Editing Nintendo 64 (section)

=== Release ===
''[[Popular Electronics]]'' called the launch a "much hyped, long-anticipated moment".<ref name="Popular Will" /> Several months before the launch, ''[[GamePro]]'' reported that many gamers, including a large percentage of their own editorial staff, were already saying they favored the Nintendo 64 over the Saturn and PlayStation.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=Ultra Hype for the Ultra 64 |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[IDG]] |issue=89 |page=12}}</ref>

<!-- Release dates and games -->
The console was first released in Japan on June 23, 1996.<ref name="The Signal Jun 24" /> Though the initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out on the first day, Nintendo successfully avoided a repeat of the Super Famicom launch day pandemonium, in part by using a wider retail network which included convenience stores.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1996 |title=Big in Japan: Nintendo 64 Launches at Last |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=21 |pages=14–16}}</ref> The remaining 200,000 units of the first production run shipped on June 26 and 30, with almost all of them reserved ahead of time.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1996 |title=N64's Japanese Debut |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[IDG]] |issue=96 |page=32}}</ref> In the months between the Japanese and North American launches, the Nintendo 64 saw brisk sales on the American [[gray market]], with import stores charging as much as $699 plus shipping for the system.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Semrad |first=Ed |date=September 1996 |title=Electronic Gaming Monthly |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |issue=86 |page=6}}</ref> The Nintendo 64 was first sold in North America on September 26, 1996, though having been advertised for the 29th.<ref name="N64's U.S. Launch">{{Cite web |last=McCall |first=Scott |date=September 28, 1996 |title=N64's U.S. Launch |url=http://www.pennoaks.net/archive64/Miscellaneous_Articles/N64_US_Launch.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151012202316/http://www.pennoaks.net/archive64/Miscellaneous_Articles/N64_US_Launch.htm |archive-date=October 12, 2015 |access-date=September 29, 2015 |website=Teleparc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Svenson |first=Christian |date=December 1996 |title=Nintendo 64 Frenzy |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=24 |page=28 |quote=Nintendo had rather hopefully put a September 29 deadline on the on-sale date. But virtually every retailer in the country was shifting boxes by the 26th. Nintendo, realizing it could not hope to stop the malaise, yielded.}}</ref> It was launched with just two games in the United States, ''[[Pilotwings 64]]'' and ''[[Super Mario 64]]''; ''Cruis'n USA'' was pulled from the line-up less than a month before launch because it did not meet Nintendo's quality standards.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 1996 |title=Launch Surprises: Nintendo Cuts Price of N64, Drops Cruis'n USA as Launch Title |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[IDG]] |issue=98 |page=26}}</ref> In 1994, prior to the launch, Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln emphasized the quality of first-party games, saying "... we're convinced that a few great games at launch are more important than great games mixed in with a lot of dogs".<ref name="Billboard: June 25, 1994" />{{rp|77}} Its American launch was wildly successful, breaking records - its first day sales were significantly higher than PlayStation's and Saturn's respective launches the year before.<ref>{{Cite web |author=I. G. N. Staff |date=October 3, 1996 |title=Nintendo 64 Sells Out |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/10/03/nintendo-64-sells-out |access-date=August 21, 2024 |website=IGN |language=en |archive-date=August 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240821031232/https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/10/03/nintendo-64-sells-out |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[PAL]] version of the console was released in Europe on March 1, 1997, except for France where it was released on September 1 of the same year.<ref name="The Guardian Mar 1" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 29, 2015 |title=Il y a 20 ans, la PlayStation sortait en France |url=https://www.gamekult.com/actualite/il-y-a-20-ans-la-playstation-sortait-en-france-142269.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501000217/https://www.gamekult.com/actualite/il-y-a-20-ans-la-playstation-sortait-en-france-142269.html |archive-date=May 1, 2021 |access-date=March 5, 2021 |website=www.gamekult.com |language=fr}}</ref> According to Nintendo of America representatives, Nintendo had been planning a simultaneous launch in Japan, North America, and Europe, but market studies indicated that worldwide demand for the system far exceeded the number of units they could have ready by launch, potentially leading to consumer and retailer frustration.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 1996 |title=Ultra 64 Delayed until September 30 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=16 |pages=14–15}}</ref>

<!-- Pricing -->
Originally intended to be priced at {{USD|250}},<ref name="Fisher" /> the console was ultimately launched at {{US$|199.99}} to make it competitive with Sony and Sega offerings, as both the Saturn and PlayStation had been lowered to $199.99 earlier that summer.<ref name="Stone Croal hot" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dgKAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT189 |title=Strategic Management Cases: An Integrated Approach, 10th ed. |date=February 21, 2012 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1285402154 |access-date=December 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826022510/https://books.google.com/books?id=9dgKAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT189 |archive-date=August 26, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nintendo priced the console as an [[impulse purchase]], a strategy from the toy industry.<ref name="Miller">Miller, Cyndee. "Sega Vs. Nintendo: This Fights almost as Rough as their Video Games." Marketing News 28.18 (1994): 1-. ABI/INFORM Global; ProQuest Research Library. Web. May 24, 2012.</ref> The price of the console in the United States was further reduced in August 1998.<ref name="1998 price cut">Editors, Business. "New Nintendo 64 Pricing Set at $129.95, $10 Software Coupons to Continue Sales Momentum." Business Wire: 1. August 25, 1998. ProQuest. Web. July 23, 2013.</ref>

==== Promotion ====
The Nintendo 64's North American launch was backed with a $54&nbsp;million marketing campaign by [[Leo Burnett Worldwide]] (meaning over $100 in marketing per North American unit that had been manufactured up to this point).<ref name="NGen20">{{Cite magazine |date=August 1996 |title=10 Reasons Why Nintendo 64 Will Kick Sony's and Sega's Ass (& 20 Reasons Why it Won't) |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=20 |pages=36–43}}</ref> While the competing Saturn and PlayStation both set teenagers and adults as their target audience, the Nintendo 64's target audience was pre-teens.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1996 |title=Nintendo 64 Marketing Specs |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |issue=20 |page=38}}</ref>

To boost sales during the slow post-Christmas season, Nintendo and General Mills worked together on a promotional campaign that appeared in early 1999. The advertisement by [[Saatchi & Saatchi]], New York began on January 25 and encouraged children to buy [[Fruit by the Foot]] snacks for tips to help them with their Nintendo 64 games. Ninety different tips were available, with three variations of thirty tips each.<ref name="BrandWeek Mills">"Promotions: Mills Gets Foot Up with Nintendo Link-up." BRANDWEEK formerly Adweek Marketing Week. (January 18, 1999 ): 277 words. LexisNexis Academic. Web. Date. Retrieved 2013/07/24.</ref>

Nintendo advertised its Funtastic Series of peripherals with a $10&nbsp;million print and television campaign from February 28 to April 30, 2000. Leo Burnett Worldwide was in charge again.<ref name="Wasserman peripherals">Wasserman, Todd. "Nintendo: Pokemon, Peripherals Get $30M." Brandweek 41.7 (2000): 48. Business Source Complete. Web. July 24, 2013.</ref>