Probably going to sound really thick, but what was the point of the N64DD if the discs held the same amount of data (64MB) as the largest cartridges? I get that the are probably cheaper to produce than cartridges, making them cheaper for consumers, but surely the initial outlay on the DD system would negate any savings on the games you purchased (eg you'd need to buy several games before you start to reap a saving).
Yes the idea was the game medium was cheaper to produce for the size of space you got for game data and save data. The problem was as you say, cost and also the delay of the system. It was a good idea in theory but practically it just didn't work. I'm not even sure what the 64DD cost. Maybe if the system had been built with it from the start but eventually you come to the logical conclusion that they just should have used CD-ROM. I remember for a time there were rumors that the 64DD would have a perfect port of Killer Instinct due to the massive storage of the Disks. Sadly that never materialized and the best we got was a toned down port of KI2.
It's surprising that, after seeing Sega's fortunes with the MegaCD and 32X and the lessons learned from that (i.e., the fact that addons inherently have a smaller target audience than their host system), Nintendo still thought an addon would be a good idea.
Yes, up to a 32MB/32MB R/RW split, if I recall correctly. Obviously this would be handy for things like Mario Artist and other content creation tools.
The neatest proposal I heard was that with Zelda: Master Quest, the changes you make to the world would have been been remembered. Examples cited were things like broken signboards staying that way, but I assume there would have been more interesting elements making use of this. Lionhead wanted to do a similar thing with Fable on the XBox using the HDD, but ended up having to scrap that feature, so this was quite forward-thinking.
The N64 was originally supposed to have the 64DD built in, probably without a cartridge port. When Nintendo realized it was too far off, they changed their strategy so it would become an add-on. After further more delays, they released it to a lukewarm reception. The reason they did not just shelve it is curious. Perhaps they were worried that CD-ROM would be too much of a challenge and the 64DD was a good chance to compete. Or perhaps after the Super CD being canned, and the Virtual Boy being a flop, they thought they had something to prove.
This is not accurate information. The N64 was designed with an extension port, just like the nintendo consoles that came before it. Like the Famicom, with its Disk System, Nintendo thought they could make lighting strike twice and have two types of media for their console. The original design actually was thought around the Zip-drive, pictured in my avatar, and there's also an early version of the machine that has a very different slot to the final product. It was always a peripheral however and it looked very real and promising for nintendo, who had been caught in a shitstorm because of their expensive gamepak preference compared to the standard, by then, use of CD-roms. Keep in mind that many big names, such as Unreal 1 started on the N64 as DD projects. Others are Zelda, Mario 64 II, Earthbound etc.. from this you can understand how they were interested in using this medium to make software unlike anything else that had been on the console market, largely due to the large memory available. Editors that could only exist on PCs could have made their way to the N64. Expansions for games could offer semi-sequels to extend the life of a title much like DLC does today. It could have offered a satisfactory web experience, internet gaming on a console, etc. With the addition of special add-ons like the Capture Gamepak, the Modem, a Keyboard and a Mouse, microphone and voice recognition etc, the N64 was geared to be a creativity tool for consumers and especially kids. It could have been a CD-drive if nintendo wanted it to be one but they were more afraid of piracy than the benefits, plus, considering that storage was a privilege back in the day, the amounts of rewritable memory on the DD were a real treat! If you ever come accross any articles that date to 1997 you can see the promise and the excitement about the add-on, and a huge game list - at one point there were more titles planned for the DD than the actual console. It promised a lot of features that we take for granted today and actually taught a lot to Nintendo and other companies. Keep in mind that Miis and WarioWare made their debut on it, and both have made plenty of cash for Nintendo. It is for these reasons that it's a very special piece of hardware to N64 followers of the then era..I hope you got a small glimpse of what it stood for
Uh, no. There's no way a DD cost less than a rom-based cart to make. That's not even counting the fact that the DD had to be written after manufacturing, adding another step and more cost to the process.
The DD was planned well before the N64 launch and at that time the max cartridge size were around 8/12MB so 64MB was seen as a far bigger space but with comparable access time ( I believe ). Also internet capabilities and the rewritable space were probably seen as interesting features from a gameplay point of view.
The very first inception of Miis ( sort of ) appeared on Famicom Disk System. Are you sure warioware started on N64 DD ?
Honestly it was just add on to expand on the 64 further and also address the concern that cartridges were too small. Plus the rewrite ability features and and expansions to existing games were quite advance for that time. Problem was development was too slow on it, and at that time add-on's were not as easy of a sell as they are now(People spent a lot differently on video games then they do now). Also just like what happened with the famicom disk system cartridge were getting to the size where it was completely senseless to justify the 64dd disk size. If the disks could of stored as much as a cd I am sure the add-on would of gone through a much faster development cycle. But honestly I could not imagine it doing that well if it actually came out when it was suppose to. As to why it was released, I would imagine to make the games developed for it not a total loss. Plus if you noticed it was given a limited release in japan, so I am guessing ninteno was sorta testing the waters on a subscription based service as well (randnet). Anyone who live in japan actually used the randnet service? Curious cause I read one of the features was trying out demos.
On a related note, for those who have owned the add-on: would you say the amount of time that you've played it and/or the sheer coolness of the device made up for its high price? I've always wanted one, but I'm afraid that if I got one I'd play it for a few weeks and then get bored of it.
The Artist series was good, then Sim City 64 is pretty fun too! Also, X-pansion pak for F-zero X is the cherry on top of the cake! Doshin 1 and 2 are ok, with a bigger preference towards the first one, and Japan pro Golf is..pretty playable actually. Yes, warioware started off w/o Wario himself, just the whacky minigames. They're found in one of the Artist disks, such as Polygone Maker, in which you can make your own 3D models and use them in a series of fast-paced minigames, a la WarioWare.
I've played the crap out of my DD and I always find time to go back to it, it's just a religious sort of experience, like living in an alternative universe for a bit, a place where the DD actually released as a console. There's a combination of nostalgia and quality but the library is pretty thin for the most part. I haven't paid too much for my unit and the games so that has never been an issue for me, but I'd say don't waste too much money on it unless you're a serious Nintendo64 collector.. The DD was actually released because of contractual obligations for a number of units , hence why it saw such a limited release. Where it up to nintendo they would have never released it was it not for the costs and their tax/contractual obligations.
Inevitably, a person would buy a 64DD these days for the coolness factor, and there's nothing wrong with that. I'd buy one for sure.
