If N64 Cartridges Had Switch Level Storage and Power?

[CMWaters]

So, idle thought after watching a few retro gaming channels.

We know that because of Nintendo's desire to stick with cartridges and not move to CD-ROMs the flow of gaming history, PlayStation taking at least at the time the dominate spot in the gaming world, and eventually took SEGA out of the picture and lead to Microsoft entering it.

But let's ponder for a minute a hypothetical: instead of energy focused on the DD unit that failed, some researcher at Nintendo stumbled onto a breakthrough that would give their N64 Cartridges HUGE a HUGE storage and power update...equal to what a Nintendo Switch card would now. Sure, Switch is underpowered compared to the Sony and Microsoft offerings now, but back then it would have been SUPER cutting edge.

Would such powerful carts have changed history substantially? Would Nintendo have been able to better hold on to partnerships with third parties instead of losing them like they did? Would Sony have been able to gain a proper foothold in the scene? What would have become of Sega in all of this (though their problems were mostly their own fault, admittedly)?

Just some random pondering of an impossibility.

[FinalGwen]

Would have looked primitive next to the Master System with PS5 graphics.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Nintendo would have had issues with third party developers whatever happened because they'd been a-holes to them since the 80s, dictating content of games and the number that can be released. Any storage media they produce which only they can manufacture would have meant they stuck with the same 'We controi everything' policies that developers hated so Sony and Sega still would have been preferable options.

[BorneAgain]

There's also the issue that Nintendo was still reluctant to embrace the older gamer demographic that had been emerging, which Sony and later Microsoft enthusiastically embraced with their releases.

Nintendo's reliance on cartridges was a major problem, but it was not the only issue that proved to hinder them in the 5th & 6th generation of consoles.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Jan 2, 2022 9:13:35 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

There's also the issue that Nintendo was still reluctant to embrace the older gamer demographic that had been emerging, which Sony and later Microsoft enthusiastically embraced with their releases.

Nintendo's reliance on cartridges was a major problem, but it was not the only issue that proved to hinder them in the 5th & 6th generation of consoles.

The N64 had Goldeneye, Doom64 and the likes, non cartoon racers like Ridgeracer and Wipeout, fighting games and so on so the adult content was there, the main difference being they weren't the focal point of the marketing.

[BorneAgain]

Jan 2, 2022 9:25:33 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Jan 2, 2022 9:13:35 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

There's also the issue that Nintendo was still reluctant to embrace the older gamer demographic that had been emerging, which Sony and later Microsoft enthusiastically embraced with their releases.

Nintendo's reliance on cartridges was a major problem, but it was not the only issue that proved to hinder them in the 5th & 6th generation of consoles.

The N64 had Goldeneye, Doom64 and the likes, non cartoon racers like Ridgeracer and Wipeout, fighting games and so on so the adult content was there, the main difference being they weren't the focal point of the marketing.

The core issue was sheer volume (fighting games and darker JRPGs on N64 were dwarfed by Sony and even Sega's offerings) and that the titles strongly pushing the boundaries with content (GTA, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil) lacked a presence on the console.

More adult stuff was there, but not enough of it for a lot of people to take the plunge in buying the console.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Jan 2, 2022 9:54:16 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

Jan 2, 2022 9:25:33 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

The N64 had Goldeneye, Doom64 and the likes, non cartoon racers like Ridgeracer and Wipeout, fighting games and so on so the adult content was there, the main difference being they weren't the focal point of the marketing.

The core issue was sheer volume (fighting games and darker JRPGs on N64 were dwarfed by Sony and even Sega's offerings) and that the titles strongly pushing the boundaries with content (GTA, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil) lacked a presence on the console.

More adult stuff was there, but not enough of it for a lot of people to take the plunge in buying the console.

It wasn't a problem with lack of adult games, it was a problem with a lack of games across the board, with folks like Acclaim providing most of the third party support, companies who don't exactly produce system sellers. When they got the big third party games, they'd be years later and compromised due to lack of storage. Sega found themselves in the same boat after a string of disastrous decisions obliterated their third party support and they didn't find a lot of takers when it came time for the Dreamcast, no games, no sales.

[Feyrhausen]

If Nintendo had somehow developed modern storage technology in 1996 then who cares about a video game console. They would have made billions on the other applications for it.

[The Ichi]

At the very least, I would have had a less disappointing Christmas 1999 because I wouldn't have needed an expansaion pack for Donkey Kong 64.

[El Cokehead del Knife Fight]

The 64 falling off in regards to 3rd party titles ultimately comes down to their treatment of devs while at their peak.

[Hypnosis]

Jan 2, 2022 19:31:20 GMT -5 El Cokehead del Knife Fight said:

The 64 falling off in regards to 3rd party titles ultimately comes down to their treatment of devs while at their peak.

It's why I started buying Sony consoles since '99, so that I'd have a wider variety of games to play.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Jan 2, 2022 11:58:53 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

If Nintendo had somehow developed modern storage technology in 1996 then who cares about a video game console. They would have made billions on the other applications for it.

Yeah, if they actually pulled this off they would have made more money licensing the tech to storage companies than off games. They don't produce the storage chips they use in Nintendo Switch cards anyways.

[Oh Cry Me a Screwball]

Jan 2, 2022 11:58:53 GMT -5 Feyrhausen said:

If Nintendo had somehow developed modern storage technology in 1996 then who cares about a video game console. They would have made billions on the other applications for it.

True, but I imagine they'd keep around the video game side of the business as a secondary source of revenue, bolstered by the fact that they wouldn't sell a license to Sony, Sega, or anyone else in the industry.

[Muskrat]

Jan 2, 2022 11:04:39 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Jan 2, 2022 9:54:16 GMT -5 BorneAgain said:

The core issue was sheer volume (fighting games and darker JRPGs on N64 were dwarfed by Sony and even Sega's offerings) and that the titles strongly pushing the boundaries with content (GTA, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil) lacked a presence on the console.

More adult stuff was there, but not enough of it for a lot of people to take the plunge in buying the console.

It wasn't a problem with lack of adult games, it was a problem with a lack of games across the board, with folks like Acclaim providing most of the third party support, companies who don't exactly produce system sellers. When they got the big third party games, they'd be years later and compromised due to lack of storage. Sega found themselves in the same boat after a string of disastrous decisions obliterated their third party support and they didn't find a lot of takers when it came time for the Dreamcast, no games, no sales.

Yeah, the 64 only had like 300 titles in North America release over 6 years. Which is barely more then the Saturn and pitiful compared to PS1’s massive library. Of the Top 30 selling games on the N64, only 4 of them are published by someone other then Nintendo and 2 of those titles are from Rare

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Another factor is the Playstation was a delight to code for compared to the competition, Sony made sure to put out good developer tools so developers weren't stuck figuring out the baffling hardware years into it's life the way they had to with the Saturn and Atari Jaguar. While the N64 wasn't quite that bad, it was still considered a headache even without the storage limitations.