Nintendo 64

Project Reality was the code-name of the project being worked on by Nintendo and Silicon Graphics (SGI) in April 1993 to create a next-generation 3D console. The fact that Nintendo was making a leap to 64-bit worried the likes of Sega and Sony who only had 32-bit consoles at the time. Nintendo made an announcement in mid 1994 that came as a surprise the game media for the Ultra 64 (the N64's name at the time)would be cartridges and not CDs.

The decision to choose cartridges over CDs did make quite a few software developers turn away from the system all together. Not only were cartridges more expensive, but it meant that Nintendo would be the only supplier, enforcing their grip on licenses. Nintendo's defense was to say that cartridges were still the media of choice for home consoles because they did not suffer from slow load times and were more practical than CDs.

The Nintendo 64 first released in 1996, was the first system with 64-bit graphics and built-in four player gaming potential. Masterpieces such as Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Smash Brothers and Goldeneye 007 helped sell over 32 million N64 systems worldwide.

Nintendo 64 DD
The Nintendo 64 DD is an expansion system for the Nintendo 64. Named Dynamic Drive, it plugs into the N64's expansion port on the base of the system. It was much hyped around the time of the N64's launch, but it was never released outside of Japan.

Technical Specifications

 * CPU: 64-bit R4300i RISC (93.75MHz) / 64-bit data paths, registers with 5-stage pipelining
 * Co-processor: 64-bit RISC (62.5MHz)
 * RAM: 4MB (36Mb) upgradeable
 * Graphics: Pixel Drawing Processor (RDP) built into co-processor
 * Colors: 16.7 million (32,000 on screen)
 * Polygons: 150,000 per second
 * Resolution: 640x480 pixels and 320x240 pixels
 * Sound: 16 to 24-channel 16-bit stereo (up to 100 PCM channels possible)

Launch Line-up
USA: Super Mario 64 Pilotwings 64