What You Need to Know:
- Growing up as a child in the late 90's was a very pivotal time, because it was during this period when we saw a transition and major technological leap for new consoles. The PlayStation was killing it in the industry and Sega Saturn was still picking up steam, but it was the Nintendo 64 that really took the world by storm with its innovative mechanics and cool gameplay that caught the attention of many gamers.
- The Nintendo 64 (known as N64 for short) saw its official debut in Japan on this day June 23, 1996 with launch titles such as Mario 64, and Pilotwings, both of which really made use of the N64's innovative hardware. Time magazine listed it as "Machine of the Year" in the same year, and as time progressed the system went on to produce some of the most exciting titles in gaming history. Goldeneye paved the way for first person shooters, Banjo Kazooie helped to usher in more 3D platformers, and pretty much Rare in general brought to light a lot of great titles.
- With its interesting controller design and ability to enhance graphics with the cool expansion pack, the N64 was truly a pioneer console in its own right, allowing players to explore open worlds in unprecedented ways, and experience Nintendo at its finest. Many would certainly say that Sony's PlayStation still managed to take the throne, but the N64 captured the hearts of many!
- What are some of your favorite N64 titles? For us, the N64 introduced the world to Mario sports titles like Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, and of course everyone's favorite Mario Party series. Oh, we should also add that N64 was one of the very first consoles to introduce a multitude of color variants for not only their controllers, but hardware!
Long live the N64!
Hands down one of my favorite consoles of all time!