Nintendo 64
ID: NINTENDO-64
RELEASED 1996
PRICE
DISCONTINUED 2002
UNITS SOLD 32.9 Million
I/O PORTS
Controller PakExpansion Pak4 Controller Ports
System Analysis
The cartridge gamble. Stuck with cartridges while competitors used CDs. Powerful hardware held back by tiny storage and complex architecture.
Processor
93.75 MHzNEC VR4300
64-bit MIPS CPU. Most games ran in 32-bit mode anyway.
Audio Subsystem
Software defined (100+ possible)Reality Coprocessor
Part of main processor. Flexible but taxing.
Memory
Rambus RDRAM4 MB RDRAM
Expandable to 8 MB (Expansion Pak)
Storage
64 MB maxCartridge
Graphics Architecture
Reality Coprocessor (RCP)
Palette: 16.7 Million
- 256x224 to 640x480
Hardware Tricks
- ▹ Texture filtering
- ▹ Z-buffering
- ▹ Anti-aliasing
Did You Know?
- ? GoldenEye 007 defined console FPS multiplayer.
- ? The Expansion Pak was required for some games like Donkey Kong 64.
- ? Cartridges meant no load times but limited storage forced compromises.