 Game Ever ?
Check out N64 Homebrew for info on all things Nintendo64 Related.
