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Info for n64


====== Nintendo 64 (1996) ======




===== Features =====

* Processors: 64 bit Risc CPU, (R4300I series) 93.75 MHz; Graphics 64-bit MIPS Risc Co-processor, GSP & DP, 62.5 MHz (RCP); Built-in Audio/Video Vector Processor (RSP); Built-in Pixel Drawing Processor (RDP)
* Memory: 4.5 MB Rambus DRAM (36 megabits); Rambus DRAM subsystem; Custom 9-bit Rambus Bus (to the DRAM)
* Video Resoloutions: 256x224 to 640x480. PAL also 768x576
* Video Output: RF, Stereo A/V, S-Video
* Colors:21-bit colour video output, 32-bit RGPA, pixel colour frame, buffer support
* Audio: Digital Sound, Wavetable Synthesis
* Major Special Features: Perspective correct texture-mapping, Realtime Anti-Aliasing, Tri-Linear Mip-Mapping, Z-Buffering
* Expansion Options: Cartridge Slot; Controller Ports; Pak Holder (bottom of the controller); Extension port (bottom of the console); Memory Expansion Slot (top front of the console)



===== Usage =====

== Controls ==

The Nintendo 64 controller consists of an analog stick, an 8-way directional pad, 6 action buttons (A, B and 4 yellow buttons used either as option buttons, or to control the camera), two shoulder buttons (L and R), a red 'Start' button, and one digital trigger at the bottom (Z).



===== History and Trivia =====

The Nintendo 64 is Nintendo's third home video game console. Named after its 64 bit processor, it was released on June 23, 1996 in Japan, September 29, 1996 in North America and Brazil, March 1, 1997 in Europe and Australia, and September 1, 1997 in France (the system also saw a release in South America, albeit an unofficial one).

Nintendo 64 is the culmination of work by Nintendo, Silicon Graphics, and MIPS Technologies. The SGI-based system design that ended up in the Nintendo 64 was originally offered to Tom Kalinske, then CEO of Sega of America by James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics. SGI had recently bought out MIPS Technologies and the two companies had worked together to create a low-cost CPU/3D GPU combo that they thought would be ideal for the console market. A Sega of Japan hardware team was sent to evaluate the chip's capabilities and they found some faults which MIPS subsequently solved. However, Sega of Japan ultimately decided against SGI's design.

In the early stages of development the Nintendo 64 was referred to by the code name "Project Reality". This moniker came from the speculation within Nintendo that the console could produce CGI on par with then-current supercomputers. In 1994 the console was given the name Nintendo Ultra 64. The console design was shown for the first time in late Spring 1995. The final console was identical to this, but with a different logo. The console was introduced as the Nintendo 64 in Japan, contrary to speculation of it being called Ultra Famicom, at the 7th Annual Shoshinkai Software Exhibition in Japan. Photos of the event were disseminated on the web by Game Zero magazine two days later. In February 1996 Nintendo of America announced a delay of Nintendo Ultra 64 until September 1996 in North America. Simultaneously it announced that Nintendo had adopted a new global branding strategy, calling the console everywhere Nintendo 64.

During this stage of development two companies, Rareware (UK) and Midway (USA), created the arcade games Killer Instinct and Cruis'n USA which claimed to use the Ultra 64 hardware. In fact, the hardware had nothing to do with what was finally released; the arcade games used hard drives and TMS processors. Killer Instinct was the most advanced game of its time graphically, featuring pre-rendered movie backgrounds that were streamed off the hard drive and animated as the characters moved.

Nintendo dropped "Ultra" from the name on February 1, 1996, just months before its Japanese debut.

== Hardware ==

The CPU powering Nintendo 64 is a MIPS R4300i-based NEC VR4300. The CPU is clocked at 93.75 MHz and connects to the rest of the system through a 32-bit data bus. VR4300 is a RISC 5-stage scalar in-order execution processor with an integrated floating point unit. It is a 64-bit processor, in that it has 64-bit registers, a 64-bit instruction set, and 64-bit internal data paths. However, the cost-reduced NEC VR4300 CPU utilized in the console only has 32-bit buses whereas more powerful MIPS CPUs are equipped with 64-bit buses. Many games took advantage of the chip's 32-bit processing mode as the greater data precision available with 64-bit data types is not typically required by 3D games. Also 64-bit data uses twice as much RAM, cache, and bandwidth thereby reducing the overall system performance.

Nintendo 64's graphics and audio duties are performed by the 64-bit SGI co-processor, named the "Reality Co-Processor". The RCP is a 62.5 MHz chip split internally into two major components, the "Reality Drawing Processor" (RDP) and the "Reality Signal Processor" (RSP). Each area communicates with the other by way of a 128-bit internal data bus that provides 1.0 GB/s bandwidth. The RSP is
a MIPS R4000-based 8-bit integer vector processor. It is programmable through microcode, allowing the chip's functions to be significantly altered if necessary, to allow for different types of work, precision, and workloads. The RSP performs transform, clipping and lighting calculations, triangle setup, and has a geometry throughput of approximately 100,000 full-featured polygons per second.

The RSP, as said, also frequently performs audio functions (although the CPU can be tasked with this as well). It can playback virtually any type of audio (dependent on software codecs) including uncompressed PCM, MP3, MIDI, and tracker music. The RSP is capable of a maximum of 100 channels of PCM at a time, but this is with 100% system utilization for audio. It has a maximum sampling rate of 48 kHz with 16-bit audio. However, storage limitations caused by the cartridge format limited audio size (and thus quality).

The RDP is the machine's rasterizer and performs the bulk of actual image creation before output to the display. Nintendo 64 has a maximum color depth of 16.7 million colors (32,768 on-screen) and can display a resolution range of 256x224 to 640x480 pixels.

The final major component in the system is the RAM. Nintendo 64 was the first console to implement a unified memory subsystem, instead of having separate banks of memory for CPU, audio, and video, for example.

The Nintendo 64 had some weaknesses that were caused by a combination of oversight on the part of the hardware designers, limitations on 3D technology of the time, and manufacturing capabilities. One major flaw was the limited texture cache of 4 KiB. This made it extremely difficult to load anything but small textures into the rendering engine, especially textures with high color depth, and was the primary cause of blurry graphics.

== Accessories ==

* Controller Pak: this is a memory card which is plugged into the controller and allows the player to save game progresses and configurations. Nintendo's original models offer 256 KB battery backed SRAM, but third party models allows up to 8 MB of SRAM. Initially very useful, the Controller Pak was not that used in later games where the ability to save to SRAM (or EEPROM) was added in the carts themselves. Anyway, some games continued to require the Controller Pak for saves, e.g. most of Konami games.
* Rumble Pak: released in 1997 as an add-on for "Lylat Wars" / "Star Fox 64", this is an accessory which add a vibration feature in games which support it. It fits the same slot the Controller Pak uses, under the joypad.
* Expansion Pak: a memory expansion that plugged into the console's memory expansion port. It contained 4 MB of additional RAM. Only a few games required this to work: "Donkey Kong 64", "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask", "Perfect Dark" (the single player mode), "Starcraft 64" (the multiplayer mode) and "Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2". Many other games, anyway, could use it to improve the graphics using the additional memory. Among these "Resident Evil 2", "Pokémon Stadium 2", "Shadow Man" and "Quake 2" (which features higher color depth if the Expansion Pak is present). It was available both separately and in bundle with "Donkey Kong 64" or "Majora's Mask".
* Transfer Pak: this accessory plugs into the controller and allows the Nintendo 64 to transfer data between Game Boy and N64 games. Among the games which uses it: Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2, that rely heavily on the Transfer Pak to transfer the monsters from one game to the other, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Perfect Dark and Mario Artist.
* Wide-Boy 64 CGB / AGB: a series of adapters similar to the Super Game Boy that was able to play Game Boy games; however, it was only released to the developers and the press. Analogous third party devices where also released, as the GB Hunter.
* 64DD: This Disk Drive add-on to Nintendo 64 was released in 1999 in Japan. It adds to Nintendo 64 the possibility to read magnetic disks with higher storage capacity than normal cartridges. It also offered some network features through the RandNet service, which allowed players to compete which each other online, to share items for the games which supported this feature (e.g. "Mario Artist" games), to play demos of unreleased games, to browse internet and to listen to music online. It was never released outside of Japan.
* VRU (Voice Recognition Unit): This device is required to play "Hey You, Pikachu!" (and it came bundled with the game). It consists of a ballast that connects into controller port 4 of the system, a microphone, a yellow cover for the microphone and a clip for clipping the microphone to the controller. Players would hold the L or Z button on the controller and talk to Pikachu. One major drawback is the fact that the VRU is only calibrated to high pitched voices like that of a child, so older children and adults will have problems issuing commands.
* SmartMedia Cards: released by Tokyo Electron to be used in connection with the game "Mario no Photopi", these cards were common SmartMedia cards containing graphical elements from "Sylvanian Family", "Bomberman" or Nintendo characters as Yoshi. Players could plug a card with their pictures and one of these cards into the "Mario no Photopi" cartridge to modify the images, adding overlays or special effects from the SmartMedia card, and to save them on the memory card.
* Dance Pad: A dance pad packaged separately, that is needed to play "Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum". It was released in Japan only.
* Bio Sensor: An ear-clip that plugs into the Controller Pak slot of the N64 controller to measure the user's heart rate. Released only in Japan and compatible only with "Tetris 64", it was used to slow down or speed up the game depending on how fast the player's heart is beating.
* Action Replay / GameShark: A cheat device made by Datel (resp. Interact, which licensed it for the US market).
* N64 Passport: Adapter and cheat device allowing players to play games from different regions on their Nintendo 64.
* Dex Drive: Released by Interact, it allowed the player to upload data from their memory cards to the computer and viceversa.

//(info from Wikipedia, FAQs, etc.)//



===== Links =====

* [[wp>Nintendo_64]]



===== Other Emulators =====

* Project64 -- http://pj64.emulation64.com/
* UltraHLE -- http://www.ultrahle.com/
* 1964 -- http://1964emu.emulation64.com/
* Mupen64 -- http://mupen64.emulation64.com/




Generated on Sun Jul 19 10:17:28 2009