Summary
Among Nintendo’s extensive lineup of video game systems,theNintendo 64is one of the most important and fascinating ones. The company’s first foray into the world of 3D graphics may have arrived relatively late to the fifth generation of consoles, but it still managed to have an enormous impact on the entire industry.
Curiously enough, the N64 is far from Nintendo’s best or most successful console, but its fans still talk very fondly about it because it just did many things well, and in areas in which its predecessors and successors paled in comparison. The Nintendo 64 stood out in a lot of different ways, and the following examples perfectly reflect all that it did better than most of the other Nintendo consoles.
1Innovative Hardware
Its Analog Stick Completely Changed The Game
The Nintendo 64 was (and still is) famous for its oddly shaped controller,which included ananalog stickthat allowed players to fully control a character’s movement in a 3D game. Of course, by the time this console came out, there already existed other systems capable of running experiences with fully 3D graphics (like the PlayStation or the Sega Saturn), but their characters were relegated to only moving in the four directions of a regular D-Pad.
When the Nintendo 64 launched alongsideSuper Mario 64, the entire gaming industry immediately realized how satisfying and innovative being able to fully control a character’s movement was. This innovative piece of hardware not only influenced its main competitor, Sony, to release a dual analog controller for the PS1 a year later, but it also made analog sticks a mandatory part of every subsequent gaming controller from that point onwards. On top of that, the N64 was the first Nintendo console that had four controller ports built in (without the need for an additional accessory), which made it perfect for multiplayer.
2Innovative Software
But, of course, a console’s innovative hardware can’t thrive if it doesn’t have well-made innovative software as well, and Nintendo was fully aware of this.The aforementionedSuper Mario 64was built around the console’s revolutionary analog stickand, as a result of its massive impact, it became the best-selling video game in the N64’s entire catalog.
That’s not all because two years later, Nintendo releasedThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeon the same console, which not only quickly gained the title of one of the best video games ever created, but it also revolutionized the action-adventure genre with its level design, its open world and its z-targeting mechanic. On top of that, there was alsoGoldenEye 007- Rare’s adaptation of theJames Bondfilm of the same name, which completely redefined how first-person shooters were played on home consoles. Every single Nintendo system has its fair share of innovative games, but the N64 came out at an exact moment in time that allowed it to have multiple revolutionary titles in the span of a few years.
3Brought Many Beloved Nintendo Franchises To 3D
Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, And More Made The Jump To 3D During This Generation
Another advantage of the console generation in which the Nintendo 64 debuted is the fact that this was the moment every company was jumping into the world of gaming with3D graphicsand,as a result, many beloved Nintendo IPs made the jump to 3D on this console. The most famous example isSuper Mario 64, which was as revolutionary and well-received asSuper Mario Broson the NES.The Legend of Zeldaseries also made this jump withOcarina of Time, which also became one of the console’s most impactful and successful titles.
There was alsoMario Kart 64, the first of many sequels toSuper Mario Kart,Donkey Kong 64, thefirst and only 3D game in theDonkey Kongfranchiseuntil the release ofDonkey Kong Bananzain 2025andPokemon StadiumandPokemon Snap, two 3D spin-offs of thePokemonfranchise, which had previously debuted on Game Boy in 1996, the same year the N64 came out. Unfortunately, some popular Nintendo IPs (likeMetroidorFire Emblem) skipped this generation and had to make their jump to 3D on the company’s next console, the GameCube.
4Excellent Multiplayer Games
The N64 Was The Most Social Console In The Company’s History
All Nintendo consoles (both the ones that came before and after the Nintendo 64) had a vast collection of fun and popular multiplayer experiences, but this one stood out more than any other in this regard. The Wii is the only other Nintendo console that can even compete with the N64 in terms of multiplayer gaming, but it still pales in comparison in many ways. For starters, it came with four built-in controller ports, meaning that users didn’t need to buy a separate accessory to play with up to three friends.
But the N64 also had avast collection of excellentmultiplayer titlesthat were as entertaining as they were addictive, prompting players to play with their friends for hours at a time. And the best part is that it truly had something for everyone: Kart-racing fans could playMario Kart 64and/orDiddy Kong Racing, FPS fans could playGoldenEye 007and/orPerfect Dark, fighting game fans could playSuper Smash BrosorKiller Instinct, sports fans could playMario Tennisand/orMario Golf, etc. It’s also important to point out that this console is where the famousMario Partyseries made its debut, which pretty much redefined the Party Game genre.
5Ended A Long Console War Against A Rival Company
Nintendo Defeated Its Biggest Competitor, Sega, During This Generation
An intense rivalry betweenNintendoandSegawas born duringthe previous two console generations, especially when the latter suddenly released its revolutionary 16-bit system, the Sega Genesis. While the Super Nintendo was arguably the superior 16-bit console, the Genesis was still able to maintain a loyal consumer base for many years, with its high-quality exclusives and its multiple accessories. Of course, the jump to 3D during the mid-90s was a crucial moment for this rivalry, and unlike its two predecessors, the Nintendo 64 was able to annihilate its main competition.
The N64 was better than the Sega Saturn in every way (especially in terms of price, controller, and exclusives), and even Sega’s early sixth-generation console, the Sega Dreamcast, was such a commercial failure that it caused the company to stop manufacturing consoles altogether. Needless to say, Nintendo’s defeat can’t be entirely contributed to the success of the N64 (mainly because Sega made multiple questionable business decisions during this time), but the Big N could have easily gone down the same route as its rival if it never made a revolutionary 3D console with a great collection of excellent exclusives.
6It Did Very Well Despite Its Late Release
The N64 Came Out Two Years After The PS1, And It Still Gave It Some Fierce Competition
Nowadays, Nintendo tends to release its consoles a few years before its competition, which allows it to have the upper hand during a specific generation. However, the Nintendo 64 is a notorious exception because it arrived extremely late to what was arguably the most important generation in gaming history (the one in which most companies were making the jump to 3D) and yet it still managed to have an enormous impact, sell a lot of units and become a respectable rival for the PlayStation 1.
Curiously enough, the N64 came out almost two years after the launch of the PS1, but it still did surprisingly well sales-wise,with over 32 million units sold during its lifetime, not to mention that it revolutionized the entire industry with both its software and its hardware. Of course,the PS1 was still the undisputed “winner” of this console generation, but the fact that the N64 became its biggest competitor despite releasing two years later is nothing short of impressive. Unfortunately, this tactic didn’t work for Nintendo a second time, because the GameCube came out a year after the PlayStation 2, and it performed a lot worse than both its competition and its predecessor.
