Editing Nintendo 64 (section)

=== Game Paks ===
{{Main|Nintendo 64 Game Pak}}
[[File:N64-Game-Cartridge.jpg|thumb|Open and unopened Nintendo 64 Game Paks]]

After multiple attempts to develop a [[compact disc]]-based add-on for the Super NES, many in the industry expected Nintendo’s next console to follow Sony’s PlayStation in adopting the CD format. However, when the first Nintendo 64 prototypes debuted in November 1995, observers were surprised to find that the system once again used [[ROM cartridge]]s.<ref name="maher20231208">{{Cite web |last=Maher |first=Jimmy |date=December 8, 2023 |title=Putting the "J" in the RPG, Part 2: PlayStation for the Win The Digital Antiquarian |url=https://www.filfre.net/2023/12/putting-the-j-in-the-rpg-part-2-playstation-for-the-win/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=The Digital Antiquarian |language=en-US |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208233930/https://www.filfre.net/2023/12/putting-the-j-in-the-rpg-part-2-playstation-for-the-win/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Nintendo 64 cartridges range in size from 4 to 64&nbsp;MB and often include built-in save functionality.<ref name="hardware1">{{Cite web |title=The N64 Hardware |url=http://n64.icequake.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430131325/http://n64.icequake.net/ |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |access-date=January 15, 2009}}</ref> 

Nintendo’s selection of the cartridge medium was highly controversial and is frequently cited as a key factor in the company losing its dominant position in the gaming market. While cartridges offered advantages such as faster load times and durability, their limitations—higher production costs, lower storage capacity, and longer manufacturing lead times—posed challenges for developers.<ref name="The N64 Hardware">{{Cite web |title=The N64 Hardware |url=http://n64.icequake.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430131325/http://n64.icequake.net/ |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |access-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name="CD Capacity">{{Cite web |title=CD Capacity |url=http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/mediaCapacity-c.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061956/http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cd/mediaCapacity-c.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref><ref name="videogameconsolelibrary90">{{Cite web |title=Nintendo 64 |url=http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg90-n64.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129224715/http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg90-n64.htm |archive-date=January 29, 2009 |access-date=January 11, 2009}}</ref> Many of the format’s benefits required innovative solutions, which only emerged later in the console’s lifecycle.<ref name="Bringing Indy to N64">{{Cite web |date=November 9, 2000 |title=Bringing Indy to N64 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/10/bringing-indy-to-n64 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927083804/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/10/bringing-indy-to-n64 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |access-date=September 24, 2013 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine">{{Cite web |date=December 12, 2000 |title=Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/13/indiana-jones-and-the-infernal-machine-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927083807/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/12/13/indiana-jones-and-the-infernal-machine-2 |archive-date=September 27, 2013 |access-date=September 24, 2013 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref name="Interview: Battling the N64 (Naboo)">{{Cite web |date=November 10, 2000 |title=Interview: Battling the N64 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/11/interview-battling-the-n64 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913180626/http://ign64.ign.com/articles/087/087646p1.html |archive-date=September 13, 2007 |access-date=November 13, 2021 |publisher=IGN}}</ref>

====Advantages====
{{Quote box
| quote = The big strength was the N64 cartridge. We use the cartridge almost like normal RAM and are streaming all level data, textures, animations, music, sound and even program code while the game is running. With the final size of the levels and the amount of textures, the RAM of the N64 never would have been even remotely enough to fit any individual level. So the cartridge technology really saved the day.
| source = Factor 5, ''Bringing Indy to N64'' at IGN<ref name="Bringing Indy to N64" />
| width = 30em
}}Nintendo cited several reasons for choosing cartridges.<ref name="advantages">{{Cite book |title=Nintendo Power August 1994 – Pak Watch |publisher=Nintendo |year=1994 |page=108}}</ref> The biggest advantage was their fast load times—unlike CDs, which required lengthy loading screens, cartridges provided near-instant gameplay. This advantage had previously helped Nintendo compete against home computers like the [[Commodore 64]] in the 1980s.{{r|maher20231208}} Although cartridges are susceptible to long-term environmental damage, they are significantly more durable than compact discs.<ref name="advantages" />

Another key factor was [[Copyright infringement|copyright protection]]—cartridges were harder to pirate than CDs, reducing widespread [[software piracy]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 1995 |title=Nintendo Ultra 64: The Launch of the Decade? |magazine=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine |publisher=[[Emap International Limited]] |pages=107–8 |issue=2}}</ref> While unauthorized N64-to-PC devices eventually emerged, they were far less common than the more easily copied PlayStation CDs.<ref name="PC World - 5 biggest console battles">{{Cite web |last=Noble |first=McKinley |title=5 Biggest Game Console Battles |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/171127/5_biggest_game_console_battles.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210054133/https://www.pcworld.com/article/171127/5_biggest_game_console_battles.html |archive-date=February 10, 2020 |access-date=November 19, 2019 |website=PC World}}</ref><ref name="The Motley Fool - Nintendo Fear Piracy">{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=Leo |date=February 12, 2014 |title=3 Ways Nintendo's Fear of Piracy Shaped its Business |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/12/3-ways-nintendos-fear-of-piracy-defined-its-busine.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904131702/https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/12/3-ways-nintendos-fear-of-piracy-defined-its-busine.aspx |archive-date=September 4, 2019 |access-date=November 19, 2019 |website=The Motley Fool |ref=The Motley Fool - Nintendo Fear Piracy}}</ref>

====Disadvantages====
Cartridges also had notable drawbacks. They took longer to manufacture than CDs, requiring at least two weeks per production run.{{r|maher20231208}}<ref name="asiaweek-marketshare">{{Cite magazine |last1=Bacani, Cesar |last2=Mutsuko, Murakami |name-list-style=amp |date=April 18, 1997 |title=Nintendo's new 64-bit platform sets off a scramble for market share |url=http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0418/cs1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226163418/http://www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/97/0418/cs1.html |archive-date=December 26, 2005 |access-date=February 9, 2007 |magazine=[[Asiaweek]]}}</ref> This forced publishers to predict demand ahead of time, risking either overproduction of costly cartridges or weeks-long shortages if demand was underestimated.<ref name="asiaweek-marketshare" /> Additionally, cartridges were significantly more expensive to produce than CDs,<ref name="NGen12" />{{r|maher20231208}} leading to higher game prices, typically {{US$|10|1996|round=0}} more than PlayStation titles.<ref name="Ryan gotta">Ryan, Michael E. "'I Gotta Have This Game Machine!' (Cover Story)." Familypc 7.11 (2000): 112. MasterFILE Premier. Web. July 24, 2013.</ref>

[[Third party developer|Third-party developers]] also complained that they were at an unfair disadvantage. Since Nintendo controlled cartridge manufacturing, it could sell its own [[First-party developer|first-party]] games at a lower price,<ref name="NGen20" /> and prioritize their production over those of other companies.{{r|maher20231208}}

Storage limitations were another key issue. While Nintendo 64 cartridges maxed out at 64&nbsp;MB,<ref name="The N64 Hardware" /> CDs could hold 650&nbsp;MB.<ref name="CD Capacity" /><ref name="NGen14" /> As games became more complex, this restriction forced compromises, including compressed textures, shorter music tracks, and fewer [[Cutscene|cutscenes]]. [[Full-motion video]] was rarely feasible, and many [[multiplatform]] games had to be scaled down for the N64.<ref name="NGen20" /><ref name="Curtiss wonder" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1997 |title=What's Wrong with N64 Software? |url=https://archive.org/stream/NEXT_Generation_29#page/n43 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |page=43 |issue=29}}</ref>

These cost and storage constraints pushed many third-party developers toward the PlayStation. [[Square (video game company)|Square]] and [[Enix]], which had originally planned to release ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' and ''[[Dragon Quest VII|Dragon Warrior VII]]'' on the Nintendo 64, switched to Sony’s console due to storage constraints.<ref name="nintendo3">{{Cite web |title=Nintendo 64 |url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/n64/916387-nintendo-64/reviews/review-71974 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126125325/http://www.gamefaqs.com/n64/916387-nintendo-64/reviews/review-71974 |archive-date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=January 15, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Elusions: Final Fantasy 64 |url=http://www.lostlevels.org/200510/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114174859/http://www.lostlevels.org/200510/ |archive-date=January 14, 2012 |access-date=January 11, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 1996 |title=Squaresoft Head for Sony |magazine=Maximum: The Video Game Magazine |publisher=[[Emap International Limited]] |page=105 |issue=4}}</ref> Other developers, like [[Konami]], released far fewer N64 titles than PlayStation games. As a result, new N64 releases were less frequent compared to its competitors.<ref name="videogameconsolelibrary90" />

Despite these challenges, the Nintendo 64 remained competitive, bolstered by strong first-party titles and exclusive hits like ''[[GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game)|GoldenEye 007]]''. Nintendo’s flagship [[Video game franchises|franchises]], including [[Mario (franchise)|Mario]] and [[Zelda (franchise)|Zelda]], retained strong brand appeal, and deals with [[Second party developer|second-party developers]] like [[Rare (company)|Rare]] further strengthened the console’s game library.<ref name="videogameconsolelibrary90" /><ref name="nintendo2">{{Cite web |title=Most Popular Nintendo 64 Games |url=http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?type=games&platform=4 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218211831/http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?type=games&platform=4 |archive-date=December 18, 2008 |access-date=January 11, 2009}}</ref>