Nintendo 64 (Ohga Shrugs)

The Nintendo 64 is a video game console by Nintendo. Released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, it is part of the fifth generation of gaming consoles.

The Nintendo 64 was both a relic of the past and a step towards the future, having a mishmash of modern and retro features. On one hand, it was the last major console to ever use cartridges to play games, rather than discs such as CD-ROMs. On the other hand, it was the first console specifically designed to play 3D games, and its controller featured the first modern analog stick.

It's chief competitor was the Sega Saturn.

History
Arguably, the concept of the Nintendo 64 went back at least as far as the early SNES era, when the first 2.5D games were created. By 1993, a partnership was formed with Silicon Graphics to create the technology that would power the system. The system, then known as the "Project Reality" and later as "Ultra 64" before receiving its final name, was first revealed to the public in April 1994. Playable demos of games were ready by late 1995. Although the system was originally meant to be out by the holidays of that year in Japan, it was delayed for several months.

Launch
On June 23, 1996, the Nintendo 64 launched in Japan with three games: Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, and Saikyō Habu Shōgi. The American launch in September, which priced the N64 at $199.99, had just the first two games. The Nintendo 64 was later launched throughout Europe, Australia, and Brazil the following year.

Hardware
The Nintendo 64 had several remarkable features upon its release. For one, it had a 64-bit CPU, which it is named after. For another, the console was designed to display fully 3D graphics, unlike its competitor, the Saturn. Also notable was its use of cartridges, which had a fairly limited memory compared to CD-ROMs, with the largest cartridges holding only a fraction of the data a Saturn's CD's could hold.

The N64's CPU ran at 94 MHz, while the GPU ran at 63 MHz. This was significantly more than the Saturn. The Saturn, however, had 5 MB of RAM, compared to the N64's 4 MB of RAM. However, later in the Nintendo 64's life, an attachment was released that increased RAM to 8 MB, allowing the system to play certain games.

Games
About 550 games were released for the Nintendo 64, notably less than the NES's and SNES's 700 to 800 and the Saturn's 1,100. This was due to the relatively poor third party support received by the Nintendo 64. With the chief exceptions of Square and Enix, most major publishers preferred to release games for the Saturn. This was because, although the Saturn was inferior at running 3D games, its CD-ROMs were cheaper to produce and sell, and could contain far more data.

Nevertheless, the Nintendo 64 had a wide variety of million-selling games and critical hits.

List of Million Seller Games
The following is a list of games on the Nintendo 64 that have sold a million or more units worldwide. Please note that this list may be incomplete.


 * Super Mario 64 - 18 million
 * Mario Kart 64 - 15 million
 * Goldeneye 007 - 12 million
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 10 million
 * Super Smash Bros - 8 million
 * Pokemon Stadium - 8 million
 * Donkey Kong 64 - 8 million
 * Diddy Kong Racing - 7 million
 * Star Fox 64 - 6 million
 * Final Fantasy 7 - 6 million
 * Banjo-Kazooie - 5 million
 * Final Fantasy 8 -5 million
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - 4 million
 * Dragon Quest 7 - 4 million
 * Pokemon Snap - 4 million
 * Star Wars Episode 1 Racer - 4 million
 * Mario Party - 4 million
 * Final Fantasy 9 - 4 million
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron - 3 million
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 3 million
 * Wave Race 64 - 3 million
 * Yoshi's Story - 3 million
 * Pokemon Stadium 2 - 3 million
 * Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - 3 million
 * Perfect Dark - 3 million
 * Mario Party 2 - 3 million
 * Mario Tennis - 3 million
 * 1080°: TenEighty Snowboarding - 3 million
 * WCW/nWo Revenge - 3 million
 * Turok 2 - 2 million
 * WWF War Zone - 2 million
 * 007: The World is not Enough - 2 million
 * Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 2 million
 * Namco Museum 64 - 2 million
 * Mario Party 3 - 2 million
 * Hey You, Pikachu! - 2 million
 * Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - 2 million
 * Cruis'n USA - 2 million
 * Banjo-Tooie - 2 million
 * Mario Golf - 2 million
 * Super Mario RPG 2 - 2 million
 * Final Fantasy Tactics - 2 million
 * WCW vs. nWo: World Tour - 2 million
 * WWF No Mercy - 2 million
 * WWF Wrestlemania 2000 - 2 million
 * F-1 World Grand Prix - 2 million
 * South Park - 1 million
 * NFL Quarterback Club 98 - 1 million
 * Toy Story 2 - 1 million
 * NASCAR 99 - 1 million
 * Knockout Kings 2000 - 1 million
 * Madden NFL 99 - 1 million
 * Madden Football 64 - 1 million
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 1 million
 * Mortal Kombat Trilogy - 1 million
 * Glover - 1 million
 * Bomberman 64 - 1 million
 * NFL Blitz - 1 million
 * Jet Force Jemini - 1 million
 * Pilotwings 64 - 1 million
 * F-Zero X - 1 million
 * Excitebike 64 - 1 million
 * Killer Instinct Gold - 1 million
 * Earthbound 64 - 1 million
 * Chrono Cross - 1 million
 * Legend of Mana - 1 million