The Nintendo 64's Historical Context

Growing up as the youngest in my family aided in the development of my love for playing video games with my sisters and friends because of the exposure to the gaming industry at an early age. I remember playing Mario Kart, Pokemon Stadium, Super Monkey Ball, along with other correlated softwares that allowed my family and I to bond, laugh, and compete with each other through this love for games. The Nintendo 64 console itself was originally invented by the manufacturer Nintendo. ¹ . The creator of this console was named Hiroshi Yamauchi who served as Nintendo’s President from 1949 through 2002, though the design of the object was created by Shigeru Miyamoto. ² . The Nintendo 64 was first sold in Japan in June of 1996, but shortly after its initial release the console was made available in the United States in the following September of that same year, skyrocketing the company’s sales. ³ . The console was originally planned to retail for $250, but that price lowered at the launch date to $199.99 to allow for competition with alike companies such as Sony and Sega products. The product became so popular and well received because of its introduction into a 3D gaming world allowing for a greater amount of interactivity. ⁴ . The construction and design of the Nintendo 64 differentiated from previous consoles and controllers because it introduced the analogue stick rather than the standard, four-directional D-pad. ⁵ . This allowed for much greater movement among the 3D gaming sphere and even sparked inspiration for other competing brands to do the same with their designs. ⁶ . I will always remember all the times my sisters and I played with this console and how we even convinced my dad to connect it to our Chevy suburban so we could all play during our long family road trips. The Nintendo 64 continues to bring entertainment and pleasure to families throughout its lifespan of 25 years.  

1. Aiman Maulana, "NINTENDO NOSTALGIA," New Strait Times, (2016), 8, date accessed April 5, 2021, https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/nintendo-nostalgia/docview/1843715087/se-2?accountid=14503↩

2. Colin Lecher, "Remembering Hiroshi Yamauchi, The Man Who Made Nintendo," Popular Science, (2013), date accessed March 22, 2021, https://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2013-09/hiroshi-yamauchi-was-man-who-made-nintendo/↩

3. FANDOM, "Nintendo 64," Nintendo Fandom Inc, accessed April 5, 2021, https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/Nintendo_64↩

4. Aiman Maulana, "NINTENDO NOSTALGIA," New Strait Times, (2016), 8, date accessed April 5, 2021, https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/nintendo-nostalgia/docview/1843715087/se-2?accountid=14503↩

5. Aiman Maulana, "NINTENDO NOSTALGIA," New Strait Times, (2016), 8, date accessed April 5, 2021, https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/nintendo-nostalgia/docview/1843715087/se-2?accountid=14503↩

6. Aiman Maulana, "NINTENDO NOSTALGIA," New Strait Times, (2016), 8, date accessed April 5, 2021, https://colorado.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.colorado.idm.oclc.org/newspapers/nintendo-nostalgia/docview/1843715087/se-2?accountid=14503↩