games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


Nintendo and Treasure execs pooh-pooh the N64 photo

If you would have asked either Nintendo or Treasure at the time, they would have told you that the Nintendo 64 was the best thing ever. Now? Not so much. In a roundtable session called Ask Iwata, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Treasure director Atsutomo Nakagawa look back at the console and wince.

Nakagawa: …Yes. That’s why we thought we could work on the Nintendo 64 too. But, the Nintendo 64 … sure was something (bitter laughter).

Iwata: (laughs) It was a machine that was hard to create things for and didn’t work at all.

Nakagawa: Y-Yes. It didn’t work at all…

Iwata goes on to say that even though it was a full 3D system, the limitations held it back. Despite its strengths, "it was hard to use and turned out to be a machine that didn’t work at all."

It's kind of sad to hear this talk, seeing as how I really enjoy playing my N64. Sometimes.

[via GoNintendo]


Continue: More Nintendo stories





prev
next 50 comments

59 comments | showing # 1 to 50

DonHonk's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:01
DonHonk
Hm... I liked the n64 alot more then the Gamecube and Wii...
Everyday Legend's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:04
Everyday Legend
N64 would have been amazing had it not been cartridge-based.
Phoenix Gamma's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:04
Phoenix Gamma
Which is why we'll never see Mischief Makers on Virtual Console, huh?

:(
Tubatic's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:05
Tubatic
N64 was a turning point. I'll bet it was a nightmare, as a paradigm shift from 2D to 3D.

Considering this article, its especially neat that we got some pretty rock solid, chunky games to sink into
John Johnson's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:08
John Johnson
Yeah, if they're saying that about the N64, what are they going to be saying about the Wii 15 years from now? How do you say turd sandwich in Japanese?
Shadowiii's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:14
Shadowiii
What, I loved the N64. Even the totally moronic controller.
armless-phelan's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:14
armless-phelan
The N64 may not have had the deepest games, but there were some genuinely good experiences to be had. More than a few series got either their start or their most critically acclaimed entries on that console.
YONKE's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:17
YONKE
I skiped the n64 generation....did'nt like the n64 even when at that time i was a Nintendo fanboy (except for Mario64, Mario kart 64 , Zeldas & a few More were great games )....i almost skip that generation until i played Metal Gear Solid....i was sold on the PS....
andycadaver's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:18
andycadaver
Fuck those guys. I love my N64.
bahss's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:19
bahss
Banjo-Kazooie? Tooie? Mario 64? 007? Extreme G? LoZ:OoT? LoZ:MM? Wave Race? Smash Bros?

Yeah, it didn't work at all... But, I'll tell you what did work! That Gamecube was a HUGE success!

Maybe he's just referring to the controller as being rubbish?
Electrium's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:21
Electrium
Dude, I loved the N64. That thing was the shit.

@ Phoenix Gamma - SOMEONE ELSE PLAYED MISCHIEF MAKERS??!?!?!? I LOOOOOVEEDDD THAT GAME "SHAKE SHAKE!" *epic nerdgasm*
PJMan's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:26
PJMan
Too bad that was your last good console.

Whoops
flabzilla's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:26
flabzilla
You guys got to play with the end results of there hard efforts.

Try and think about it from there perspective, making 3D games which was a relatively new thing to do, with new hardware and the limitations of cartridges.
VGFreak1225's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:28
VGFreak1225
Some of my favorite games of all time were on the N64, screw that.

@ Phoenix Gamma, Electrium: SHAKE SHAKE! Admitedly, I only borrowed Mischeif Makers from my cousins and got stuck at the track & field games, but that game was really fun.
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:28
Qraze
i liked the n64 but that controller had the most hand cramping thumb hurting design ever. you couldn't use the z button and left shoulder button together, worse design ever. and they lost square support because of the memory size of cartridges. in retrospective the system was a developer alienater. look at the n64 version re2, it had to use less memory than the one on the ps1 (around 78 mbytes) and it was downright horrific and glitch filled.
Cartman's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:28
Cartman
Some of the best gaming memories I have are from me and my 3 best friends sitting round and playing N64 when we were 10 or 11. We would transfer our pokemon to the colloseum and watch them fight each other all 3d like.

:')
Rob165x's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:36
Rob165x
They aren't refering to what they were able to accomplish with the sysytem. It had amazingly fun games and one of the best, 10/10 by everyone (Ocarina of Time). They talk about the hardware, it had little memory (hence they sold an expansion pack, remember that?), used cartridges (expensive to manufacture), and had space limitations on them. The controller was also awkward and not good enough against the dualshock. PS1 was much easier to develop compared to the N64 is all.
Arch649's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:37
Arch649
I've had some great gaming memories with my N64. And I love the controller.
Matthew Blake's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:40
Matthew Blake
Rob165x seems to have the right idea. The fact that they were able to make such great games on such unruly hardware is a feat in and of itself, so I totally understand where they're coming from.
Kvb's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:40
Kvb
Yeah. The only reason the Nintendo 64 had so many fantastic games was to make up for its general shittiness, I guess.
It's telling that almost all the of the good games on the system were first or second party efforts.
Dao2-SKP's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:43
Dao2-SKP
this is heresy, the n64 was awesome :|
q-pa's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:50
q-pa
This from the two camps behind Sin & Punishment: a great game. Hmm...
Brando's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:50
Brando
Hardware wise I agree, but software is a totally different story...
Qraze's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:52
Qraze
you can literally take all the good and great n64 games and burn them on one cd. it had some really great games, no denying that but just couldn't get great 3rd party support, just like the.......
wow, nintendo really hasn't changed at all.
The-Excel's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:52
The-Excel
@q-pa:
Which today doesn't work at all thanks to its control scheme not translating well to any of the possible Virtual Console control options.
DanlHaas's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:52
DanlHaas
BRB hooking up my N64 for a round of star fox.
The-Excel's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:53
The-Excel
Also someone should forward them this thread.
shinryu108's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 11:55
shinryu108
N64 was ok. better than Saturn, not as good as than PS1. But Nintendo systems are always in a league of their own thanks to their first-party goodness. These statements are more from a publisher/developer perspective, obviously there was fun to be had with the system as a consumer.
Narishma's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:02
Narishma
@shinryu108: Unfortunately, for people who don't like Nintendo's first party games Nintendo consoles haven't been attractive since the SNES.
munkee's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:08
munkee
finally, i wondered if anybody would admit it XD

For a start bitmap texturing was an epic fail and the analogue stick on the gamepad was convex and plastic. it should have been either concave or rubber. The cartridges weren't all that bad.. great loading times. I only really remember Nintendo, Rare & Acclaim making any decent software which didn't help. I dont think it was serious competition for the PS1 at the time.

There were some amazing games to be played though and we had some good times.
Wedge's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:10
Wedge
It would have been amazing were it CD based and not had god awful texture memory limits without severe hacking.

They're talking about the hardware on it being crap, because it was a poorly designed mess.

Treasure made Sin and Punishment AND Mischief Makers on the system, so of course it had good games...
awa64's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:15
awa64
As much as the N64 suffered from a lack of optical media... I miss it for the same reason. It was the last game system that really felt like a game system, where you just jammed the cartridge into a slot and started playing instead of watching a small icon animate in the bottom-right corner for a minute every time you tried to load a save or start a new level.
DEG's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:21
DEG
Monodi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:21
Monodi
>_> it was one of their best systems ever
-PL-'s Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:23
-PL-
N64 was one of my most regrettable console purchases. It had some good games, but not nearly as many as a console should have.
Audac1ty's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:28
Audac1ty
Wow I Thought Mischief makers was just some weird obscure game.
Ah memories.............. BEEFCAKE!!
WarZombie's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 12:35
WarZombie
Fuck them. I don't care that they work for two great companies, I LOVED my N64. That thing was my entire childhood (Along with the first PS). Not even Iwata can convince me that it was a terrible console, because I played that thing for hours on end. Honestly guys, STFU.
RenagadePanda's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:01
RenagadePanda
The 64 still sits high on my list of most memorable systems I've owned. Second only to Dreamcast. Both of which are still hooked up to my TV.
munkee's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:02
munkee
@Monodi

i cant agree with that. the NES, SNES, GB and DS were all better
Myrmidon16's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:09
Myrmidon16
if the n64 was so "hard to create things for", then why are its games better than the ones for gamecube and the wii combined? that either says that those consoles are even harder to make things for or theyre not trying nearly as hard to make amazing games like they did for the n64. best. system. ever.
Holyetheline's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:12
Holyetheline
The N64 was the best back in the day. They should STFU.
pedrovay2003's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:20
pedrovay2003
Wow, well then.
flabzilla's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:22
flabzilla
http://www.siliconera.com/2009/11/01/sin-punishment-2-creators-voice-parts-1-2/
Davoidbot's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:43
Davoidbot
Their probably referring to the fact it was hard to program games for its 64 bit processor at the time or something, but I can't say because I never programed for one.
AkumaLovesYou's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 13:48
AkumaLovesYou
N64 is my favourite console.... D:
peachboy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 14:06
peachboy
it was a lovable piece of shit, just like the gamecube.
also, yeah, mischief makers needs to happen right now.
PJMan's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 14:41
PJMan
@peachboy: No one loved the Gamecube D:
Rucksack's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 14:50
Rucksack
I'm sure they're only talking about how hard it was to program for. As an end-user, I think the N64 was my favorite console.
Johnny Justice's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 16:05
Johnny Justice
Sure it had some great games, but it was rather inefficient hardware wise. It couldn't render as many polygons on screen as the 32-bit PlayStation could and although the game cartridges made loading times non-existent they didn't offer as much storage as CDs. Most often it was the sound effects of a game would bare the brunt, lacking in both quantity and quality.
Nicojay2's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/04/2009 16:11
Nicojay2
Okay so they might not have enjoyed the hardware that the N64 was, yet they and others made better games for it then the current and last gen Nintento machines.
The N64 will always have a special place for me.
prev next 50 comments

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos

    Win this!
    Dive in! meetup+play for a chance to win a PC

    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Crossfire Remote Pistol review
    Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles review
    Left 4 Dead 2 review
    Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex review
    Arkedo Series - 02 SWAP! review
    more reviews
    Driver
    Avatar
    GT Racing Motor Academy
    Bad Company 2 beta dishes out meaningful experiences
    Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 50947 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing
    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jonathan Holmes: Why No More Heroes HD could mean a Wii total victory





















    More Destructoid Originals



     Popular now more






















    Team Destructoid   tips@destructoid.com
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief    		 Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor    		 Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Dale North
    News Editor    		 Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor    		 Colette Bennett
    Tom Fronczak Brad Nicholson
    Ashley Davis Ben Perlee
    Conrad
    Zimmerman    		 Chad Concelmo
    Jonathan Holmes Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Will Maddock Matthew Razak
    Dyson Joseph Leray
    Topher Cantler Samit Sarkar
         
      Dexter
    Adam Dork
    Daniel Lingen
    Hollie Bennett
         		Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Stella Wong
    Josh Tolentino




     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    		 support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    		 keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online     		seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap     		our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?



    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006