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N64 x PS1 Sales War in America

Mihos

Gold Member
N64 games were to expensive compared to the PSX offerings, and once it got easy to import and copy Psone games everybody had to own one. And CD as a medium just allowed for much more flexible pricing on games like the platinum series or the introduction of demos. Cartridges screwed Nintendo and the 64.

It was the Nintendo fees to use those cartridges that killed the 3rd party more than the storage space.
 
When measuring the relative strength of console war ecosystems, here is a very pertinent tidbit:

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While the PlayStation certainly passed the N64 in its third year, initially, the Nintendo 64 was a stronger console to develop for than the PlayStation at an equivalent point of time in their console lives.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Not only the droughts, but the N64 only launched with 2 games in the U.S.

This is unheard of today.

Mario and Pilotwings..but yo Mario was enough. Also by the time I got my hands on an N64 I'm pretty sure shit like Shadows and Cruisin were out.
 

Clownboat

Banned
I would have said because of this commerical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTi5EaocGaY

It's funny because these are the very commercials that convinced me NOT to get a PSX. That Crash gameplay looks like a fucking 2D platformer with 3D graphics. Where do they get off comparing that to Super Mario 64, an actual 3D game?

And then there's the FFVII ad. All FMV, all the time. Cinema tickets were $6 back then, if I was spending $60 I wanted some gameplay to go with my movie.

I guess they suckered in a lot of consumers with these ads, but that's the annoying part: These were great games, I didn't need or want to be tricked into buying them.
 

I'M FINISHED!

Um exCUSE me Sakurai but CLEARLY the best choice for Smash Bros would be my fav niche character HOWEVER you are clearly INCOMPETENT and
My game journalist instincts decided that the 360 won last gen and after seconds of research I declare the 64 the winner of the fifth gen.
 
I loved my N64 more than any other console to date.. It was my peak gaming years.. age 13-18 ish..

I played so much N64 damn was that system amazing.

Ps1 was amazing too.. I was strickly a 1 console gamer back in the day and missed out on a ton of great ps1 games because of it.

I did get to play final fantasy 7 and resident evil 2, grand turismo, FF tactics, Metal gear solid, star ocean etc..

Nothing compares to the feeling i had when playing Mario 64 for the first time.. Another great moment was first time using the rumble pak in the greatness that was starfox 64.. then along came the monster of monsters . ZELDA: OCARINA of TIME.

N64 to this day is the system that brought me the most joy,
 

kswiston

Member
Other than the PS2 (which was strong out the gate, and remained that way for close to a decade), all of Sony's consoles have back-loaded sales patterns.Nintendo comes out of the gate strong, releasing the majority of their big first party titles in the first 3 years or so of a console's lifespan. Sony takes awhile to gear up, and relies a lot more on third party software to drive sales (especially in the cases of the PS1 and PSP).

In the Americas Nintendo shipped more SNES than N64

SNES- 23.35m
N64- 20.63n

Maybe N64 outsold SNES in US only.

NPD is US only, while Nintendo shipment numbers are the entire hemisphere. Both statements could be right.
 

ToxicAdam

Member
Better games came out on the PS1.

People noticed.

Not just quality, but quantity too.


People were just apprehensive to buy the PS1 because Sony had no real history as a game maker. Plus, there was historic glut of new consoles on the market from 94-96 that confused consumers in which way to go.
 

D.Lo

Member
As I understand it, it wasn't that the N64 began all that well or "lost strength", it was that the PS1 experienced miraculous growth late in life. It's one of the most backloaded systems of all time.
Yeah that's another way of putting it. It was quite insane that the console just kept selling more and more when the generation should have been winding up. It sold over 1/3 of its total AFTER the PS2 was out, which is just unprecedented. These new massive game series popped up really late in its life, like Tony Hawk, Silent Hill, Spyro etc.

I would have said because of this commerical
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTi5EaocGaY
That is so unbelievably embarrasing.
 
I was planning on getting a N64 in 1997. My friends had bought it and i had played some mario 64 and waverace around launch at there house. December of 96 i even rented one along with Shadows of the Empire & Cruis'n USA for a week. I had convinced my younger brother to ask for one along with me as a combined birthday gift as our birthdays were not to far apart his in april and mine in may. Around April i had picked up a gaming magazine that had a preview of final fantasy 7. Also they reviewed WCW vs the World and i was a big time wrestling fan at this point. I convinced my brother to ask for a playstation instead.

Christmas that year i got Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil: Directors Cut, Parappa the Rapper, & Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi.

I know PS1 had a crazy tail end i think it sold almost as many units after PS2 came out or close to as it had sold since launch of the PS1 to the launch of PS2.

N64 was no slouch either but it had some extreme game droughts. The last year was pretty bad. I had one by this point and was enjoying catching up with the players choice rereleases.
 
Yeah that's another way of putting it. It was quite insane that the console just kept selling more and more when the generation should have been winding up. It sold over 1/3 of its total AFTER the PS2 was out, which is just unprecedented. These new massive game series popped up really late in its life, like Tony Hawk, Silent Hill, Spyro etc.

That is so unbelievably embarrasing.

Dude, that commercial is awesome.
 
As I understand it, it wasn't that the N64 began all that well or "lost strength", it was that the PS1 experienced miraculous growth late in life. It's one of the most backloaded systems of all time.

aC8BAOB.png


1998 was the peak year for both consoles.

It just so happens that the overall console lifecycle for the PS1 was able to sustain itself incredibly well into the early 2000s.
 

ascii42

Member
Yeah that's another way of putting it. It was quite insane that the console just kept selling more and more when the generation should have been winding up. It sold over 1/3 of its total AFTER the PS2 was out, which is just unprecedented. These new massive game series popped up really late in its life, like Tony Hawk, Silent Hill, Spyro etc.
It was, however, followed by the PS2 managing to do the same thing. No doubt due in part to games like Guitar Hero arriving late in its life.
 

nkarafo

Member
1997 = Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Tomb Raider II, Crash Bandicoot 2 and Gran Turismo.

Nothing can compete with that.
1997 = Blast Corps, Doom 64, Goldeneye, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart 64, StarFox 64, Turok Dinosaur Hunter.

These compete just fine.
 
It's simple. People were hyped for the household name in Nintendo and assumed it would be everything the previous systems were but once they noticed that the system had little to offer compared to Playstation in the way of popular titles they grew up with on the NES and SNES, they rightfully bailed. With Final Fantasy, Casltvania, Megaman, Contra and everything else under it's belt, the Playstation was more of a Nintendo system than the N64 at that point.
 

nkarafo

Member
In my country (at least) piracy was the one good reason most people bought PS1. There were even non gamers who never planed to get a console but bought a PS1 anyway because their friends copied CDs for it.
 

Celine

Member
I remember seeing data that indicated that N64 actually outsold SNES in the US in terms of LTD. It can be attributed to the growth of the market, of course. But N64 managed to, as a second place system, remain relevant and very popular, something that I argue didn't happen again until the PS3/360.
Nah, it was close though.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Remember that Goldeneye 64 was the best selling game in the US...the year after it launched. Incredible feat.
 
What didn't happen to the N64 back then? Game droughts vs. Playstation game explosion, key franchises like Final Fantasy and Mega Man defecting, along with the bulk of publishers due to the cheap CD format, Nintendo's arrogance (they still charged a higher license fee, on top of the high cart costs), Sony's much better 3rd-party relationship management, and let's not forget system price, and - maybe most importantly - game prices.

People forget that the Playstation launched with games priced at $60. But just to push the knife in further, they dropped MSRP to $50 later on, put 1st party games down to $40, and then introduced a $20 budget line. Nintendo couldn't begin to match that. N64 games launched at $70 (Nintendo) and $80 (3rd party). The best they could do to stay competitive was make their own games $50 and 3rd party $60, with a $40 budget line.
 
It's funny..I was pretty young when the N64 was released (6 years old), but throughout that generation, I barely even knew the Ps1 existed. When I got older, I was always surprised to hear about the PS1's dominance (like when I was 14 or 15). I didn't know anyone that played PS1 in my family friends' group. There were like 10-15 of us in my group and not one of them owned a PS1. It was all N64. Every party was all about Smash, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and 1080. We all talked about what we had to do next in OOT or Banjo or DK64.

I guess I lived in bizarro world. Haha
 
It's funny..I was pretty young when the N64 was released (6 years old), but throughout that generation, I barely even knew the Ps1 existed. When I got older, I was always surprised to hear about the PS1's dominance (like when I was 14 or 15). I didn't know anyone that played PS1 in my family friends' group. There were like 10-15 of us in my group and not one of them owned a PS1. It was all N64.

N64 was huge at my school so anecdotal I thought it was the winner too lol.
I had a PS1 but no 64 so I was an outcast.
 
It's funny..I was pretty young when the N64 was released (6 years old), but throughout that generation, I barely even knew the Ps1 existed. When I got older, I was always surprised to hear about the PS1's dominance (like when I was 14 or 15). I didn't know anyone that played PS1 in my family friends' group. There were like 10-15 of us in my group and not one of them owned a PS1. It was all N64. Every party was all about Smash, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and 1080. We all talked about what we had to do next in OOT or Banjo or DK64.

I guess I lived in bizarro world. Haha

Isn't it funny how that works?

The 3DS is about to surpass the N64 in terms of lifetime shipments, and yet as adults we have this perception that the 3DS is much, much more scarce.
 
N64 was huge at my school so anecdotal I thought it was the winner too lol.
I had a PS1 but no 64 so I was an outcast.

Honestly I think all of the parents in my group did it on purpose so not to tempt us into potentially wanting both systems. Haha...gave all of the kids the same system so no kid knew of the other's existence. Kinda smart. :p

Isn't it funny how that works?

The 3DS is about to pass the N64 in terms of lifetime shipments, and yet as adults we have this perception that the 3DS is much, much more scarce.

Yeah man, 3DS certainly "feels" less popular, but by sales, it certainly is not. I think it has something to do with being a kid and having nothing else to talk about with your peers. Probably why the n64 felt more popular or bigger than it was.
 

D.Lo

Member
It was, however, followed by the PS2 managing to do the same thing. No doubt due in part to games like Guitar Hero arriving late in its life.
Yep.

Wii could have managed it too with maybe an HD model in 2010 and one more big hit (like another Wii Fit). As it is the Wii was the fastest selling console of all time for four whole years, but then dropped off just like the N64.
 
It's funny..I was pretty young when the N64 was released (6 years old), but throughout that generation, I barely even knew the Ps1 existed. When I got older, I was always surprised to hear about the PS1's dominance (like when I was 14 or 15). I didn't know anyone that played PS1 in my family friends' group. There were like 10-15 of us in my group and not one of them owned a PS1. It was all N64. Every party was all about Smash, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and 1080. We all talked about what we had to do next in OOT or Banjo or DK64.

I guess I lived in bizarro world. Haha
Pretty much the same here. Although we all had a ps1 as well. It seemed n64 was just as popular if not more.
 

Zapages

Member
I became a PC gamer during the N64/PSX era.

One of my close friend (A) owned the N64 and we played Mario 64 and GoldenEye all the time.

Whereas my two other friends (B and C) who were not gamers at all during the SNES generation bought PSX.

At Friend's B house we played MGS...

At Friend's C house we played wrestling games...

Now a days:

Friend A went to the Xbox because during the Xbox/PS2/GC era due to him having one of the largest Perfect Dark fan sites. He used to get paid by Microsoft for the folks bought the game from his website. Later on in the generation, he bought PS2 and he rented the Xbox 360 and Gamecube. I don't know he ever bought the Wii though.

Friend B now loves Halo and COD. He is what I call the bro gamers out there. FPSes are his thing now. But he does not play anything else.

Friend C doesn't game anymore after the PSX days.

Personally myself:

I owned the SNES > Dreamcast (bought it when it was cheap/dead ie. 50 dollars with 2 controllers) > PS3 (free online multiplayer).

I might go with the PS4, but it all depends on money situation. :|
 
The magical day when my friend invited me over to his house to play something called Final Fantasy VII on his Playstation. I got a job that same week and bought a PSX, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy VII with my first check.
 
It's funny..I was pretty young when the N64 was released (6 years old), but throughout that generation, I barely even knew the Ps1 existed. When I got older, I was always surprised to hear about the PS1's dominance (like when I was 14 or 15). I didn't know anyone that played PS1 in my family friends' group. There were like 10-15 of us in my group and not one of them owned a PS1. It was all N64. Every party was all about Smash, Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, and 1080. We all talked about what we had to do next in OOT or Banjo or DK64.

I guess I lived in bizarro world. Haha

One of the reasons PSX was so big is because it brought in a lot of older people with it's more "mature" franchises and games. You could always tell they were aiming for a demographic that extended beyond kids. I remember the high school kids and up had PSX and N64 was most common among elementary and middle schoolers.
 

Mitsurux

Member
I had all these games except Doom. I'm so pro.



Did they technically have a first party back then? Are you shitting on Beyond the Beyond?!

They were dabbeling for Sure... Sony Imagesoft had been around for a while...

Starting in July 1995, just two months prior to the release of the PlayStation console in Western markets, Sony Electronic Publishing restructured and renamed its divisions. All videogame marketing from Sony Imagesoft was folded into Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA), with about 100 employees transferred from Santa Monica to Foster City.[9][10][11] The video game business of Sony Imagesoft was merged with the product development branch of Sony Computer Entertainment of America and became Sony Interactive Studios America[12] which would later be renamed to 989 Studios. (Thanks Wikipedia)
 
1997 = Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3, Tomb Raider II, Crash Bandicoot 2 and Gran Turismo.

Nothing can compete with that.

Ocarina kills it all. And Goldeneye? Can you say revolution? how many times? ohh twice? How about Banjo. Evolution god tier, less than two years later than Mario 64 changed the entire game. It was over people.
 

Gadirok

Member
I missed out on Playstation that generation, but I definitely preferred my n64 even when all my cousins had were playstations.

What I can recall of the PS1 was that it had a wider spectrum of games but they didn't appeal to me. Spyro and Twisted Metal 2 were the most memorable, but I super mario 64 is still my favorite game of all time.


I think that I should go back and play all the PS1 games I missed out on.
 
I remember what happened.

The games were super expensive and there were a very limited selection of games available. It took forever for the next wave of games to hit and the PSX was getting those new type of games like Tekken and shit that people at up instantly.

It also helped that PSX games were cheaper.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
I believe PSX got its first pricedrop somewhere in 1997 if I'm not mistaken. And they started the Platinum/GH range which was REALLY cheap at the time. Usually those classics releases from the SNES etc still cost a lot of dough. It was the benefit of using Compact disc.

1997 was a vital year for PSX on the software front as well. It saw FFVII which captured Japan, but also Tomb Raider 2 which took Europe by storm. As did FIFA 98 which was being seen as the first great FIFA game, it was ridiculously popular on PSX. Other great games were Abe's oddysey, GT (Japan, overseas version wasn't until spring of 1998), Crash bandicoot 2.

Tekken 3 was 1998 by the way. By that time PSX had taken over the market completely. Resident Evil 2 was another knockout.
 
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