Nintendo 64: Difference between revisions

|lifespan    = {{Flag|Japan}} June 23, 1996<br>{{Flag|North America}} September 29, 1996<br>{{Flag|Europe}} March 1, 1997<br>{{Flag|Australia}} March 1, 1997  

The '''Nintendo 64''' ({{ja|ニンテンドー64|Nintendō Rokujūyon}}, ''Nintendo 64''), often abbreviated as '''N64''', is [[Nintendo]]'s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit processor, it was first announced in 1993 as the ''Nintendo Ultra 64'' before being delayed and dropping the "Ultra" part of its name when it debuted on June 23, 1996 in Japan, and was later released in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. The Nintendo 64 was the first Nintendo console to natively support 3D polygonal graphics, a concept they previously dabbled in with projects like the Super FX Chip. As a fifth-generation console, the Nintendo 64 competed primarily with newcomer {{iw|wikipedia|Sony}}'s {{iw|wikipedia|PlayStation|console}} and the {{iw|wikipedia|Sega Saturn}}. At 32.93 million units sold worldwide, the N64 sold significantly less than its predecessor, the {{iw|nintendowiki|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}, and its primary competitor, the Sony PlayStation. The Nintendo 64 did however overall outsell its other competitor, the Sega Saturn (though the Saturn outsold it in Japan). The N64 marked the first time that Nintendo did not lead a console generation in terms of sales as it did previously with the NES and SNES, having lost to Sony's PlayStation. This decline is mainly due to decisions like sticking to cartridge media, which had severely limited storage and functionality compared to new digital storage devices like the CD-ROM, as well as their now antiquated mandate that publishers must exclusively publish on Nintendo consoles, forced important third party publishers to abandon the console early on, creating a small game library and thus little reason for the average consumer to buy one. This decline of Nintendo console sales would continue over with the [[Nintendo GameCube]] until the [[Wii]] was released to great fanfare and commercial success, before declining again with the [[Wii U]].  

Another version of the Nintendo 64, called the '''iQue Player''' (神游機) is a video game system made by iQue Ltd., [[Nintendo]]'s Chinese subsidiary and released on November 17, 2003. It is a plug-and-play variation of the Nintendo 64 hardware, specifically designed for the Chinese market. The original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' was ported to the iQue Player on November 15, 2005.

N64-rumble-pak.jpg|The Nintendo 64 Rumble Pak. Has compatibility with [[Super Smash Bros.]]