Released: June 1996, 14 years ago
CPU Speed: RISC 93,8 MHz
Memory: 4 MB RAM
Video: 768x576 / True Color
Game Controller: Gamepad
Price in 1996: $199
The Nintendo 64, or N64, is the third home video gaming console system that Nintendo manufactured. Released in 1996 to the international market, the machine featured a 64-Bit CPU, hence the clever title. This now aged model was the last Nintendo console to use Game Paks for storage, with Nintendo switching to the miniature DVD discs with the N64's successor, the GameCube.
Consumers found the N64 fun and versatile. It was released eight different styles, including color and size differences. The original system was a deep, charcoal gray with a light gray controller. Subsequent releases offered a little more funk and style, coming in colors such as: Fire Orange, Jungle Green, Watermelon Red, Ice Blue or Atomic Purple (also known as grape). It even had some specialty editions, such as the Pokemon Pikachu Nintendo 64, which featured a yellow plastic Pikachu on the right side of a dark blue system. It also was released with a Pokemon video. The original system was released with two great games, Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, both classics remade for the N64's launch.
Nintendo was exceptionally high on the N64 during its development, codenaming it "Project Reality". The company was certain that for only $199, the Nintendo 64 was going to rival the CGI capabilities of the era's supercomputers. However, Nintendo began a gradual decline following the release of the N64, mainly due to the high price tag that accompanied its gaming cartridges. Plainly, Nintendo recovered, and the N64 went on to features some of the coolest games in gaming history.
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