Nintendo 64
Launch Feature
By Jason
Hill
THE
Nintendo 64 is one of the most highly anticipated consumer electronics products
ever.
After
selling over six million units in
The
Nintendo 64 is an incredibly powerful machine, many times more powerful than
today’s fastest Pentium-based home computer.
Incredibly,
Nintendo managed to transform a Silicon Graphics workstation which usually
costs tens of thousands of dollars into a tiny machine that retails for a song.
But while the system is a dazzling performer, it is not a guaranteed success. There are many reasons why the machine should succeed, but there are just as many reasons why it could be a disastrous failure.
Sega and Sony have already had well over a year’s head-start in the battle of the super consoles, and Nintendo are going to have a tough job wrestling back a lion’s share of the $15 billion video game industry.
There is little doubt the Nintendo 64 will be a hit amongst hard-core gamers, but they will ultimately not determine the success or failure of the system. It will be the millions of parents and casual gamers who will decide who wins the battle.
The name Nintendo is synonymous with video games, and this is certain to have a big impact on parents, who are the most important group of purchasers and who could well decide the machine’s fate.
But if the Nintendo 64 does fail, it will probably be that it couldn’t compete with the vast libraries of titles on other platforms, and that it was released much too late.
Sony has sold over 11 million PlayStations world-wide, making significant inroads into the market, while Sega report sales of over eight million Saturn machines.
The Nintendo 64 was originally scheduled for a 1995 release, and has been delayed time and time again. Delays have not only allowed Nintendo’s competitors to sell more units but has also allowed the standard of games on the other systems to improve.
So far, a massive six million units
of the Nintendo 64 have been produced, but there are only a small amount of
games to be released in 1997, including just three with the launch of the
machine in
Nintendo has hand-picked a “Dream Team” to develop early titles for the Nintendo 64. While this should ensure all releases are of high quality, it will severely limit the number of Nintendo titles on the shelves.
Already there are hundreds of PlayStation and Saturn games available. Consumers wanting a wide selection of software will stick to these systems and avoid the Nintendo 64. One of the ways casual buyers judge a system is by the number of titles and Nintendo 64 won’t be able to compete for a long time.
Another question mark over the Nintendo 64 is its cartridge format. Nintendo have taken a big risk by sticking to cartridge when other next-generation systems have moved to the cheaper CD format, which can hold hundreds of times more data than cartridges. Other advantages of CD include better music quality and the ability to offer full-motion-video cut scenes.
Nintendo have stayed with cartridges because information can be gathered from cartridge in a split second, whereas CD loading times are much slower. It can take over a minute for a CD game to load, and there are often annoying waits within the game between levels.
But many parents might baulk at the high prices of Nintendo cartridges. Some games will retail at over $100, while there are already many titles on the PlayStation and Saturn that cost less than half that amount.
What will determine the machine’s success is the quality of its games. And Nintendo couldn’t have gotten off to a better start with Super Mario 64, possibly the best game ever released. (see review, Page ??)
Nintendo 64’s flagship title was created by the world's most revered video game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. Super Mario 64 combines the legendary game-play of the Super Mario Bros. series with the amazing graphic power of the Nintendo 64 to produce unique three-dimensional environments to explore.
The games available for the Nintendo 64 on launch are Super Mario 64, PilotWings 64 and WaveRace 64 (also reviewed today). They retail for $99.95 each.
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire will be released on April 1, and other games released this year include Mario Kart 64, Killer Instinct Gold and Cruis'n USA.
The Nintendo 64 goes on sale on Saturday and costs $399.95. Don’t be surprised if you can’t get your hands on a system this Saturday, as most machines have already been pre-sold. For more information, call 9265 9900.
Under The Hood
THE
Nintendo 64 is an incredibly powerful games machine.
Nintendo says the new super console is so powerful it is equal to the power of ten Pentium chips bundled together, and when you see the games in action, it’s hard to argue.
The system can generate over 100,000 polygons per second and handle over 100 million instructions per second.
Graphics handling is exceptional, with incredibly sharp resolution and breathtaking speed.
The 64-bit system is cartridge-based and features a unique 3D controller and ports for four players. A disk drive add-on will soon be available for providing additional memory for large games and for saving your progress. The disks will hold 64Mb.
The first surprise about the Nintendo 64 is its size – it’s remarkably tiny, and considerably smaller than even the little PlayStation.
The Nintendo 64’s unique analogue joystick is a major advance over traditional direction pads. It is able to offer depth to games with much more subtle controls.
The controller has a great ergonomic feel and fits comfortably into large adult hands as well as those of eager youngsters. Extra controllers cost $49.95.
A brilliant addition in the Nintendo 64 is four controller ports. Everyone who has played a multi-player game will agree that it is far more entertaining playing human opponents rather than computer-controlled foes. With four ports, the Nintendo 64 will be a great party machine, and many games will utilise its multi-player capabilities.
Memory cartridges are available for saving your progress in games. The cartridges plug into the hand controller and cost $29.95.
The Nintendo 64 is clearly superior in terms of hardware capabilities over the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
However the fact that the Nintendo 64 is easily the most powerful home videogames system does not guarantee success, as spectacular failures such as 3DO and Atari Jaguar demonstrate.
Nintendo’s 64-bit RISC processor runs at 93.75MHz. The Saturn has two 32-bit RISC chips in the Saturn running at 28MHz, while the PlayStation features a 32-bit RISC chip running at 33MHz.
Regardless of the technical specifications, once you see the Nintendo 64 in action it is obvious that games like Super Mario 64 could not run on the PlayStation, Saturn, or today’s home PCs.
If you want the most powerful video games system, it’s the Nintendo 64.
Mario - This is Your Life
Nintendo’s flagship character was created by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Mario first appeared in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong and was originally called Jumpman.
Mario was named after the owner of
Nintendo’s warehouse in
Mario’s brother Luigi first appeared in the 1983 arcade game, Mario Bros.
Nintendo’s first home video game
console was released in
By the end of 1993, there were more than 100 million Mario-titled games sold worldwide.
Mario stars in the first game available for the Nintendo 64, Super Mario 64, which was developed by Shigeru Miyamoto.
Reviews:
Super Mario 64
System: Nintendo 64
Price: $99.95
Supplier: Nintendo
Rating: 10/10
SUPER Mario 64 is the finest video game ever released. You will be mesmerised.
It took over two years to develop this 3D epic, and the game now establishes an incredibly high benchmark for all games on all platforms.
Mario 64 has been designed to be all things to all people. Initially Mario immerses the player in a huge world to explore, then presents devious puzzles and challenges to overcome.
There is so much variety to the levels that you never cease to be enthralled. In just the first level, Mario battles a Bomb King at the top of a mountain, has a race with a speedy turtle, flies through the air using cannons and a winged cap, and out-smarts a fearsome monster with sharp teeth.
There are 15 enormous worlds to get lost in, each filled with countless surprises. One minute Mario will be swimming with a giant eel, the next he’ll be skittling down a giant slide, or trying to reunite a lost baby penguin with its mother. The worlds include underwater regions, deserts, snow-covered mountains, ghostly mansions, and lava-spewing volcanoes.
Each colorful level is incredibly detailed, and you really have to see the game in action to appreciate their jaw-dropping beauty. The graphics are the most amazing yet seen on a home games system, and are so cartoon-like that it’s almost as much fun watching someone else play as taking the reigns yourself.
The controls enable the game to be simple to pick up and play, yet there are over 20 moves to discover, including triple jumps, stomps, kicks, and slides. Helpfully, there are often signs to help teach you tricky manoeuvres. The usefulness of the joystick controller is clearly evident: push it a little and Mario tip-toes, push it a lot and our hero runs.
The game uses constantly changing, cinematic camera angles. Sometimes the best view of the action is not automatically shown, but the camera view can be changed, and manipulating the camera adds another dimension to the game.
While the colorful graphics fool you into thinking this is simply a game for children, there is an enormous and addictive challenge on offer for even seasoned game players. Some sections can be very tough, but there’s always plenty of guidance from signs and other characters, and you can always play other levels and revisit a hard stage at a later time.
It’s difficult to imagine how Mario 64 is going to be topped. Certainly all early games on the new system are going to suffer by comparison. But if you are a games connoisseur, it’s worth buying a Nintendo 64 just to experience this masterpiece.
A triumph.
Wave Race 64
System: Nintendo 64
Price: $99.95
Supplier: Nintendo
Rating: 8/10
WAVE Race is a jet-ski racing game which scores highly on the rev counter.
The stunning graphics immediately attract your attention. Nintendo have created thoroughly realistic water, with enormous waves and remarkable reflections.
The sensation of controlling a powerful jet-ski and churning over the waves is astonishing. On the choppy courses your jet-ski is thrown around and hurled high into the air.
There are four different jet-skis to choose, and each has different handling characteristics and can be further customised.
Three racing options are on offer: championship,
time trial, and two-player. There is also a special stunt mode.
When
racing, there are buoys scattered through each course which you must pass on
the correct side. You can only miss five buoys during each race, and every time
you correctly pass one, you get a power boost.
The
courses offer a reasonable amount of variety and include tunnels and jumps, as
well as helicopters swooping over the water.
One
of the courses is played at sunset and features a blood-red sky and amazing
sunlight effects, while other courses feature mist and fish darting about.
Obstacles
litter each course and include islands, penguins, crates and icebergs. There is
even a boat to jump over on the final course.
There
are three difficulty settings, and the computer-controlled opponents offer
tough competition.
The Nintendo 64 handles the two-player
split-screen racing with ease, and it’s brilliant fun
battling against a friend.
Stunt mode is also heaps of fun and adds
variety to the game. The idea is to earn as many points as possible by jumping
through hoops and performing tricks like handstands, forward rolls,
barrel-rolls and other dangerous manoeuvres.
The
joystick control is tough to come to grips with at first, but offers extremely
precise handling.
There are a few disappointments. It
would have been great to have more tracks or much longer courses, and I would
have also liked multi-player tournaments rather than just single two-player
races.
However,
Wave Race takes a long time to master. You have to complete each course in
order to play the next, so you should keep glued to the screen. The frantic
two-player games are even more enjoyable and should also keep you playing for a
long time.
Wave
Race is a fast and good-looking racing game that is heaps of fun.