• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Someone found a US version of the Nintendo 64 64DD

my heart weeps at those that say all the good 64DD content was ported over to another console when the F-Zero X EXpansion Kit is still stuck on the 64DD.

that was the best thing on the 64DD and is locked to it (and the only alternative is very bad emulation)

To be honest F-Zero X Expansion Kit is emulated fine, saving included by using the disk dump.
 

foltzie1

Member
BvurXwd.gif
What video is this from???
The first WWE Draft. The American Badass Undertaker was drafted by Ric Flair to RAW and The Undertaker was not a fan of Ric at that time.


Edit: beaten like a member of the Social Outcasts*.

*or 3MB, The Job Squad, Mean Street Posse, or Zach Ryder
 

jstripes

Banned
Yup, it isn't. Unless Ben Heck fixed it.

I remember them inspecting the logic board and speculating the drive was intentionally sabotaged, and that's how the prototype escaped destruction.

Like they told the boss "Here, you can keep it, we just have to make sure it doesn't work."


Anyway, if they managed to make a "CD" game for it, I wonder if they have knowledge of the disc format and libraries needed.
 
I remember them inspecting the logic board and speculating the drive was intentionally sabotaged, and that's how the prototype escaped destruction.

Like they told the boss "Here, you can keep it, we just have to make sure it doesn't work."


Anyway, if they managed to make a "CD" game for it, I wonder if they have knowledge of the disc format and libraries needed.

We don't know if it's really sabotaged, but we have the Super Disc BIOS ROM dumped, it's been available for a while (thx Dan for giving me the ROM to host it), and it has been reverse enginnered. NO$SNS supports Super Disc games as a result along with the very first SNES CD homebrew ever.
 

jstripes

Banned
We don't know if it's really sabotaged, but we have the Super Disc BIOS ROM dumped, it's been available for a while (thx Dan for giving me the ROM to host it), and it has been reverse enginnered. NO$SNS supports Super Disc games as a result along with the very first SNES CD homebrew ever.

Ah, cool. I haven't heard much about it since it was shown at the vintage games expo.

With the BIOS, I wonder if it would be impossible to hack a CD drive into a retail SNES.
 

atbigelow

Member
We don't know if it's really sabotaged, but we have the Super Disc BIOS ROM dumped, it's been available for a while (thx Dan for giving me the ROM to host it), and it has been reverse enginnered. NO$SNS supports Super Disc games as a result along with the very first SNES CD homebrew ever.

Is there a good place to keep up on these developments?
 

Danchi

Member
Seems to be the guy who runs the MetalJesusRocks YouTube channel so expect a video when he has more info (at least, the photos were taken at his home. Same Vizio TV and Opeth poster in the background).

His channel says he posts new content every Tuesday and Friday.
 

FyreWulff

Member
A collector in the Seattle area (where Nintendo of America resides) managed to find a US N64DD unit. It's in English!




The very existence of this unit heavily implies NOA had plans (or at least greatly considered) releasing the 64DD in the US.

More info and images here: http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/found-us-version-of-n64-64dd.62294/

I thought it was known via IGN64 back in the day, or Planet GameCube talked about it, where Nintendo just warehoused all the American 64DD units and just sits on them to this day.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
That is Assembler of AssemblerGames lol

I can't even imagine the treasures in that dude's collection... I think I saw a fraction of what he had back in 2006 and was blown the fuck away.

Was there a thread over on AssemblerGames for it? I'm curious... I can only imagine how much crazy shit that guy must have.
 

FyreWulff

Member
Also as a developer it's kinda weird to think about how there's a bunch of N64 games that check in vain for a 64DD to be plugged into your N64 and all that code just sits there inert.

Maybe it's due to emulation not being there for 64DD up until very recently, but I was surprised people didn't try to more aggressively reverse-engineer games' 64DD hooks to insert custom 'official' 64DD mode content. Guess it's just easier to modify the game directly. I'd love to see someone activating the 64DD loading for Ocarina of Time, for example. I think the closest someone has gotten is gamesharking the save data to show a "DISK" icon next to a save that locks it to requiring the expansion to be inserted to start it.

edit: yep this one

bwZuKmk.jpg
 

samred

Member
I tracked down ex-Nintendo dev Mark Deloura, who confirmed this American 64DD's authenticity for my report at Ars Technica: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/...64s-disc-drive-add-on-unearthed-near-seattle/

So what makes this a possible retail prototype, as opposed to a dev kit? Most telling, according to a former Nintendo support specialist Mark Deloura (who eventually became the White House's Video Gaming Czar), is the English menu seen in these images. "You couldn't boot into the DD units hooked up for development," Deloura told Ars in an interview. "That is a sign of it being a retail unit, or at least 'retail-ish.' My recollection is that the development DD wouldn't boot at all."

Deloura, who currently runs one of the industry's best games-in-education newsletters, was careful to point out that his recollection is a little fuzzy after 20 years: "I wish I'd kept my DD so I could be more definitive about it!" That being said, Deloura was no slouch about DD development, having worked on the team that ported the 64DD version of Ocarina of Time to a smaller-memory cartridge: "At one point I had an early version of the Ocarina codebase from Japan and wrote the code to get it to work properly on the cartridge. I had to do some special things since it was so freakin' big."
 

Madao

Member

MacTag

Banned
the 64DD was known to exist publicly since 1996 at least.
it had too many delays since it was supposed to come out in 1997 but the N64's bad start in japan really killed it because a ton of projects had to be moved to cart to help sales (Nintendo never really considered their sucess outside japan something to base their plans on)
Earlier than 1996, it was talked about publicly when Yamauchi mentioned Zelda 64 and DQVII would release on it during his Space World 95 keynote. Back then they called it the Bulky Drive.
 

platakul

Banned
The consistant explanation from Miyamoto and Aonuma over the years on Ura Zelda was that it was a second quest with rearranged dungeons. Even if unused content was found, the Ura Zelda project was focused on rearranged dungeons as a second quest, which is what we got with Master Quest.


1999 - http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Interviews-1999-08-27-IGN-64-Shigeru-Miyamoto.php
IGN64: We played Gaiden a short while ago and it’s very impressive. But we’re curious, will Link grow up in Gaiden?

Miyamoto: I actually don’t know, but I heard that the adult Link will probably appear this time too. Also, if you say that Gaiden on the show floor is really good stuff I can feel very comfortable because that means my staff members have already become better than me when it comes to game creation.

IGN64: Tell us about “Ura Zelda.”

Miyamoto: Ura Zelda is based on The Ocarina of Time for 64DD. It has the same construction of gameplay. It’s very much a parody game based on Ocarina of time, but with new dungeons to explore. It even features the same storyline.​

Miyamoto Shows off Zelda 64 - May 1998
http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/05/27/miyamoto-shows-off-zelda-64

Q: Will there be a 64DD Zelda or an add-on?

Miyamoto: I don’t know if “add-on” is the right terminology. For the 64DD, we are working on a Zelda game, which we call “Ura Zelda,” where you first play the initial disk version of Zelda – after finishing everything, you can enter into the world, into the basic design of the same. This sort of WaZelda is now in the works for the 64DD.​

Talkin' Zelda with Mr. Miyamoto - Space World '99 - Nintendo.com 1999
http://www.angelfire.com/games5/makzelda/interviews/zgmiyamotosw99.html

Q: After hearing rumors of Ura Zelda for Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, Zelda Gaiden for the Nintendo 64 cartridge format was a pleasant surprise. Can you tell me how these two games came to be developed?

A: We are working on two follow-ups to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. "Ura Zelda" uses the same system as Ocarina of Time but uses the 64DD to add game data. The story in "Ura Zelda" will be similar to Ocarina of Time but with new maps and scenarios. Zelda Gaiden, on the other hand, is a completely different game, although it too uses essentially the same game system as Ocarina of Time. Everyone has enjoyed the Zelda series but there's typically at least a 3 year wait between sequels! People who are in Junior High School when they play one Zelda game would be in High School by time the next game comes out, and those in High School will graduate before the next game came out! So, we wanted to make a new game in the series sooner. "Ura Zelda" will use the existing Ocarina of Time cartridge but with different dungeons, and new locations for the treasures. Since the 64DD media is cheaper than a new cartridge, this is an inexpensive way to make a sequel. We may also consider using network technology for "Ura Zelda." Right now, most of the staff is concentrating on Zelda Gaiden.​

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Interviews-1999-08-27-IGN-64-Shigeru-Miyamoto.php
http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/11/18/zelda-dd-the-other-adventure
http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/ura-zelda-complete
http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/21/gaiden-and-ura-zelda-split

Incite Video Games magazine December 1999
http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/Interview:Incite_December_1999

Incite Game Magazine: Is this game system exactly the same or have you added any new features?

Miyamoto: Yes, its basically the same except for the masks. When you wear the masks you can transform into another creature and then you have controls to master.
Incite Game Magazine: Are there still plans to release a 64DD Zelda ?

Miyamoto: Distinct from this new version, we do have another 64DD Zelda game. We’ve currently suspended development because we’re busy with so many projects and we wanted to concentrate on Zelda Gaiden, but we’re still working on it. We weren’t sure which one to do first but for the moment we’ve put the 64DD to one side to do this new Zelda. However, there’s no relationship between them at all. Zelda Gaiden is an original story, while the 64DD uses Ocarina of Time as the base theme. In the 64DD version, certain elements in the story send you off on different paths.

Incite Game Magazine: What’s different about the 64DD version?

Miyamoto: Well, simply put, every time you go into a dungeon, the tasks will be different. If there was a treasure chest in a certain location the last time you went in, then the next time you in it won’t be there.

Incite Game Magazine: Will we be about to play an online Zelda?

Miyamoto: Up to now we haven’t really started to think about this. However, were not looking to create a multi-player on-line system for Zelda. With the 64DD’s read/write capability, we’re thinking along the lines of a new dungeon data downloads, and swapping your data with other players.​

Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda - Dec 2002
http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/12/04/miyamoto-and-aonuma-on-zelda?page=5

Q: Regarding Ura Zelda, is there any different between the 64DD version that was in development and the GameCube version? Did it use any functionality with the 64DD? And, is it coming to the U.S.?

Miyamoto-san: Although we did develop Ura for the 64DD, it didn’t use many of the special features. So it was very easy to port over to the GameCube without cutting any features. Why we did it, well that was because the 64DD was only released in Japan and it was only sold to subscribers of the RandNet system. For a long time we wanted to make it available for play and find a way to do that. It was expensive to make cartridges, so we had through about different ways. One thing we thought about was tie-ups with magazines. Once GameCube moved to disc media, though, it became much more feasible to make it available. In terms of how we’ve done it, we didn’t want to make it limited edition. So we’ve tried to make it available to as many people as possible.

Also, I’m not sure if you’re aware but Ura Zelda isn’t very different from the Ocarina of Time; it’s more of a second quest. People who played through Ocarina of Time would be able to play through Ura Zelda and get a few laughs at some things, find some things more difficult, and take a few varied paths. However, even if you do play all the way through the end it will not unlock anything special.​


Iwata Asks - Zelda: Spirit Tracks - 2009
http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/ds/zelda/0/0

Aonuma: No, we didn’t just start making The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, not right away. There was actually a flip-side, and in the beginning, the idea was to make a “Ura (Flip-Side) Zelda”.

Iwata: That “Ura Zelda” (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest) was developed for the 64DD. Ultimately, we recorded it on a limited edition disc that went to people who reserved The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Aonuma: Ultimately, other staff members handled The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest. Still, as someone who has been in charge of the dungeons, I just couldn’t get that excited over making a flip-side for them. I couldn’t see it turning into a new The Legend of Zelda, either. But we’d been told to make The Legend of Zelda. It isn’t as though we could just say, “I don’t want to”, and end it there. At that point, Miyamoto-san gave us a tradeoff: he said, if we could make a new The Legend of Zelda game in one year, then it wouldn’t have to be a “flip-side”.

Iwata: Well! So you’re saying The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was the result of your team picking up the gauntlet he’d thrown down? (laughs)

Aonuma: Yes. That was the deal. But The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did take three years to make, you know!?​


Nintendo Power makes reference to the The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest Japanese name "Ura Zelda" with the headline "Another World".

tumblr_inline_ner0pgr3Eh1r7f29r.png

tumblr_inline_ner1o9Xi2u1r7f29r.png

Good info Mak. Thanks for this.
 
The consistant explanation from Miyamoto and Aonuma over the years on Ura Zelda was that it was a second quest with rearranged dungeons. Even if unused content was found, the Ura Zelda project was focused on rearranged dungeons as a second quest, which is what we got with Master Quest.


1999 - http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Interviews-1999-08-27-IGN-64-Shigeru-Miyamoto.php
IGN64: We played Gaiden a short while ago and it’s very impressive. But we’re curious, will Link grow up in Gaiden?

Miyamoto: I actually don’t know, but I heard that the adult Link will probably appear this time too. Also, if you say that Gaiden on the show floor is really good stuff I can feel very comfortable because that means my staff members have already become better than me when it comes to game creation.

IGN64: Tell us about “Ura Zelda.”

Miyamoto: Ura Zelda is based on The Ocarina of Time for 64DD. It has the same construction of gameplay. It’s very much a parody game based on Ocarina of time, but with new dungeons to explore. It even features the same storyline.​

Miyamoto Shows off Zelda 64 - May 1998
http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/05/27/miyamoto-shows-off-zelda-64

Q: Will there be a 64DD Zelda or an add-on?

Miyamoto: I don’t know if “add-on” is the right terminology. For the 64DD, we are working on a Zelda game, which we call “Ura Zelda,” where you first play the initial disk version of Zelda – after finishing everything, you can enter into the world, into the basic design of the same. This sort of WaZelda is now in the works for the 64DD.​

Talkin' Zelda with Mr. Miyamoto - Space World '99 - Nintendo.com 1999
http://www.angelfire.com/games5/makzelda/interviews/zgmiyamotosw99.html

Q: After hearing rumors of Ura Zelda for Nintendo 64 Disk Drive, Zelda Gaiden for the Nintendo 64 cartridge format was a pleasant surprise. Can you tell me how these two games came to be developed?

A: We are working on two follow-ups to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. "Ura Zelda" uses the same system as Ocarina of Time but uses the 64DD to add game data. The story in "Ura Zelda" will be similar to Ocarina of Time but with new maps and scenarios. Zelda Gaiden, on the other hand, is a completely different game, although it too uses essentially the same game system as Ocarina of Time. Everyone has enjoyed the Zelda series but there's typically at least a 3 year wait between sequels! People who are in Junior High School when they play one Zelda game would be in High School by time the next game comes out, and those in High School will graduate before the next game came out! So, we wanted to make a new game in the series sooner. "Ura Zelda" will use the existing Ocarina of Time cartridge but with different dungeons, and new locations for the treasures. Since the 64DD media is cheaper than a new cartridge, this is an inexpensive way to make a sequel. We may also consider using network technology for "Ura Zelda." Right now, most of the staff is concentrating on Zelda Gaiden.​

http://www.zeldadungeon.net/Interviews-1999-08-27-IGN-64-Shigeru-Miyamoto.php
http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/11/18/zelda-dd-the-other-adventure
http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/ura-zelda-complete
http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/21/gaiden-and-ura-zelda-split

Incite Video Games magazine December 1999
http://www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/Interview:Incite_December_1999

Incite Game Magazine: Is this game system exactly the same or have you added any new features?

Miyamoto: Yes, its basically the same except for the masks. When you wear the masks you can transform into another creature and then you have controls to master.
Incite Game Magazine: Are there still plans to release a 64DD Zelda ?

Miyamoto: Distinct from this new version, we do have another 64DD Zelda game. We’ve currently suspended development because we’re busy with so many projects and we wanted to concentrate on Zelda Gaiden, but we’re still working on it. We weren’t sure which one to do first but for the moment we’ve put the 64DD to one side to do this new Zelda. However, there’s no relationship between them at all. Zelda Gaiden is an original story, while the 64DD uses Ocarina of Time as the base theme. In the 64DD version, certain elements in the story send you off on different paths.

Incite Game Magazine: What’s different about the 64DD version?

Miyamoto: Well, simply put, every time you go into a dungeon, the tasks will be different. If there was a treasure chest in a certain location the last time you went in, then the next time you in it won’t be there.

Incite Game Magazine: Will we be about to play an online Zelda?

Miyamoto: Up to now we haven’t really started to think about this. However, were not looking to create a multi-player on-line system for Zelda. With the 64DD’s read/write capability, we’re thinking along the lines of a new dungeon data downloads, and swapping your data with other players.​

Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda - Dec 2002
http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/12/04/miyamoto-and-aonuma-on-zelda?page=5

Q: Regarding Ura Zelda, is there any different between the 64DD version that was in development and the GameCube version? Did it use any functionality with the 64DD? And, is it coming to the U.S.?

Miyamoto-san: Although we did develop Ura for the 64DD, it didn’t use many of the special features. So it was very easy to port over to the GameCube without cutting any features. Why we did it, well that was because the 64DD was only released in Japan and it was only sold to subscribers of the RandNet system. For a long time we wanted to make it available for play and find a way to do that. It was expensive to make cartridges, so we had through about different ways. One thing we thought about was tie-ups with magazines. Once GameCube moved to disc media, though, it became much more feasible to make it available. In terms of how we’ve done it, we didn’t want to make it limited edition. So we’ve tried to make it available to as many people as possible.

Also, I’m not sure if you’re aware but Ura Zelda isn’t very different from the Ocarina of Time; it’s more of a second quest. People who played through Ocarina of Time would be able to play through Ura Zelda and get a few laughs at some things, find some things more difficult, and take a few varied paths. However, even if you do play all the way through the end it will not unlock anything special.​


Iwata Asks - Zelda: Spirit Tracks - 2009
http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/ds/zelda/0/0

Aonuma: No, we didn’t just start making The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, not right away. There was actually a flip-side, and in the beginning, the idea was to make a “Ura (Flip-Side) Zelda”.

Iwata: That “Ura Zelda” (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest) was developed for the 64DD. Ultimately, we recorded it on a limited edition disc that went to people who reserved The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

Aonuma: Ultimately, other staff members handled The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Master Quest. Still, as someone who has been in charge of the dungeons, I just couldn’t get that excited over making a flip-side for them. I couldn’t see it turning into a new The Legend of Zelda, either. But we’d been told to make The Legend of Zelda. It isn’t as though we could just say, “I don’t want to”, and end it there. At that point, Miyamoto-san gave us a tradeoff: he said, if we could make a new The Legend of Zelda game in one year, then it wouldn’t have to be a “flip-side”.

Iwata: Well! So you’re saying The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was the result of your team picking up the gauntlet he’d thrown down? (laughs)

Aonuma: Yes. That was the deal. But The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did take three years to make, you know!?​


Nintendo Power makes reference to the The Legend of Zelda's Second Quest Japanese name "Ura Zelda" with the headline "Another World".

tumblr_inline_ner0pgr3Eh1r7f29r.png

tumblr_inline_ner1o9Xi2u1r7f29r.png
Awesome. It's cool to have people who know their shit make posts like this.
 

Hilarion

Member
It always struck me as such a cumbersome halfway house solution between the N64 carts and CDs. The DD's proprietary discs would only hold 64 MB of data, compared to nearly 10 times that amount on a CD, while most N64 carts held 32 MB (some up to 64, like RE2, some less). So for nearly another $100, you'd get an add-on that would have games the size of RE2 and a few other features like an internal clock on your N64.

In retrospect, it was one of the dumbest accessories/add ons ever. If this had been part of the N64 from Day 1, maybe the system would've been somewhat more kindly received by third parties (64 MB discs rather than the usually 16, sometimes 32 MB carts they had in the early days of the N64), but I doubt it.

Animal Crossing 64 is still one of the most ridiculously ambitious things on that system, though, and there's no way it could've happened without the disc drive. Also Mario Artist, which is probably the coolest thing on the N64 that didn't leave Japan.
 

Psxphile

Member
An idea so bad Sega couldn't wait to make it their own.

3ab1_1.jpg


The ultimate culmination of these half-baked ideas were the adoption of HDDs in the console space. And not just as an ill-conceived add-on released late in the life of the system in order to extend it, but as something that came included from day one.
 

Cheerilee

Member
A shame too. Weren't Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Quest VII supposed to be on the 64DD originally?
Square bailed on the 64 and Nintendo long before the 64DD was even an idea in consideration at Nintendo. The 64DD's 64 MB disc space wouldn't have brought them back, either. PS1 disc space was still many times higher than that and more suitable for their new cutscene-heavy direction for the series.
Square and Enix were both basically heading towards the N64 on cruise control, under the assumption that the N64 would be actually, y'know... good, and then Nintendo announced that the N64 would be cart-based, as opposed to having CDs. Square and Enix were like "Oh hell no" and Nintendo almost immediately started talking about how the 64DD was coming soon, and Square and Enix cooled down towards "hesitant".

I remember reading a story about how Nintendo's people visited Square and Enix and asked them for a wishlist of things they would like to see in the 64DD (anything except CD), and Nintendo came back with the idea of preloaded fonts. Apparently several bytes of storage space can be saved in text-heavy games by having a set of basic fonts be pre-loaded into the 64DD system by itself. You see, Nintendo really loves you! Sega and Sony don't think about listening to your requests and including pre-loaded fonts in their system. Nintendo was also apparently willing to extend the official title of "64DD Design Partners" to Square and Enix.

But it wasn't enough. Square said "Yeah, fuck this. We're leaving. Playstation is better. You coming Enix?"
 

EctoPrime

Member
Looking back Nintendo could of achieved a lot of what they set out to do with the 64DD with a device that used a standard 1.44 MB FDD. A box of 10 disks bought by the user for Mario Artist would be enough for a lot of people if you could just transfer the files to PC for printing. Plus dmf style 1.7 MB disks could be used for game expansions, potentially filling the expansion pak to become a 4MB patch decompressed.
 

big_z

Member
Square and Enix were both basically heading towards the N64 on cruise control, under the assumption that the N64 would be actually, y'know... good, and then Nintendo announced that the N64 would be cart-based, as opposed to having CDs. Square and Enix were like "Oh hell no" and Nintendo almost immediately started talking about how the 64DD was coming soon, and Square and Enix cooled down towards "hesitant".

I remember reading a story about how Nintendo's people visited Square and Enix and asked them for a wishlist of things they would like to see in the 64DD (anything except CD), and Nintendo came back with the idea of preloaded fonts. Apparently several bytes of storage space can be saved in text-heavy games by having a set of basic fonts be pre-loaded into the 64DD system by itself. You see, Nintendo really loves you! Sega and Sony don't think about listening to your requests and including pre-loaded fonts in their system. Nintendo was also apparently willing to extend the official title of "64DD Design Partners" to Square and Enix.

But it wasn't enough. Square said "Yeah, fuck this. We're leaving. Playstation is better. You coming Enix?"


not quite. sony stepped in with bags of cash, reduced royalties and a marketing budget to entice square to leave Nintendo. its why the two companies didn't had bad blood for the longest time. the increased space provided by cd was only icing on the cake.

sony played dirty back in the ps1 days. theyre doing the same with the ps4 and it works well for them. would be nice to see Nintendo try a similar tactic for a change.
 

bomma_man

Member
not quite. sony stepped in with bags of cash, reduced royalties and a marketing budget to entice square to leave Nintendo. its why the two companies didn't had bad blood for the longest time. the increased space provided by cd was only icing on the cake.

sony played dirty back in the ps1 days. theyre doing the same with the ps4 and it works well for them. would be nice to see Nintendo try a similar tactic for a change.

Sure sony might've moneyhatted, but Nintendo engaged in genuinely illegal, anti-competitive practises in the 80s and 90s. I don't know how you can portray them as innocent.
 

Yukinari

Member
N64DD games are so damn good and yet none of them are on VC.

Imagine F-Zero X Expansion or Doshin The Giant coming to the US finally.
 

Thaedolus

Member
sony played dirty back in the ps1 days. theyre doing the same with the ps4 and it works well for them. would be nice to see Nintendo try a similar tactic for a change.

Nintendo playing dirty would be them going back to their roots. Nintendo in the 90s wasn't the "clean" company, they just made a series of dumb decisions (screwing over Sony was the first)
 
This is cool but call me when someone finds a working copy of Earthbound 64 and Ura Zelda. Also, remember the day where you could buy a boxed 64DD for less than $1,000? It feels like a distant dream at this point...
 
An idea so bad Sega couldn't wait to make it their own.

3ab1_1.jpg

The fuck is the point of this? 64DD at least mad a little sense due to how expensive 64MB N64 carts would cost to produce, but even the highest capacity Zip disk (750MB) still holds less than a Dreamcast GD-ROM (1GB).
 
The fuck is the point of this? 64DD at least mad a little sense due to how expensive 64MB N64 carts would cost to produce, but even the highest capacity Zip disk (750MB) still holds less than a Dreamcast GD-ROM (1GB).

It wasn't meant to hold bootable games. It was meant to be a large storage solution for saves and anything else developers wanted to store.
 

Thaedolus

Member
The fuck is the point of this? 64DD at least mad a little sense due to how expensive 64MB N64 carts would cost to produce, but even the highest capacity Zip disk (750MB) still holds less than a Dreamcast GD-ROM (1GB).

VMUs could only hold like 128k, it was a rewritable storage medium for games that would take advantage of the extra space.

Turns out nobody wanted that.
 

RoadDogg

Member
The fuck is the point of this? 64DD at least mad a little sense due to how expensive 64MB N64 carts would cost to produce, but even the highest capacity Zip disk (750MB) still holds less than a Dreamcast GD-ROM (1GB).

It is re-writable and allows for way more storage then a VMU for DLC?
 

Cheerilee

Member
not quite. sony stepped in with bags of cash, reduced royalties and a marketing budget to entice square to leave Nintendo. its why the two companies didn't had bad blood for the longest time. the increased space provided by cd was only icing on the cake.

sony played dirty back in the ps1 days. theyre doing the same with the ps4 and it works well for them. would be nice to see Nintendo try a similar tactic for a change.

I didn't think Sony's moneyhats were particularly vital to the story. Sony was courting Square since the SNES CD debacle, PSX was on the market for a year and Square did nothing. Square and Enix had a hard time with carts on the SNES. Nintendo unveiled carts and then 64DD for the N64, and Square asked Sony if their offer was still on the table. 64DD was an attempt, but wasn't enough, to keep Square. Enix didn't even get the Square-style moneyhat, but they still followed suit.
 
Top Bottom