History of the Nintendo 64

Join me as we dive into the development and history of the Nintendo 64.
This video leaned heavily on the article "The Nintendo 64 Was the Culmination of 90s Virtual Reality" for many of the quotes and general timeline of events leading to the launch of the console. Please support that work.
Special thanks to Wrestling with gaming, Bob Retrorgb, and St1ka for lending their Voice talent to the episode. Also a special thanks to Shadowmask for Audio support and musical talents for this video.

Twitter: @historialnerd

[Parmandur]

The N64 was an unparalleled sleepover experience.

[RichardHartness]

I started saving every dollar I got from birthdays and Christmas gifts as soon as I heard about the "Ultra 64". I bought one on launch day, with SM64. I have no regrets. I love the system to this day.

[Kevinb]

Was it just me or as a kid time just felt so much longer. I still remember me and my brother waiting for ocarina of time to be released for the Nintendo 64 and the delays felt like a decade of waiting. When it was really like a year and a half.

[G.L.]

This is the exact reason Nintendo didn't go with a CD format that generation. Nintendo was fully well aware of beneficial a CD based system could've been. Heck, even Shigeru Miyamoto, Koji Kondo, Eiji Aonuma, Satoru Iwata and others often had positive thoughts on how the N64 could've performed if it were CD based.

There was just one huge issue though, Nintendo didn't have their own semiconductor factories capable of producing such tech Sony did. In order for Nintendo to have been able to acquire such tech was to approach other tech manufacturers capable of producing such tech which would require huge royalty fees on every hardware unit sold. And Nintendo has a History of not wanting to sell such expensive products; especially if it meant selling said CD based product at a loss like Sega and others before them had a habit of doing.

Sony was able to get away with releasing such expensive tech at a low price point because PlayStation was a product made in house and outsourced like what CD based systems were before Sony.

If I'm to share a statement that Ken Kutaragi(father of the PlayStation) had said to Hideki Sato(president of Sega's now former hardware manufacturing division) it could basically be summed up like this: Hideki-Chan(Kutaragi refers to him using the "Chan" diminutive) Hideki-Chan, you guys at Sega don't stand a chance against us here at Sony. Let me ask you something, where are you guys getting your processors from? Where are you guys getting your CD format from? The answer is right in front of you. You're buying them from Hitachi, you're buying them Yamaha, you're buying them from JVC! What bout your CD hard-drives and dev-kits? You guys are buying EVERYTHING!

Continuing on: By buying and selling from Hitachi and JVC, those two manufacturers are the ones profiting off the Saturn with your name on it. To put it simply, you guys buy everything, and you can't make anything yourselves. We here at Sony can make everything ourselves; including custom parts and our own sound chips and processors. We have our own factories!(Kutaragi had more to say on the issue at hand, but the rest is already too long as it is).

Point being, if Nintendo did what Sega and others before them did, it would've resulted in the same expensive system like others before them because of expensive hardware royalty expenses, and the fact that they'd be forced to sell such an expensive product at a loss in hopes of keeping up with the competition; and honestly, I think even SquareSoft back then knew Nintendo wouldn't be able to keep up with Sony no matter how hard they tried. Nintendo didn't have much choice either. In Nintendo's case, it can be summed up like this: Which "Poison" is least likely to affect Nintendo's brand in the long run? Expensive CD tech or Cartridges!?

[WrestlingWithGaming]

"Trip Hawkins was already too deep in..." Something no one ever complained about 😏

This was great man. The extra time and effort you put in really shows. Thanks for letting have a small part in this excellent video.

[wadedewell]

I love this documentary. I hope you make more of them

[Ragesauce]

I remember the game shortage. It didn't stop everyone I knew from buying one, with high hopes on future games. We weren't disappointed.

[Pendarr]

Great video! The N64 might be the most nostalgic system for me. It was the first system that I was old enough as a kid to really appreciate it's impending release and get totally hyped up about it. I remember getting to play Mario 64 at Blockbuster and just how incredible it was - like nothing I had ever seen or played before. Even though I think a lot of the games haven't aged very well, the ones that have stayed good are still REALLY good!

[daltonpaulvideos]

Impressive work. Finally sat down and watched the whole thing. Loved the N64 Overworld renders with the tv’s displaying commercials and news footage. As well as the posters on the walls, etc. No wonder this took most of your year to make. You’re a madman. Great work!

[stka]

Oh man I totally I voiced a cameo in this video xD

Great video as always Ian, though it's pretty interesting how despite lagging behind the PS1, the N64 still did well in the US. In my country it was a DISTANT third lol

[moochoman]

Probably my favourite console of all time. Super Mario 64, Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Goldeneye 007, Ocarina of Time, no mortgage to were the times 😍

[sega_kid]

I know story of the N64 pretty well but never seen it presented so well. Great work!!!

[electropentatonic]

If Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Mario64 were the only games released for the N64, I still would have bought it. What an adventure Zelda was, I'll never forget it. I'm not sure I'll ever experience that magic with a game ever again

[lexas]

Amazing work. Seriously, high quality research and very well produced

[Kevinb]

I can’t believe last September was the 25th anniversary. There will sadly never be leaps in console generations like back then where your mind was just completely blown away. Going from yoshis island the year before to Mario 64 the next year was just mind boggling. Today it’s like oh. I think I see a little more detail

[Gorilla_Jones]

OMG did you sneak a Thunder in Paradise cameo in there? 😆

[dagger]

The Nintendo 64 is hands down still one of the best video game consoles ever! Over 25 years now and I still enjoy playing games like Mario 64 legend of zelda ocarina of time and star fox 64 the Nintendo 64 is still great!

[sluggaboyjr]

How this video only has 31K views over a year is crazy too me. Very well done. *subscribed*

[jess_n_atx]

I think I've watched every video about n64 history and they all being something new to the conversation. This one is no exception. Great work.

[errod]

I’m so glad YouTube recommended this channel. I believe I have found my new favourite channel. This was so good :))