Something that bothers me is when people claim the N64 was a failure. Compared to the PlayStation, sure. It was a relative failure. The N64's 32 million units sold versus the PlayStation's ~100-105 million units pale in comparison, but I feel like people tend to only look at the numbers when determining whether a console is a failure or a success, including the N64.
There are several reasons why I don't believe the N64 was a failure. Despite not selling nearly as well as the PlayStation, it still sold more than the Saturn and was a very popular console in its heyday (at least in the US). If you wanted to experience local multiplayer on console, the N64 was the console to go to. It was basically the king of console multiplayer during its gen. It was also home to some of the most revolutionary games of all time like Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, and Ocarina of Time. It was definitely a culturally relevant console during its heyday, and I don't think anybody can deny this. Even if it didn't reach the same heights the PlayStation did.
A lot of people are going to point at the console's poor third party support, and yes, it is true that the third party support was pretty abysmal compared to the PlayStation's which is why the library was so small. It did have some great overlooked gems though. A lot of people would say this was the point where Nintendo started falling behind the competition, but I would say the GameCube is when Nintendo started truly falling behind. As I said in another thread before, the N64 was when the cracks first started showing. The GameCube was when the cracks burst open. While I do agree that the N64 was the start of Nintendo's troubles, what with all the consequences of going with cartridges instead of CDs and the loss of third party support, but it was still a very popular console. The GameCube's third party support was better, but I think it was in a far more dire situation than the N64 was in.
I do admit that the N64 is a very nostalgic console for me and it's probably my favorite console ever, so maybe my bias is getting in the way of things a little bit, but I feel like some people don't look at the bigger picture when claiming the console was a failure and only look at its number of units sold compared to the PlayStation. I also have similar thoughts about the original Xbox in regards to when people call it a failure, but that's a different discussion for another day.
Anybody agree with me on this? I'm very interested in reading your thoughts and opinions on this subject.
Its a failure in my eyes because their management decisions for this console not only allowed heavy market share and 3rd party loss, but it gave birth to todays market leader Playstation and Nintendo conitinued to follow the lone wolf path for many years after.
Yes, the N64 had some iconic games but not as many as PS1 had imo. The PS1 (lets not forget Xbox as well) gave new life to games and innovative possibilities for developers and us.
Dont get me wrong, I loved my N64, but loved the PS1 a bit more. Having that said, I am happy all this happened as we gamers got more viarity to choose from today.
Side note, N64 was the last nintendo console i bought untill the Switch arrived this year. The Switch is a awesome piece of hardware and the games are a refresher as well. I get the feeling that nintendo finally is stepping up to what gamers want (still lacking in online features imo).
Peace.