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Machine: Nintendo 64
Manufacturer: Nintendo
Era: 32/64 bit
Format: Cartridge
Outputs:
(front) Four controller ports. (rear) Large space and plug for power "brick, AV connector. (base) Expansion port. (top) Memory enhancement socket.
Australian model source:
UK/European PAL model. Reprinted console and
cartridge boxes in most cases (removing all the non-english langauges)
although a reasonable amount of UK/European game boxes were imported
directly.
Region Variance:
Known as the Nintendo 64 throughout all territories (although was to be known as the Ultra 64 in US and PAL markets until almost before launch). There are no physical differences between models in Japan, the US and PAL markets.
Region Compatibility:
The Nintendo 64 continued Nintendo's fascination with the cartridge medium, and also implemented hardware region locking as per the NES and SNES. Unlike the SNES, the N64 wasn't a huge commercial success (being overshadowed by the phenominally popular Sony Playstation) and thus the call for adaptors was much smaller. They are available however, and can be used to get around regional differences. If you have a US machine, modifying it to play carts from Japan is a simple matter of removing the two tabs located inside the cartridge slot. PAL N64 owners will need to hunt down an adaptor, which may require importing or buying off a European source.
Hardware Versions:
The Nintendo 64 was only released in one version.
Opinion:
Unlike the SNES, which put Nintendo in the worldwide lead for gaming for their second generation, the N64 was paired up against the giant that was the Playstation. Nintendo lost a great many third parties to the Sony machine, due to lower licensing and publishing costs and the freedom of working on the larger CD medium, and so had to rely almost purely on their own first party output and that of second party Rare.
Rely they did, and through that sole relial came an outstanding generation of games. Although N64 owners were short of games range and often short of patience with Nintendos habit of delaying games, the results of their efforts speak for themselves. Super Mario 64 perfected the hazardous move of platformers from 2D to 3D. Wheras other prior titles had stuck with 2D movement and 3D graphics, and whilst others still had provided 3D gameplay but a limited plane of movement, Mario 64 gave gamers the first free roaming 3D platform game, with controls heavily reliant on Nintendo's resurrection of the analogue stick for their console.
The Nintendo 64 also saw the shift of the Zelda series from 2D into 3D, and this was handled with the same excellent results as the Mario move. First party Rare also turned out two games which would confirm that first person shooters could be done and done well on consoles: Goldeneye and Perfect Dark.
The best games on the N64 were from Nintendo and Rare, and those are the games that I bought and played throughout its lifespan. The Nintendo 64 is often unfairly treated by people but none can deny that the games on it provided the catalyst for the first true applications of 3D into 2D genres.
Controller:
D-Pad, Analogue stick, Start button, L and R shoulder buttons, Z trigger button, 6 action buttons (A, B and the left, right, up and down C buttons)
Nintendo had a habit of adding things to their consoles that the rest of the industry would copy, and the N64 controller introduced two of those. First was the analogue stick. Although this was nowhere near a new idea, the inclusion of it as part of the standard controller and the fact that the games proved that analogue control in console games was a necessity meant that no console after it would be released without an analogue stick.
The second of these was the rumble pack, providing force feedback. Again, this was hardly a new idea, but it was the first time it was used in the console arena, and it became a standard as the generation went on. Both of these re-inventions of existing ideas set the path for how console controllers work from then on.
Something not entirely related to the controller but which also became a standard was the fact that the N64 had four controller ports. Again, this was not new (The Atari 5200 did this years ago) but it meant that with the right number of controllers, amazing multiplayer games like Mario Kart 64 and Goldeneye got taken to an entirely new level. I spent two years of university life playing 4-player Goldeneye, and I still refuse to work out how much that brought down my uni results because I had too much fun.
The shape of the controller was a sticking point with people. Although it was large, the main grip position (left hand on the analogue stick and Z trigger, right hand on the buttons) was comfortable. However, gripping the pad on the two outer 'prongs' was less impressive, and often became downright uncomfortable. Combined with the fact that the D-pad itself was nowhere near as good as that on previous Nintendo consoles, this meant that games relying on the digital controller and buttons were often uncomfortable to control. The C button grouping theoretically provided 4 extra face buttons (in a 'fighting six' layout with the A and B buttons) but in practice they were too small and it was easy to hit the wrong one. The N64 controller was the first to dramatically show that Nintendo designs controllers based around its own games, and whilst they may end up perfect for Nintendo games, any game requiring generic controls is often short-changed.
The fabled analogue stick on the N64 is a hard plastic one, and as you use your controller you get a bit of powdery residue where the shaft goes into the controller body. This is actually the stick wearing down, and after a while the smoothness of movement in the stick disappears and a reasonably large dead-spot becomes apparent in the analogue movement. Apart from this problem, the N64 pad is incredibly robust, with all the buttons performing excellently even after years of use.
Collecting:
The Nintendo 64 received a wide release in Australia and had comparatively few titles released here throughout its life cycle, so getting a semi-complete collection of N64 games is easier than it would be doing the same thing for the SNES or NES. Because it has only been recently superceded in Australia by the Gamecube (released mid-2002), some stores still stock new N64 games, some ridiculously overpriced, others stupidly cheap as clearance stock. If you're a N64 collector and see a store with a few games, keep an ear out to see if they're having a clearance sale and you might get a bargain.
Other than new games, secondhand N64 games are still being sold at reasonably high prices. Your best bet would be to go for online auctions, where the buying market generally decides the price that something is worth. Games like the Zeldas are still worth a reasonable amount of money, but being relatively new and having had a wide release, they need to be in pristine condition to gain decent money. You would be better off looking around for some of the popular releases late in the consoles life cycle (Such as Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Conkers Bad Fur Day and Mario Party 2 and 3) If you can find these cheap and in good condition, you've done well.
Importing:
The import N64 scene was a lot quieter than that of the SNES, purely because the Playstation was the machine of choice for developers and thus the N64 saw less releases. However, if you're keen to import from Japan and willing to outlay time and money towards finding one, the Japanese-only 64DD (Nintendo 64 Disk Drive) is an interesting oddity.
Power Supply Specs:
Article by Craig Jardine
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