Nintendo 64 Released

Technology/Invention

Original Logo

The Nintendo 64 first appeared on shelves in Japan in July of 1996. Three hundred thousand Nintendo 64 machines were sold on the first day. After a month on the shelves, it still proved to be in demand, selling over 800,000 consoles. The new gaming system would not launch in the United States until September 29, 1996. By the end of 1996, the demand in America had outstripped the supply of 1.75 million consoles. Buyers were even cashing in on the new product, selling the console they bought for only $200 at prices up to $1000.



The original console with conrollers
in six designer colors!



The demand of the new gaming console, Nintendo 64, was a welcome reaction for the Kyoto firm who had been in a slump since the late 1980s. The Nintendo 64 is the company’s comeback kid. It is the company’s attempt to get ahead of the competition in the tough market of the video-game industry. Sega, Sony, and Nintendo proved to be the leaders in the market. They constantly competed with each other to get the newest technology in their games and consoles.

The new console had a 64-bit microprocessor designed by Silicon Graphics. Sony and Sega’s systems had only a 32-bit microprocessor. Instead of the usually two-dimensional characters that slide up and down or back and forth, the Nintendo 64 provides fully rounded characters that could turn on their heels, rotate through 180-degrees on screen like animated characters in cartoons. “Ray tracing” tricks used in military simulators and engineering workstations also added to the realism of the game.

Mario has remained the most well known Nintendo character to date.