Nintendo 64

€186.85 EU

$261.57 AU

R$628.83 BR

March 1, 1997EU/AU/SK

December 10, 1997BR

November 17, 2003CH (iQue Player)

May 16, 2003 EU

November 30, 2003 US

December 31, 2016 CH (iQue Player)

The **Nintendo 64** (also called ***N64***) is a console released by Nintendo in June 1996. *Super Mario 64* is one of the Nintendo 64's three launch titles. It succeeded the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and was succeeded itself by the Nintendo GameCube in 2001. The N64 was discontinued on April 30, 2002 in Japan, and 2003 in the rest of the world.

## Physical Appearance

The N64's default color was a dark grey, though there were different variations, including both solid and translucent colors that showed off the system's innards. The console supported four controller outputs. On top of the system, there is a cartridge slot. Unlike its predecessor, the SNES, there is no eject button for the slot, meaning carts must be removed by hand. The back of the system is the AC Adapter input, the A/V Cable input, and the RF cable input. The A/V cables were usually composite (red-yellow-white), but a higher-quality S-Video cable could be ordered from Nintendo. This cable is also compatible with SNES and GameCube consoles.

## Controller

The Nintendo 64 controller is, by default, gray. However, like the consoles, different colors existed. The controller is shaped like the letter "M" and sports three handles. The middle hand featured an analog stick, which had never appeared on prior Nintendo hardware. The back face of the controller uses two shoulder buttons, as well as a Z button on the middle handle. Beneath the controller cord is a slot which can hold a Controller Pak.

The front face of the controller contains seven buttons and a directional pad. The D-Pad is located above the left hand, and the red start button is above the analog stick. The green B button and blue A button sit diagonally above the right handle. To the right of the A/B buttons are four yellow C buttons.

The controller is supposed to be held with one hand on the center controller (preferably the player's left hand) and the other on either the left or right, depending on which hand is holding the center grip.

## Accessories

The Nintendo 64 featured a handful of accessories that could be used with the console for various features. Some accessories were required to play certain games.

### Controller Pak NUS-004

The Controller Pak is a memory storage device that is inserted into the back of the controller. It is used to store save data. The Pak itself holds 32KB of storage across 123 pages of data. This Pak is most useful for third party games where the data is not stored in the cartridge itself.

### Controller NUS-005

The controller itself is considered an accessory. One controller was bundled with the console at launch, and they were sold separately.

### Expansion Pak NUS-007

The Expansion Pak is an accessory that is inserted into the memory port in front of the cartridge slot on the console itself, replacing the Jumper Pak. The Expansion Pak contains 4 megabytes of RAM that, when added into the N64, effectively doubles the console's memory. This Pak is required for various games released later in the console's lifespan. It can also be optionally used to increase resolution or framerate.

### Jumper Pak NUS-008

The Jumper Pak is an essential Pak that is inserted into the memory port. The Pak doesn’t do anything besides filling in unused slots that the Expansion Pak normally does. Jumper Paks came included with the console but could be ordered online. The N64 will not run if there is no Jumper Pak (assuming there is no Expansion Pak either).

### Rumble Pak NUS-013

The Rumble Pak is an electronic Pak that can be inserted into the back of the controller. It will vibrate when the player does something in certain games like *Star Fox 64*. The Pak is powered by two AAA batteries.

### Others

There were several other accessories released for the console which you can find here.

## Specifications

The Nintendo 64 was somewhat powerful for its time, but by modern standards, it is ridiculously weak.

**RAM:** The console supports 4 megabytes (4MB) of RDRAM, which can be doubled with the Expansion Pak.

**CPU:** The console uses an NEC VR4300 that clocks at 93.75MHz.

**Storage:** Using a Controller Pak, the console can store 32 kilobytes (32KB) of save data across 123 pages.

**Resolution:** The console supports resolutions ranging from 320x240 (240p) to 640x480 (480i Standard Definition). Most games use 240p, and most that use 480i require the Expansion Pak.

**Aspect ratio:** The console is designed to run in 4:3. However, several games such as *Goldeneye 007* can run in 16:9 Widescreen. Widescreen is sometimes achieved through letterboxing.

**Modern TVs:** The N64 doesn’t look particularly appealing on modern TVs, especially Smart or 4K TVs. The picture is usually overly blurry due to massive upscaling, and pixels may be rectangular. However, the image will usually stretch to accommodate the TV’s aspect ratio. This problem can be solved by a multitude of ways:

* Use an S-Video cable instead of a Composite cable
* Use a CRT TV or a pre-HD TV, which is what the console was designed for
* Use a lower-resolution HD TV (i.e. 720p) so that the upscaling is less severe
* Play on an emulator (See Emulation)

## Emulation

The Nintendo 64 has received its fair share of both official and unofficial emulators since its release.

Nintendo 64 games have been released through the "Virtual Console" series on Nintendo's Wii and Wii U. Through these built-in emulators, games will run at a higher resolution and a consistent framerate. Virtual Console on Wii is no longer usable as of 2020, but the Wii U still works. Individual games cost between $5 and $10.

Unofficially, several emulators have been released on PC for Windows and Mac, as well as other OS like Android. These emulators generally provide enhancements (such as customizable resolution, 60FPS, Mouse and Keyboard support etc.) to games that are absent in official emulation. To play individual games, the emulator needs to use something called a ROM. ROMs can be take directly from the game cartridge (legal) or illegally off the Internet. Read this page regarding emulator legality.