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Nintendo 64

Nintendo · 1996 · Home Console
Nintendo's 64-bit cartridge holdout, and the home of the analog stick.
CartridgeAnalog StickRumble Pak4 Controller Ports64-bit
Not yet reviewed
About This Hardware

The Nintendo 64 is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo, launched in Japan on June 23, 1996, and in North America that September. Named for its 64-bit processor, it succeeded the Super Nintendo and competed against the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation in the fifth console generation. Its graphics hardware, the Reality Coprocessor, was developed with Silicon Graphics (SGI), the workstation company whose 3D technology Nintendo adopted after the underlying chip design had been shopped to other console makers first. Nintendo controversially stuck with cartridges rather than the CD-ROM format its rivals embraced, a choice that delivered fast load times and reduced piracy but limited storage and pushed some third parties, including Square, toward the PlayStation. The N64 introduced design ideas that became industry standards: an analog control stick built for 3D movement, the Rumble Pak for force feedback, and four built-in controller ports that made it the defining console for local multiplayer. Its library, though smaller than its rivals', included landmark titles such as Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye 007. The console remains a touchstone of the 3D transition and a key front in the Nintendo versus Sega rivalry of the 1990s.

Specifications
CPUNEC VR4300 (MIPS R4300i) @ 93.75 MHz
GraphicsReality Coprocessor (SGI/MIPS) @ 62.5 MHz
RAM4 MB RDRAM (8 MB with Expansion Pak)
MediaROM cartridge (4-64 MB)
Controllers4 built-in ports; analog stick; Rumble / Controller Pak slot
Video OutComposite, S-Video, RGB (region-dependent)
Hardware Info
ManufacturerNintendo
CategoryHome Console
Released1996
MSRP$199.99 (US launch, 1996)
Street Price$60-120 used depending on condition and variant (eBay, mid-2026)
How to Get One Today
Price
Street price: $60-120 used depending on condition and variant (eBay, mid-2026) · MSRP: $199.99 (US launch, 1996)
Used / Collector Market
Consoles run roughly $60-120 used depending on condition and color variant; complete-in-box and special editions command more (eBay, mid-2026).
Notes & Warnings
Vintage hardware: the analog stick wears with use and develops slop, replacement sticks (GuliKit and others) are a common fix. Some games require the Expansion Pak. Watch for yellowed plastics and aftermarket clone controllers, and clean the cartridge slot contacts.