Fun Club Looking back, the N64 era feels the most existentially dire era for Nintendo prior to the Wii U.

[Mer.Saloon]

Specifically the time between 95-97.

Its something I just kinda marvel at in hindsight. It was during this era that Nintendo went from the dominating power in Japan to a distant 3rd place.

The Gameboy was seen as an outdated relic whose sales had long since waned into twilight with no successor in sight. The Virtual Boy was a colossal flop. And the N64 was massively delayed, and when it finally arrived on the scene, the software lineup was absolutely anemic.

The cartridges were a huge problem not just for third party developers, but for internal staff who were developing titles with the expectations that they'd be on the more powerful N64DD which was itself a gigantic mess. The failure to develop the DD led to massive delays as many exclusive titles were forced to downscale to carts which further spread out the N64 library even further.

We've read stories of massive crunch during this period from studios like Rare and internal Nintendo studios on games like Majora's Mask in desperation to make the most of these game engines.

Its kind of a miracle Nintendo even survived this. We often think the Gamecube was worse, but in some respects it was better. The gamecube at least had the thriving Gameboy line supporting it its whole life.

The N64 just seemed barely to skirt past disaster thanks to the rising star of Rare in the west, and Pokemon reviving the Gameboy enough for the GBC to come along. Its kinda miraculous in a lot of ways.

The Gamecube by comparison feels like it suffered from the fallout of late N64 development causing early Gamecube titles to be delayed.
But again, at least Gamecube had the stable GBA propping it up during its own troubled life. The N64 by comparison just feels more held up by hopes and dreams.

Could you imagine another time when almost every branch of Nintendo's hardware business was struggling? Even if it was short lived, imagine if Pokemon didn't come to save the Gameboy line, how things would have been?

 

[Lugia667]

The Gameboy was seen as an outdated relic whose sales had long since waned into twilight with no successor in sight.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Until Pokemon showed up, yeah.

 

[Branduil]

As someone who was there at the time, I can't really agree with this. The general vibe at the time was that yeah, Nintendo fucked up with the N64 format, but they were still making great games, and the "Dolphin" would turn things around.

The 2003-2005 era was far worse in terms of the general opinion of Nintendo: we had just seen SEGA die, so that was on everyone's minds, and the Gamecube was a miserable failure, with "kiddy" Zelda and subpar Mario games. The GBA was doing numbers, sure, but the stormcloud of the PSP was on horizon there. The announcement of the DS was seen as a bizarre curiosity even Nintendo didn't believe in. If the "Revolution" failed it was widely believed it would be the end for Nintendo as a console maker.

This era was the origin of the whole NintenDOOMED meme.

 

[bixente]

We're blessed as Switch owners.

This month of August has more quality games coming than you'd get in a year on the N64. And I loved the N64.

 

[Jahranimo]

I was six years old when I got a N64 for Christmas 1997. I think for those who were at least in their teen years and had a SNES beforehand are the only ones who really experienced this firsthand.

Looking back though obviously this is true but given subjective and anecdotal experiences with the N64, its games and friends who also had one it was a great time. I'm not sure about "disaster" cause to me, multiplayer was king on Nintendo 64 compared to other platforms. I believe that plus revolutionary games like Mario 64 and Zelda OoT kept it going. As I got older though I was super excited for the Gamecube, the magazines were really hyping it up big time lol.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

Until Pokemon showed up, yeah.

But the thing is those games launched in the same year as the N64. The N64 itself had an amazing record breaking launch, and while it quieted down afterwards until Kart/Goldeneye, and later OOT, Game Boy and Pokémon both kept trucking on.

I do agree it was existentially anxiety inducing for Nintendo fans given that it was the first time that Nintendo HADN’T been at the top or even in the running to be honest, but Nintendo’s lifeline manifested at the exact same time that their troubles did

 

[Mer.Saloon]

As someone who was there at the time, I can't really agree with this. The general vibe at the time was that yeah, Nintendo fucked up with the N64 format, but they were still making great games, and the "Dolphin" would turn things around.

The 2003-2005 era was far worse in terms of the general opinion of Nintendo: we had just seen SEGA die, so that was on everyone's minds, and the Gamecube was a miserable failure, with "kiddy" Zelda and subpar Mario games. The GBA was doing numbers, sure, but the stormcloud of the PSP was on horizon there. The announcement of the DS was seen as a bizarre curiosity even Nintendo didn't believe in. If the "Revolution" failed it was widely believed it would be the end for Nintendo as a console maker.

This era was the origin of the whole NintenDOOMED meme.

That's kind of what amazed me about N64 also. It feels on the brink of a disaster, but if you weren't say, living in Japan at the time, Nintendo did some of the greatest damage control in history.

Its so easy to feel the Gamecube gen was worse, because it finally hit NA but so much of the worst of the gamecube was influenced by the path of the N64.

 

[Derachi]

actually the n64 era was the best because I was like 8 years old and didn’t have to work or pay bills

 

[Linkstrikesback]

Until Pokemon showed up, yeah.

In Japan, Pokémon showed up like half a year before the n64. It only came so late internationally because they didn't really start localisation until it became clear what a massive hit they had on their hands and thy wanted to sit on it for the multimedia push to all release around the same time.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

In Japan, Pokémon showed up like half a year before the n64. It only came so late internationally because they didn't really start localisation until it became clear what a massive hit they had on their hands and thy wanted to sit on it for the multimedia push to all release around the same time.

It is amazing how perfectly timed the localization was to match with the multi-media storm right? It feels hard to believe that Pokemon was just a game once upon a time since it never was that in NA.

 

[neil]

I sold my PlayStation and got an N64 with Goldeneye and Zelda OoT, had no regrets and wasn't aware of any issues.

But yeah looking back, the company probably didn't have the cash reserves that it built up in the Wii and DS days, so maybe was in a worse financial position after the N64 failures than during the Wii U period.

 

[Earthbounder]

I was 6 when the Nintendo 64 came out, so in a way that's the system I grew up with. But yeah, I've got to agree. Based on the very subjective metric of "amount of new awesome games", it was probably Nintendo's low.

And I'm someone who ranks many Nintendo 64 classics as my favorites. Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Star Fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker's Bad Fur Day, the Mario Party trilogy, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Paper Mario, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Super Smash Bros, and a few others are absolute gems. But you get out of these popular titles and things get complicated.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

I sold my PlayStation and got an N64 with Goldeneye and Zelda OoT, had no regrets and wasn't aware of any issues.

But yeah looking back, the company probably didn't have the cash reserves that it built up in the Wii and DS days, so maybe was in a worse financial position after the N64 failures than during the Wii U period.

The N64 came around the time of the Yen falling i think, which contributed to the collapse the cart market but we've only recently heard o the disastrous effects it had on SEGA of Japan and less is documented on the impact on Nintendo. The cart prices however nearly bankrupt a lot of US branches of companies like Capcom, Enix, etc.

You can find more info in this article here: https://mdshock.com/2022/05/09/a-second-atari-shock-the-decline-of-the-16-bit-console-era/

 

[Jbone916]

Imo 2003 - 2005 was Nintendo’s lowest point. GameCube sales were pretty pitiful at this time and while the GBA was thriving, both companies and consumers were forecasting the PSP to eat up a major chunk of the handheld market share. There were some good first party games released at this time of course (as is true for all years after 1984), but confidence in Nintendo’s future as a console maker was low. The DS seemed like a strange proposition with limited potential as a “third pillar,” and all hope was resting on the Revolution and Twilight Princess.

 

[Beanstar40]

They represented two massive changes for nintendo. The first was moving to 3d, the second was moving to HD. Both transitions took their internal and external developers a while to grow a custom to, hence the software droughts seen across both platforms

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

I sold my PlayStation and got an N64 with Goldeneye and Zelda OoT, had no regrets and wasn't aware of any issues.

But yeah looking back, the company probably didn't have the cash reserves that it built up in the Wii and DS days, so maybe was in a worse financial position after the N64 failures than during the Wii U period.

Nintendo was always cash flush and no debt (they had a lot of money built up from the NES days, refused to get into the direct confrontational competition Sega tried to goad them into in the 16-bit days, took their time to launch the N64, and as always, sold it at a profit upfront. They also had the revenues generated dby Game Boy and their IP licensing initiatives propping them up).

They are more secure now, obviously, but Nintendo was always financially secure even in the N64 and GCN eras - that's why they had the luxury of taking their time to figure things out, rather than rushing from one failed experiment to the next like Atari and Sega had had to.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Nintendo was always cash flush and no debt (they had a lot of money built up from the NES days, refused to get into the direct confrontational competition Sega tried to goad them into in the 16-bit days, took their time to launch the N64, and as always, sold it at a profit upfront. They also had the revenues generated dby Game Boy and their IP licensing initiatives propping them up).

They are more secure now, obviously, but Nintendo was always financially secure even in the N64 and GCN eras - that's why they had the luxury of taking their time to figure things out, rather than rushing from one failed experiment to the next like Atari and Sega had had to.

It can be argued the changing Yen did press Nintendo during the N64 gen as well as their direct competition with SEGA in underselling strained their North American profits.

Almost all Japanese game companies are reporting heavy losses in both North America and Europe due to uncontrolled underselling. Sega, which has been considered one of the favorites in the new multimedia era, is now planning drastic revisions to its home console business.

A Second Atari Shock? The Decline of the 16-Bit Console Era - Mega Drive Shock

I have previously written about the sudden decline of Sega’s 16-bit business in North America and Europe beginning in 1993. Below, I translate an article from the February 29, 1996 edition of the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun that goes into more detail about the 16-bit market crash...

mdshock.com

Of course Nintendo didn't fall the way of SEGA primarily because they were smarter and didn't go the lengths they did. But the troubled of N64 development could not have helped things.

Yeah, ultimately they came out fine, but the gen feels like changes that washed over the whole industry nearly could have swallowed them too had it not been for a lot of really lucky breaks.

And though the Gamecube may be seen as a worse era, Nintendo really wasn't smarting from a financial place, rather from a place of an uncertain future due in part to a lot of staff changes that mixed a lot of messaging.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

It can be argued the changing Yen did press Nintendo during the N64 gen as well as their direct competition with SEGA in underselling strained their North American profits.

A Second Atari Shock? The Decline of the 16-Bit Console Era - Mega Drive Shock

I have previously written about the sudden decline of Sega’s 16-bit business in North America and Europe beginning in 1993. Below, I translate an article from the February 29, 1996 edition of the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun that goes into more detail about the 16-bit market crash...

mdshock.com

Of course Nintendo didn't fall the way of SEGA primarily because they were smarter and didn't go the lengths they did. But the troubled of N64 development could not have helped things.

Yeah, ultimately they came out fine, but the gen feels like changes that washed over the whole industry nearly could have swallowed them too had it not been for a lot of really lucky breaks.

And though the Gamecube may be seen as a worse era, Nintendo really wasn't smarting from a financial place, rather from a place of an uncertain future due in part to a lot of staff changes that mixed a lot of messaging.

Oh for sure it was a financial consideration! Nintendo is well insulated from a lot of the larger industry thanks to very conservative fiscal practices, but they are not immune, and global exchange rates were absolutely a consideration for them, as was the 3D transition in general.

I think as a company though Nintendo is less existentially threatened when the problem is just financial, and more so when the problem becomes one of principal or philosophy; in the GameCube era, it felt like the industry had no room or even desire to have a company like Nintendo, delivering the hardware and software and properties that they do with the style that they do, and to them that was a bigger issue (because financially Nintendo is and always has been secure). The Wii U era's existential threat became even more dire, because Nintendo not only lost the renewed place for themselves that they thought they had carved out a half decade ago, but they also lost their bread and butter assured place in the handheld market (which came under fire from smartphones and tablets) which until then had been the one area they always been able to count on.

But honestly I think this is just me speculating about what Nintendo feels is most important; on the whole, there is zero doubt that the fiscal strains of the N64 era weighed heavily on them (since they would go on to inform the GameCube era, and subsequently, everything that came after, from there on out).

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Oh for sure it was a financial consideration! Nintendo is well insulated from a lot of the larger industry thanks to very conservative fiscal practices, but they are not immune, and global exchange rates were absolutely a consideration for them, as was the 3D transition in general.

I think as a company though Nintendo is less existentially threatened when the problem is just financial, and more so when the problem becomes one of principal or philosophy; in the GameCube era, it felt like the industry had no room or even desire to have a company like Nintendo, delivering the hardware and software and properties that they do with the style that they do, and to them that was a bigger issue (because financially Nintendo is and always has been secure). The Wii U era's existential threat became even more dire, because Nintendo not only lost the renewed place for themselves that they thought they had carved out a half decade ago, but they also lost their bread and butter assured place in the handheld market (which came under fire from smartphones and tablets) which until then had been the one area they always been able to count on.

But honestly I think this is just me speculating about what Nintendo feels is most important; on the whole, there is zero doubt that the fiscal strains of the N64 era weighed heavily on them (since they would go on to inform the GameCube era, and subsequently, everything that came after, from there on out).

Yeah, I'm ultimately speculating too on what Nintendo prioritizes.

In some ways you could argue the N64 was probably the greatest accomplishment of Nintendo's 80s guard. Their ability to damage control and make financially smart decisions at a time that dragged so many of their contemporaries to hell. And Gamecube could be seen as the fallout of all that effort spent in keeping the N64/Late GB/SNES gen alive.

 

[Josh5890]

You have some really good points, but I think you were a little too early. Yes the software lineup was dire for the N64, but it was still a must want item for kids as it was THE multiplayer console at the time. 4 player Mario Kart, Party, and Goldeneye were a huge deal back then. Plus, the majority of the fanbase at the time was still younger like @Derachi and myself. We didn't give a crap about software delays and what have you. We were lucky to get three new games a year back then, and we played them forwards and backwards to our hearts content. I will say that if the N64 era was 15~20 years later with the internet as it is now, the mindset about the N64 would be a lot different.

The Gameboy was definitely lagging, but Pokémon and the Gameboy Color breathed new life into the ecosystem. All of that plus the much hyped "Dolphin" console and the height of Nintendo Power kept Nintendo in a mostly positive light in that era.

 

[Undeniablybiased]

It’s funny because it didn’t feel that way as a kid. Everyone at school had an n64 and everyone loved Nintendo and Zelda and Mario party and smash bros. And the lack of games didn’t hurt because it was so easy to play the same game over and over. I imagine for anybody in their late teens or twenties at the time it probably sucked lol.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

Yeah, I'm ultimately speculating too on what Nintendo prioritizes.

In some ways you could argue the N64 was probably the greatest accomplishment of Nintendo's 80s guard. Their ability to damage control and make financially smart decisions at a time that dragged so many of their contemporaries to hell. And Gamecube could be seen as the fallout of all that effort spent in keeping the N64/Late GB/SNES gen alive.

Yeah, I think their battle scars from having to go toe to toe with a much richer and more financially and logistically equipped competitor in the N64 era would go on to guide their entire approach to the market from there on out (which was of course only exacerbated once an even richer company entered the fold). I think the N64 era was formative; and the GCN era was where the true consequences of all that finally manifested.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Yeah, I think their battle scars from having to go toe to toe with a much richer and more financially and logistically equipped competitor in the N64 era would go on to guide their entire approach to the market from there on out (which was of course only exacerbated once an even richer company entered the fold). I think the N64 era was formative; and the GCN era was where the true consequences of all that finally manifested.

Not even that, think about the scars spent in investing on the DD. The DD was something Nintendo hinged so many of their bets to keep them competitive with Sony and their CDs.
How many games were originally going to be DD exclusives that had to pivot to N64 development? Hitters like Banjo, Ocarina, Pokemon Snap, etc that ended up needing to be delayed when the DD went belly up.

How did these delays end up impacting Dolphin development? How could devs transition when they still had unfinished N64 business?

 

[EtherPenguin]

I sort of felt the same as someone who wasn't there and didn't get into games until the gamecube/ps2 era. The library always looked sparse especially compared to the PS1's but I think the thing is most the library - or at least the first party output - is full of heavy hitters. A lot of the games from this era are still considered some of Nintendo's all-time greats like Mario 64 and OoT, and of course, Rare's output during this era was insane (though I believe it was also the result of crunch that they put out so much in such a small time).

It's mostly the lack of RPGs that's my only retro-critique of the system. PS1 definitely won there. Wasn't there a quote from someone high up at the Nintendo at the time who said something like "RPGs are only for sad lonely people in dark rooms"? Here's hoping Quest 64 makes it to NSO

 

[romanithegreat]

most of us at the time didn't feel this way I cant agree with this

 

[tender]

Nothing you've said is technically wrong. But man, being 11-year-old and getting it for Christmas was pretty dope. Sure games took a long time to release but I only got games for my birthday or Christmas anyway. I remember I rented pretty much every single release for the system at least once and that was pretty cool. So I have this weird encyclopedic knowledge of the dumbest third party disasters ever released for the N64.

 

[Lucifer]

As a kid I never noticed that consoles like N64 or GCN were doing bad, they had good games and it seemed like other friends had them as well, childhood innocence I suppose.

 

[Kartina]

To me, the gamecube era was the lowest point in nintendo history, and it might have done even more damage than what the wiiU did, even with great to amazing games I think the nintendo brand got a huge hit that took decades to recover with the switch, the idea of nintendo as the old kiddy console was at it's biggest during the gamecube era with the ps2 taking any share of the mainstream crowd that once belonged to nintendo all for itself, especially in europe the gamecube was pretty much nonexistant. The gameboy advance while still a huge hit kind of gave the idea that nintendo was just the gameboy developers, important only for pokemon and portable consoles. Nintendo IPs were much weaker during the gamecube era than the n64 era

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

Wasn't there a quote from someone high up at the Nintendo at the time who said something like "RPGs are only for sad lonely people in dark rooms"?

Yes it’s especially ironic given how much Nintendo would go on to cultivate an audience for RPGs on their systems from the following generation and onwards (and now here we are with the Switch)

 

[Mer.Saloon]

Its funny that a common thread is how much it didn't feel like it. In ways I think that is attributable to HOW incredible Nintendo was at damage control and making the best of what they had. Pokemania especially mustve been one of the biggest reliefs of this period.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

It’s funny that a common thread is how much it didn't feel like it. In ways I think that is attributable to HOW incredible Nintendo was at damage control and making the best of what they had. Pokemania especially mustve been one of the biggest reliefs of this period.

It’s also because it predates the internet/social media age. If forums and twitter and all that existed back then, it very much would have felt a lot worse than it did.

 

[Mer.Saloon]

It’s also because it predates the internet/social media age. If forums and twitter and all that existed back then, it very much would have felt a lot worse than it did.

It is why I wish we had more Japanese sources. From all signs, the N64 was absolutely dead in the water over there. All the apathy from the GCN era hit Japan first and hard from the looks of it.

 

[Galgavias]

The GameCube era was definitely their low point before the Wii U and it's not even close. The N64 sold decently (just not spectacularly) and it had many industry defining titles like Mario 64, Ocarina and Goldeneye that influence gaming and popular culture to this day. People remember the N64 as a console and the games it brought us. However when faced with the oncoming PS2 juggernaut they floundered to make products that appealed to this new audience. Creatively they struggled too, and frankly got too experimental for their own good.

As someone who was a teenager in the GameCube years and was perhaps the only person I knew who owned one, and who watched as Nintendo's presence in game stores dwindled and dwindled during this time, the N64 days was a halcyon era of bounty compared to its successor.

 

[AllEchse]

I was six years old when I got a N64 for Christmas 1997. I think for those who were at least in their teen years and had a SNES beforehand are the only ones who really experienced this firsthand.

Looking back though obviously this is true but given subjective and anecdotal experiences with the N64, its games and friends who also had one it was a great time. I'm not sure about "disaster" cause to me, multiplayer was king on Nintendo 64 compared to other platforms. I believe that plus revolutionary games like Mario 64 and Zelda OoT kept it going. As I got older though I was super excited for the Gamecube, the magazines were really hyping it up big time lol.

I'd argue gaming culture was also very different back then.
You didn't have as big online communities anticipating monthly Nintendo releases and the internet was that much of thing yet anyway.
I'd argue people also got better mileage out of the games they had back then.
So even if there was fewer games, Nintendos output was pretty huge back then in relation to the smaller audience.


These days it feels like it's always about moving onto the next thing in online discussions.

You can find issues in each generation, the greats on Gamecube weren't the big names, with the Wii they had an identity crisis about who their audience was, I'd argue only the handhelds stayed truly consistent even if the GBA had too much ports I feel.

 

[Mekanos]

Outside of the obvious Wii U, it's GameCube easily. Nintendo was still releasing high quality and popular software like Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, and Goldeneye that shaped and defined the industry. GameCube was an era where Nintendo was completely irrelevant outside of diehard fans and kids. Compare Mario 64 and Ocarina Of Time to Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker and the difference is night and day.

Also it's important to remember the N64 was still a success in North America. It sold 20 million there vs. the 23 million the SNES sold and was often competitive with PS1 in that market. Yes, falling behind badly in Japan and Europe hurt Nintendo, but the N64 is far from Nintendo's biggest slump.

I feel like history has been rewritten on the GameCube because it was definitely not an overall optimistic time for Nintendo or their fans.

 

[Jahranimo]

As a kid I never noticed that consoles like N64 or GCN were doing bad, they had good games and it seemed like other friends had them as well, childhood innocence I suppose.

For me I had a thought that "Nintendo may not be as popular anymore" when most of my friends and others in my neighborhood growing up got PS2s, Xbox and even a Dreamcast. Though being the only one with "the new Super Smash Bros" was a silver lining haha.

 

[Dark Cloud]

I loved it since I grew up with it as a kid, but it's hilarious I never noticed these systems were dire in games or selling so bad at the time lol.

 

[Dcubed]

The N64 era was thoroughly a "quality over quantity" period of time. True, its first party releases were far and few inbetween, and the droughts were absolutely brutal (especially in its first year), but each and every single Nintendo & Rare title was a genre defining and revolutionary experience. Even the games that weren't so universaly praised (like Yoshi's Story) were unlike any other game out there. Even though the console was thoroughly beaten by the PS1, its games were industry defining and utterly dominated the sales charts; yes, the N64's heavy-hitting software thoroughly trashed the PS1's biggest sellers, despite the smaller install base. The N64 was still making waves across the industry and its titles would go on to define the next generation of game design, despite being the losing console in terms of sales.

It's also worth noting that Nintendo actually managed to match the SNES' sales with the N64 in the US; the only region where Nintendo actually didn't lose a big chunk of their audience that generation. It was also the console which garnered the most support from western developers, something that would become all the more important in subsequent generations.

The 2003-2006 period of the Gamecube however, save for financial year 2004, was utterly miserable to witness. Nintendo were getting roundly trounced and forced into irrelevency, as the industry began chasing the likes of GTA and Halo instead of what Mario and Zelda were doing. Meanwhile, their 3rd party support dwindled away into nothing and first party releases became sparse... again, save for financial year 2004, which was a banger of a year!

It really can't be overstated just how much Nintendo were on the ropes come 2006. If Wii hadn't exploded out of the gate like it did and Nintendo hadn't have struck gold with the DS? They would've been done. We would not be talking about them today if that timeline had come about.

 

[Barahir_MJH]

As someone who was there at the time, I can't really agree with this. The general vibe at the time was that yeah, Nintendo fucked up with the N64 format, but they were still making great games, and the "Dolphin" would turn things around.

The 2003-2005 era was far worse in terms of the general opinion of Nintendo: we had just seen SEGA die, so that was on everyone's minds, and the Gamecube was a miserable failure, with "kiddy" Zelda and subpar Mario games. The GBA was doing numbers, sure, but the stormcloud of the PSP was on horizon there. The announcement of the DS was seen as a bizarre curiosity even Nintendo didn't believe in. If the "Revolution" failed it was widely believed it would be the end for Nintendo as a console maker.

This era was the origin of the whole NintenDOOMED meme.

Yeah the N64 was regarded as troubled but like Mario 64, Goldeneye, Ocarina of Time were still seen as heavy hitters and made a big cultural splash (and even other games like Starfox to some extent). No Gamecube game except maybe Smash Melee made this impact, and Melee was mostly popular with people who were already Nintendo fans. Nintendo was still respected. The N64 had hardware issues and lacked games, but people generally agreed the best ones were excellent. And PS1 had hardware shortcomings too, in very different ways.

Also as I recall the N64 was generally regarded as a superior multiplayer system outside of fighters, due to both library and four controller ports out of the box.

Things did start to sour more in the second half of the 64's life - the "kiddie" perception started then but didn't peak till the Gamecube.

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

Also it's important to remember the N64 was still a success in North America. It sold 20 million there vs. the 23 million the SNES sold and was often competitive with PS1 in that market.

It actually outsold PS1 in Canada outright, and remained equal to or ahead of PS1 in USA for a few years, only faltering 1999 and ownards, while PS1 sunsetted with the strongest legs yet exhibited by a home console at the time.

 

[ammonite]

We're blessed as Switch owners.

This month of August has more quality games coming than you'd get in a year on the N64. And I loved the N64.

This is the thing. In Europe, Nintendo published 37 N64 games total, between 1996 and 2001. They've published 34 on Switch since last January.

 

[Dark Cloud]

This is the thing. In Europe, Nintendo published 37 N64 games total, between 1996 and 2001. They've published 34 on Switch since last January.

Jesus lol

 

[Hero of Hyrule]

This is the thing. In Europe, Nintendo published 37 N64 games total, between 1996 and 2001. They've published 34 on Switch since last January.

This has me fucking giggling in the middle of the office and I can't explain to anyone else why

 

[JazzPotatoes]

It's the GameCube. It's definitely the GameCube.

During this period, you not only had Sony going full beast mode with the PS2, you had Microsoft of all companies releasing a new console, and managing to get significant attention and coverage with Halo. The Halo 2 release was a landmark moment in gaming pop culture, it was compared by the media to movie blockbusters like Spiderman 2. Xbox Live also got a lot of headlines for how new it was. The Xbox didn't sell that much more than GameCube, but it feels like it got way more attention and discussion.

The GameCube had great games like Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4, but until the Wii U it was the absolute nadir of Nintendo's presence in the home console space. Probably Smash Bros had the biggest impact on the gaming fanbase, as that was definitely the generation where Smash went from a quirky party game to a hyped fighting game.

Aside from that though: F-Zero, Pikmin, Chibi Robo... All great games, but comparitively little that caught industry attention at large. And the console sold substantially less than the N64.

 

[Djehuty]

Not in NA

If you lived anywhere else in the world it was Bassicaly dead.

N64 and GCN were both spectacular flops but the N64 was the one that started that rough transitional period. They only truly recovered with the wii.

I hoesntly have a hard time comparing GCN and N64 gene because everything worng with the GameCube came from problems the N64 caused, while it may have sold better their decisions then are what led to the GameCube declining from an already unremarkable console.

 

[AngryAlchemist]

The most I can say about the N64 is that people don't always give credit to how troubled the home console business was during the era. Some of Nintendo's biggest mistakes were also made in the leadup to or early in the N64 era. Other than that though, that doesn't make it as bad as the Gamecube, particularly later in that systems life.

Another thing is that the sales gap was a lot closer during the end of the gen than it was by the time the Playstation stopped selling, even if it was still big. Think i was something like 30m vs 72-78m.

 

[Lugia667]

the biggest problem was they wasted way too much time on the 64 DD when those resoruces were better spent elsewhere

 

[Dcubed]

Not in NA

If you lived anywhere else in the world it was Bassicaly dead.

N64 and GCN were both spectacular flops but the N64 was the one that started that rough transitional period. They only truly recovered with the wii.

I hoesntly have a hard time comparing GCN and N64 gene because everything worng with the GameCube came from problems the N64 caused, while it may have sold better their decisions then are what led to the GameCube declining from an already unremarkable console.

The GCN may have ultimately been death-by-1,000-cuts, but the one biggest factor behind its failure was its late launch.

It just came out too late. PS2 had already sown up the market completely by the time the GCN had launched. If the GCN came out in November 2000 it might've stood a chance, but by end of 2001? Nah. It was far too late by then.

The N64's own late launch was a contributing factor to the GCN's late release of course, but they ultimately should've just cut the N64's life short and moved its slate of 2000 releases (especially Perfect Dark) over to the new console. Imagine the GCN launching (albiet with reduced PS2 level specs at a similar price), but at the same time as the PS2 with fucking PERFECT DARK as a launch title!

 

[BassForever]

Nobody was worried about if Nintendo should go third party during the n64 era even if it lost ground to Sony.

With Sega having just died, the GC being outsold by newcomer Microsoft and their Xbox, and Sony about to enter the portable gaming market with the PSP, it's not unreasonable that people thought Nintendo would not be able to compete and go third party. Heck if you had told people in the lead up to the ds and psp launches that the psp was gonna sell 80 million units, I imagine most people would say Nintendo/the DS are "cooked".