64DD

{{short description|Video game peripheral}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox information appliance | name = N64 Disk Drive | logo = upright=0.6|frameless|class=skin-invert | image = 64DD-Attached.png | caption = A Nintendo 64 with the 64DD installed | aka = NUS-010 | developer = Nintendo, Alps Electric | manufacturer = Alps Electric | type = Video game console peripheral | generation = Fifth | release_date = {{vgrelease|JP|{{start date|1999|12|11}}}} | discontinued = {{vgrelease|JP|{{end date|2001|02|28}}}} | units_sold = 15,000+<ref name="64Dream Feb 2001" /> | storage = 36&nbsp;MB ROM{{efn|Used for shared audio and font libraries<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />}} | connectivity = {{nowrap|28.8 kbps}} dial-up modem<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Maru |title=NUS: Nintendo64 |url=https://maru-chang.com/hard/nus/english.htm |access-date=March 26, 2025 |website=MiragePalace}}</ref> | online_services = Randnet | predecessor = Satellaview | memory_card = 64&nbsp;MB magnetic disks }}

The {{Nihongo foot|'''64DD'''|ロクヨンディーディー|Rokuyondīdī|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha|extra=Nintendo branded the peripheral by its English name}} is a peripheral developed by Nintendo to expand the capabilities of the Nintendo 64 with rewritable magnetic disks and online connectivity. Announced in 1995 before the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, it faced multiple delays before its release in Japan on December 11, 1999. The "64" references both the Nintendo 64 console and the 64&nbsp;MB storage capacity of the disks,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=Ultra 64 Tech Specs |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-014/page/n41/mode/2up |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |page=40 |issue=14}}</ref> while "DD" stands for "disk drive" or "dynamic drive".<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /> Despite its innovative features, it struggled to gain traction and was discontinued after a short-lived run in Japan.

Plugging into the extension port on the console's underside, the 64DD enabled expanded, rewritable data storage via proprietary 64&nbsp;MB magnetic disks. It introduced a real-time clock for persistent game world elements and included a standardized font and audio library to optimize storage efficiency. Its games and hardware accessories allowed users to create movies, characters, and animations for use across various titles and shared online. The system could connect to the Internet via a dedicated online service, Randnet, which supported e-commerce,<ref name="64DD at NOM 3" /> online gaming, and media sharing.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> Described as "the first writable bulk data storage device for a modern video game console",<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /> Nintendo envisioned the 64DD as an enabling technology for pioneering new game genres and applications, though many of these remained in development for years and never saw full realization.<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" />

By the time the 64DD was discontinued in February 2001, only ten software disks had been released, and Randnet had just 15,000 subscribers.<ref name="64Dream Feb 2001" /> A commercial failure, the peripheral was never released outside Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Super Nintendo Entertainment System Unrivaled Champion of the Fourth Generation |url=http://gameconsoles.co.uk/game-consoles/snes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627063043/http://gameconsoles.co.uk/game-consoles/snes/ |archive-date=June 27, 2008 |access-date=February 28, 2014 |website=GameConsoles.co.uk}}</ref> Many games originally planned for the 64DD were instead released as standard Nintendo 64 titles, ported to the more-powerful GameCube, or canceled altogether.

''IGN'' lamented the device as "broken promises" and "vaporware", but described what was launched as "an appealing creativity package"<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> for a niche audience,<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /> delivering both a "well-designed, user-driven experience" and a "limited online experiment." Ultimately, the 64DD only partially fulfilled Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi's "longtime dream of a network that connects Nintendo consoles all across the nation."<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />

== History == === Development === With the 1993 announcement of its new Project Reality console, Nintendo explored options for data storage. A Nintendo spokesperson said in 1993 that "it could be a cartridge system, a CD system, or both, or something not ever used before."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGowan |first=Chris |date=September 4, 1993 |title=Nintendo, Silicon Graphics Team for Reality Check |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BEEAAAAMBAJ&q=silicon+graphics&pg=PA89 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=Billboard |page=89}}</ref> In 1994, Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America said, "Right now, cartridges offer faster access time and more speed of movement and characters than CDs. So, we'll introduce our new hardware with cartridges. But eventually, these problems with CDs will be overcome. When that happens, you'll see Nintendo using CD as the software storage medium for our 64-bit system."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gillen |first=Marilyn A. |date=June 25, 1994 |title=Billboard (June 25, 1994) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UggEAAAAMBAJ&q=Howard+Lincoln&pg=PA77 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207095401/https://books.google.com/books?id=UggEAAAAMBAJ&q=Howard+Lincoln&pg=PA77 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |magazine=Billboard |page=77}}</ref>

In consideration of the 64DD's actual launch price equivalent of about {{US$|90}}, Nintendo software engineering manager Jim Merrick warned, "We're very sensitive to the cost of the console. We could get an eight-speed CD-ROM mechanism in the unit, but in the under-$200 console market, it would be hard to pull that off."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kasten |first=Alex S. |date=March 1997 |title=Off-Computer |magazine=Emedia Professional |page=66 |volume=10 |issue=3}}</ref> Describing the final choice of proprietary floppy disks instead of CD-ROM, Nintendo game designer Shigesato Itoi explained, "CD holds a lot of data, DD holds a moderate amount of data and backs the data up, and [cartridge] ROMs hold the least data and process the fastest. By attaching a DD to the game console, we can drastically increase the number of possible genres."<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" />

{{further|topic=the Nintendo 64's alternate storage strategies and the optimizations involved with cartridges|Nintendo 64 Game Pak}}

The company also explored the forging of an early online strategy with Netscape, whose founding management had recently come directly from SGI, the company which had designed the core Nintendo 64 hardware.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lashinsky |first=Adam |date=July 25, 2005 |title=Remembering Netscape: The Birth Of The Web |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606214527/http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |magazine=Fortune}}</ref><ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> Within its budding online strategy, Nintendo reportedly considered multiplayer online gaming to be of the highest priority, even above that of web browsing. Several third party game developers were developing prominent online gaming features based on 64DD, including Ocean's ''Mission: Impossible'' deathmatches<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> and Seta's competitive four-player ''Ultimate War''<ref name="64DD Goes to War" /><ref name="64DD Loses War" /><ref name="Ultimate War 64DD cancel" /> and online racing game.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> Nintendo would ultimately retain the core impetus of these ideas, but would drastically alter both plans over the following years, in favor of a floppy-based storage technology and the Randnet online software and service partner—although with no online multiplayer gaming support whatsoever.

=== Announcement === {{quote box|width=25%|align=right|quote=It would have been easier to understand if the DD was already included when the N64 first came out. It's getting harder to explain after the fact. (laughs)|source={{mdash}}Shigeru Miyamoto<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" />}} Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi announced the dual-storage strategy of the "bulky drive" at Nintendo's Shoshinkai 1995 trade show. He intended the product to be revealed at Shoshinkai 1996 and launched sometime in 1997,<ref name="lost per" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 1996 |title=Nintendo's Lincoln Speaks Out on the Ultra 64! |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20078%20%28January%201996%29/page/n75/mode/2up |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Sendai Publishing |pages=74–75 |issue=78}}</ref> although giving virtually no technical specifications.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Willcox |first=James K. |date=April 1996 |title=The Game is 64 Bits |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207095411/https://books.google.com/books?id=MGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |page=134}}</ref> ''Computer and Video Games'' reported unconfirmed specifications, far above what would be actually launched: 4" disk caddy, 150&nbsp;MB floppy disks, 2.44&nbsp;Mbit/s speed, 13 ms access, 2-4&nbsp;MB RAM upgrade, and costing about {{JPY|20,000}} (US$200).<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=Nintendo Ultra 64 |url=https://www.outofprintarchive.com/articles/features/TradeShows/Shoshinkai1995-CVG171-11.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807073541/https://www.outofprintarchive.com/articles/features/TradeShows/Shoshinkai1995-CVG171-11.html |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |magazine=Computer and Video Games |location=UK |page=26 |issue=171}}</ref>

The 64DD was fully revealed at Nintendo's Shoshinkai 1996 show of November 22–24, 1996,<ref name="lost per" /> where IGN reported that it<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /> was one of the biggest items of the show.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 23, 1996 |title=Report from Shoshinkai |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/23/report-from-shoshinkai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016123336/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/23/report-from-shoshinkai |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 15, 2017 |website=IGN}}</ref> There, Nintendo of America Chairman Howard Lincoln stated that the hardware specifications had been finalized and had its own show booth. Nintendo's Director of Corporate Communications, Perrin Kaplan, made the company's first official launch window announcement for the peripheral, scheduled for late 1997 in Japan.<ref name="Shoshinkai 96 at Nintendo.com" /><ref name="The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive" /><ref name="64DD delay at GameSpot" /><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/1ZXA2pzrLlo Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141110094105/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZXA2pzrLlo&feature=player_detailpage Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZXA2pzrLlo |title=Nintendo SpaceWorld '96: Miyamoto Interview + Super Mario 64 on 64DD + Rumble Pak Unveiled |access-date=September 2, 2014 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''Core Magazine'' said, "Nintendo representatives insisted the system would be aggressively supported by third parties and Nintendo's internal development teams" with sequels for ''Super Mario 64'' and ''Zelda 64'', and 64DD originals ''Cabbage'' and ''Emperor of the Jungle''. Nintendo's list of 64DD developers included Konami, Capcom, Enix, and Rare.<ref name="lost per" /> Rare officially discounted any rumors of the peripheral's impending pre-release cancellation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 15, 1996 |title=Closing in on Shoshinkai |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/16/closing-in-on-shoshinkai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903075502/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/16/closing-in-on-shoshinkai |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref>

Reportedly, several developers attended the show to learn 64DD development, some having traveled from the US for the 64DD presentation and some having received 64DD development kits.<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> A 64DD prototype was in a glass case, not visibly operational, but with a makeshift demonstration of ''Zelda 64'' which was said to be running from disk.<ref name="lost per" /> An improvised disk conversion of the familiar ''Super Mario 64'' game demonstrated the drive's operation and performance, and a graphics application mapping the audience's photographical portraits onto live 3D animated avatars—a feature which was ultimately incorporated and released in 2000 as ''Mario Artist: Talent Studio'' and the Capture Cassette.<ref name="Shoshinkai 96 at Nintendo.com" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 1996 |title=N64.com Interviews Howard Lincoln |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/07/n64com-interviews-howard-lincoln |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206110135/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/07/n64com-interviews-howard-lincoln |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref>

The event featured ''Creator'', a music and animation game by Software Creations,<ref name="Creator and Mario Artist" /> the same UK company that had made ''Sound Tool'' for the Nintendo Ultra 64 development kit. They touted the game's ability to be integrated into other games, allowing a player to replace any such game's textures and possibly create new levels and characters. There was no playable version of ''Creator'' available there, but the project was later absorbed into ''Mario Artist: Paint Studio''.<ref name="Creator and Mario Artist" /><ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /> Nintendo announced 64DD would be bundled with a RAM expansion cartridge.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 1997 |title=Nintendo Unveils N64 Disk Drive |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20090%20%28January%201997%29/page/n117/mode/1up |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=118 |issue=90}}</ref>

Much of the gaming press said the 64DD reveal at Shoshinkai 1996 was not as significant as Nintendo had promised, leaving the public still unaware of the system's software lineup, practical capabilities, and release date.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1997 |title=Shoshinkai '97: Nintendo Gets in the Games |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-26/page/n19/mode/2up |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |pages=18–20 |issue=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Semrad |first=Ed |date=February 1997 |title=Insert Coin |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20091%20%28February%201997%29/page/n5/mode/1up |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=6 |issue=91}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 1997 |title=The 64DD Gets Real |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG |page=37 |issue=102}}</ref> ''Zelda 64'' (eventually released as the cartridge game ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'') was seen as the 64DD's potential killer app in the months following the system's unveiling.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1997 |title=Future Memory |url=https://archive.org/stream/NEXT_Generation_29#page/n46 |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |page=46 |issue=29}}</ref>

On April 3–4, 1997, Nintendo of America hosted a Developer's Conference in Seattle, Washington, where a surprise overview was delivered by Nintendo Developer Support staff Mark DeLoura about the 64DD.<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" />

=== Delays === The 64DD is notable in part for two years of many launch delays, which created an interdependent cascade of delays and complications of many other business processes and product launches for Nintendo and its partners,<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Imagineer |url=http://www.ign.com/companies/imagineer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129171456/https://www.ign.com/companies/imagineer |archive-date=November 29, 2015 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="DD Date?" /> and the cancellation of Space World 1998 due to lack of completed 64DD software. IGN reported in June 1999 that many called it "the most elusive piece of vaporware to date".<ref name="a reality" />

On May 30, 1997, Nintendo issued a press conference announcing the first 64DD launch delay, rescheduled to March 1998 with no comment on an American release schedule. This was reportedly attributed to the protracted development of both the disks and the drive technologies.<ref name="64DD delay at GameSpot" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1997 |title=64DD-Layed |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20097%20%28August%201997%29/page/n21/mode/1up |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=20 |issue=97}}</ref> On June 9, 1997, Nintendo and Alps Electric announced their manufacturing partnership for the still tentatively titled<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /> 64DD.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 1997 |title=Nintendo Teams Up with Alps on 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/10/nintendo-teams-up-with-alps-on-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105231835/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/10/nintendo-teams-up-with-alps-on-64dd |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote=We're hesitant to say [the status of the 64DD software lineup, but] if software doesn't come out consistently after we sell the 64DD, we'll be stuck.<br />Don't worry. Feel easy about the 64DD.|source=—Miyamoto, July 29, 1997<ref name="Miyamoto Reveals Secrets" />}} On June 18, 1997, at the E3 pre-show press conference, the company lacked even a prototype unit to display, while Howard Lincoln stated that the company wouldn't release the device until sufficient numbers of software releases support it. Reportedly featuring at least twenty games in development including ''Donkey Kong 64'' and the sequel to ''Super Mario 64'', the device retained its projected Japanese launch window of "at least" March 1998, and received its first American launch window of early 1998.<ref name="Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD" /> Also at the show, Nintendo confirmed that the 64DD would have Internet capability,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1997 |title=News Bits |url=https://archive.org/details/gamepro-issue-108-september-1997/page/n25/mode/1up |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG |page=22 |issue=108}}</ref> and Nintendo's main game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, speculated that its launch games could be ''SimCity 64'', ''Mario Artist'', ''Pocket Monsters'', and ''Mother 3''.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Imamura |first=Takao |title=Pak Watch E3 Report "The Game Masters" |last2=Miyamoto |first2=Shigeru |url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-099-august-1997/page/n113/mode/2up |work=Nintendo Power |publisher=Nintendo |date=August 1997 |pages=104–105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1997 |title=Shigeru Miyamoto: Mario 2 Might Be Ready Next Year |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20098%20%28September%201997%29/page/n78/mode/1up |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=78 |issue=98}}</ref>

At Space World from November 21–24, 1997, the 64DD was shown prominently but its delay was extended from March 1998 to June 1998,<ref name="Tough Talk" /> with no mention of an international launch. ''Next Generation'' magazine observed the attendees and the demonstrations, finding no appeal to the US market from any current 64DD software, which was mainly ''Mario Artist'' and ''Pocket Monsters''. The magazine said "64DD's future does not look good. And whether or not it was ever a serious mainstream contender is now open for debate", and wondered if 64DD would become "just an interesting footnote to the Nintendo 64 story". The magazine, and Argonaut Software founder Jez San, found Nintendo's third-party relations, and the third-parties' products, to be poor with no sign of improving; San said "Rumors have been circulating for a while that recently within Nintendo the main priority has been [...] taking development staff off other games and projects [at the expense of Nintendo 64 and 64DD] to make sure that ''Pocket Monsters'' was done on time."<ref name="NG38" /> Nintendo's presentation focused mainly on first party Nintendo 64 cartridges and the top selling game of 1997, ''Pocket Monsters'' for Game Boy. ''Zelda 64'' had always been a killer app for the 64DD, but was now announced as lost to cartridge (Nintendo's largest ever, at {{nowrap|256 megabits}} or {{nowrap|32 megabytes}}) because Nintendo said the 64DD userbase probably couldn't support a blockbuster even if launched in June 1998<ref name="Tough Talk" /><ref name="NG38" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Vestal |first1=Andrew |last2=O'Neill |first2=Cliff |last3=Shoemaker |first3=Brad |title=The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_zelda/page14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204141027/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_zelda/page14.html |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |website=History of Zelda |publisher=GameSpot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_103_Volume_09_Number_04_1997-04_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n105/mode/2up |title=The Legend of Zelda 64 |publisher=Gamepro |year=1997 |pages=102}}</ref> and because 64DD floppy disk speed cannot continuously stream 500 motion-captured character animations throughout gameplay as only a cartridge can.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Iwawaki |first=Toshio |interviewer=Satoru Iwata |title=Iwata Asks : The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D : What We Couldn't Do with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |last2=Aonuma |first2=Eiji |last3=Kawagoe |first3=Takumi |last4=Koizumi |first4=Yoshiaki |last5=Osawa |first5=Toru |url=https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/1/4/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314055137/https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/1/4/ |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |url-status=live |publisher=Nintendo |subject-link2=Eiji Aonuma |subject-link4=Yoshiaki Koizumi}}</ref>

George Harrison, vice president of Nintendo of America, described the logistics of the 64DD launch delays:<ref name="Tough Talk" />

{{blockquote | quote=Certainly [64DD] hasn't been sidelined, it's still in the starting gate.<ref name="NG38" /> [Nintendo can't guarantee that the 64DD will launch in the US in 1998], but what we can say is that it will launch when it is ready and when we have a compelling piece of software for it. But it's an accessory and we all know the history of selling add-ons in this marketplace, and to be successful we'd have to get a 60%-to-80% penetration of this 64DD into the installed base of N64 to be considered a success. We can't just have 10% or 20% of people buy it, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to continue software support for it.<ref name="Tough Talk" />}}

In a December 1997 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and Shigesato Itoi, Miyamoto confessed the difficulty of repeatedly attempting to describe and justify the long-promised potential of the mysterious peripheral to a curious public. He said that it "would have been easier to understand if the DD was already included when the N64 first came out. It's getting harder to explain after the fact. (laughs)" To illustrate the fundamental significance of the 64DD to all game development at Nintendo, Itoi said, "I came up with a lot of ideas because of the 64DD. All things start with the 64DD. There are so many ideas I wouldn't have been allowed to come up with if we didn't have the 64DD." Miyamoto concluded, "Almost every new project for the N64 is based on the 64DD.&nbsp;... we'll make the game on a cartridge first, then add the technology we've cultivated to finish it up as a full-out 64DD game."<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /> By 1998, IGN optimistically expected all major Nintendo 64 cartridge games to have software support for an impending expansion disk. Known third-party 64DD developers included Konami, Culture Brain, Seta, Japan System Supply, Titus, Infogrames, Rare, Paradigm Entertainment, Ocean, and Factor 5.<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" />

{{quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote=Despite NCL's confident announcements, we still suggest gamers looking to import the drive shouldn't hold their breath. Nintendo's 64DD delay track record still has a few openings for more entries.|source=—IGN, April 8, 1999<ref name="DD Date?" />}} More delays were subsequently announced. The American launch was delayed to late 1998.<ref name="The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive" /> The Japanese launch was delayed to June 1998, later adjusted by the apologetic announcement on April 3, 1998, that it would launch "within the year".<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 3, 1998 |title=NCL Officially Confirms 64DD Delay in Japan |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/04/ncl-officially-confirms-64dd-delay-in-japan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206111438/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/04/ncl-officially-confirms-64dd-delay-in-japan |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=February 6, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> The 64DD was conspicuously absent from E3 1998, having been briefly described the prior day as "definitely not" launching in 1998 and "questionable" in 1999, which ''Next Generation'' magazine interpreted as being "as close to 'dead' as we can imagine".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1998 |title=E3: That was the show that was |url=https://archive.org/stream/ng_unedited/ng_44_unedited#page/n41/mode/2up |access-date=December 14, 2015 |magazine=Next Generation |pages=20–21 |issue=44}}</ref> IGN pessimistically explained that the peripheral's launch delays were so significant, and Nintendo's software library was so dependent upon the 64DD, that this lack of launchable software also caused Nintendo to entirely cancel Space World for 1998.<ref name="DD Date?" />

On April 8, 1999, IGN announced Nintendo's latest delayed launch date of 64DD and the nearly complete ''Mario Artist'', as June 1999.<ref name="DD Date?" /> Demonstrated at the May 1999 E3 as what IGN called an "almost forgotten visitor", there was no longer a plan for release outside Japan, and its launch in Japan was still withheld by the lack of completed launch games.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 13, 1999 |title=64DD Makes an Appearance |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/8040.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010803212131/http://ign64.ign.com/news/8040.html |archive-date=August 3, 2001 |access-date=November 20, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> In June 1999, IGN reported that month's completion of Randnet and the modem, as having "breathed new life into what many have called the most elusive piece of vaporware to date". IGN said Nintendo "is surprisingly confident about the 64DD and is predicting to sell the full initial shipment of 500,000 before year's end".<ref name="a reality" />

As of Space World 1999 in August, Nintendo had set Randnet's launch date at December 1, 1999, but reportedly had not yet set a launch date for the 64DD. The 64DD pre-order program had been recently announced for mid-September, and was now delayed to November or December.<ref name="Core99day1" /> ''Earthbound 64'', which IGN cynically called "in development for nearly 1,000 years",<ref name="Mother 3 Pushed Back" /> had been heavily anticipated inside the company and globally as a crucial 64DD launch game, but the sudden announcement of its release being retargeted from disk to {{nowrap|32 megabyte}} cartridge plus expansion disk was interpreted by IGN as unsurprising and as a sign of possible further delay or cancellation of the 64DD.<ref name="Earthbound 64 cancel" /><ref name="Mother 3 Pushed Back" /> Nintendo's 64DD booth demonstrated eight launch games, including ''DT Bloodmasters'', which used the 64 GB Cable to connect a Game Boy Color to the 64DD.<ref name="Core99day1" /><ref name="What's DT, you ask?" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /> Nintendo listed many more 64DD games in development.<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /> Randnet had recently been announced and was being tested in Japan.<ref name="Core99day1" />

=== Launch === The 64DD was launched on December 13, 1999, exclusively in Japan,<ref name="64DD Kotaku" /> as a package called the Randnet Starter Kit including six games bimonthly through the mail, and one year of Internet service. ''Core Magazine'' and IGN reported Nintendo's stated initial retail shipment of 500,000 units.<ref name="a reality" />

Anticipating that its long-planned peripheral would become a commercial failure, Nintendo initially sold the Randnet Starter Kit via mail order.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> Later, very limited quantities of the individual 64DD and games were released to stores.

=== Discontinuation === On August 25, 2000, Space World was signified by the launches of the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, and by what IGN considered to be the unofficial discontinuation of the 64DD, jokingly calling it "DeaDD". According to IGN, "Nintendo did not speak about 64DD during its opening speech, nor did the hardware itself have any booth presence. In fact, the unofficial 'No 64DD!' policy seemed to be enforced by Nintendo so brutally that had we even muttered the name of the hardware, we would have probably been tossed out of the show."<ref name="DeaDD" />

In October 2000, Nintendo announced the impending discontinuation of the 64DD and Randnet, with 15,000 active subscribers.<ref name="64Dream Feb 2001" /> They were discontinued in February 2001. Only ten 64DD disks were ever released, including three third-party games and one Internet application suite. Most planned 64DD games were either released on increasingly larger Nintendo 64 Game Pak, ported to other consoles like the PlayStation or GameCube, or canceled entirely.<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />

== Hardware == thumb|The 64DD, unattached thumb|64DD disk, top thumb|64DD disk, bottomNintendo designed the 64DD as an enabling technology to support the development of new game genres,<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /> achieved primarily through three features: a dual storage strategy using both cartridges and disks, an integrated real-time clock (RTC), and Internet connectivity via the Randnet service.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Emily |date=July 13, 2012 |title=Why Netscape Almost Never Happened |url=http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2012/07/13/why-netscape-almost-didnt-exist/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314191929/http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2012/07/13/why-netscape-almost-didnt-exist/ |archive-date=March 14, 2014 |access-date=June 13, 2014 |publisher=Not Enough Shaders}}</ref>

The 64DD's dual storage approach complemented the Nintendo 64's fast but expensive cartridges with less-expensive rewritable magnetic disks that offered higher capacity and lower cost, though with slower performance. The proprietary 64DD disks, resembling durable Zip disk-style floppy disks, provide 64&nbsp;MB of storage with a peak transfer rate of 1&nbsp;MB/s and an average seek time of 75&nbsp;ms.<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://n64.icequake.net/doc/n64intro/kantan/step1/index.html |title=Nintendo 64 Introductory Manual |date=March 1999 |publisher=Nintendo of America, Inc. |access-date=November 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201210228/http://n64.icequake.net/doc/n64intro/kantan/step1/index.html |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the CD media used by the competing PlayStation and Sega Saturn, the 64DD format was both writable and offered better protection against unauthorized copying. While CD-ROMs of the era could store over 650&nbsp;MB they only had a 300&nbsp;kB/s read speed and high latency, contributing to stuttering and to very long loading times.<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/Nintendo_Ultra64_Programming_Manual/Nintendo_Ultra64_Programming_Manual_and_Addendums#page/n49/mode/2up |title=Nintendo 64 Programming Manual |date=October 21, 1996 |publisher=Nintendo of America |access-date=November 20, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Eggebrecht |first=Julian |subject-link=Julian Eggebrecht |interviewer=Peer Schneider |title=Factor 5 Interview (Part I) |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/02/24/factor-5-interview-part-i |access-date=January 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113120135/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/02/24/factor-5-interview-part-i |archive-date=January 13, 2015 |url-status=live |work=IGN |date=February 23, 1998 |quote=We immediately liked the N64 because we didn't have to deal with CDs. You shouldn't underestimate what a battle it can be to make a CD game on the PlayStation. You have to fill it; you have to burn it — which takes an hour every time you want to see a new version of your game, you have to work around loading errors, and so on. CDs can be a real pain.}}</ref>

The 64DD was designed in part to expand the storage capabilities of the Nintendo 64. During its development, Nintendo planned for ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' to use the 64DD exclusively, but ultimately released it on cartridge to take advantage of faster performance while reserving optional expansions for the disk.<ref name="Iwata Asks OoT 3D" />

Similar in concept to the Famicom Disk System's relation to early Famicom cartridges,<ref name="Virtually Overlooked: Mario Artist" /> the 64DD was conceived at a time when 4&nbsp;MB cartridges were standard. While cartridge sizes increased to 8&nbsp;MB with ''Super Mario 64'' and later to 32&nbsp;MB and 64&nbsp;MB, only three games were ever released on 64&nbsp;MB cartridges. In contrast, the 64DD disks allowed up to 38&nbsp;MB of writable space,<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=June 1997 |title=Nintendo 64: The Start of a Long Journey |url=https://archive.org/stream/NextGeneration30Jun1997/Next_Generation_30_Jun_1997#page/n54 |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |page=53 |issue=30}}</ref> enabling support for new game genres and features such as user-generated content and episodic expansions.<ref name="64DD at NWP" />

The 64DD's RTC enabled persistent world mechanics by keeping track of time even when the system was powered off. For example, Shigeru Miyamoto cited the RTC as a key reason for developing the cancelled pet simulation game ''Cabbage'' for the 64DD: "We're doing it on the 64DD because I wanted to make a clock function, such that even if the power is cut, [you] can still raise the creature."<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Cabbage at IGN" /><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Miyamoto |first=Shigeru |interviewer=Peer Schneider and Douglass Perry |title=Miyamoto Meets N64.com |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/26/miyamoto-meets-n64com |access-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915160957/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/26/miyamoto-meets-n64com |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |url-status=live |work=IGN |date=November 25, 1997}}</ref>

The 64DD also had a built-in font and audio library, saving space on disks, and a 32-bit coprocessor dedicated to disk operations. This offloaded data handling from the Nintendo 64's main Reality Coprocessor and CPU. Like most disc-based consoles, the 64DD has a boot menu to operate without a cartridge.

=== Accessories === thumb|The requisite 4&nbsp;MB RAM Expansion Pak is bundled with the 64DD.All versions of the 64DD system were bundled with the 4&nbsp;MB Expansion Pak, which increased the Nintendo 64's RAM to 8&nbsp;MB.

A Randnet Starter Kit was also offered, which included the 64DD drive, Expansion Pak, modem cartridge, Randnet Browser Disk, and a modular phone cable for connecting to the online Randnet service.

''Mario Artist: Paint Studio'' was bundled with the Nintendo 64 Mouse, while ''Mario Artist: Talent Studio'' included an audio-video capture cartridge with composite RCA inputs and a 3.5&nbsp;mm jack, used in conjunction with an included microphone.

== Randnet == {{quote box|width=25%|align=right|quote=Recruit and Nintendo Co., Ltd. {{sic|has}} established a joint venture "RandnetDD Co., Ltd." which provides a membership network service through Nintendo 64 and its newly released peripheral device, 64DD in Japan. The joint venture offers several network-based services: web browsing; e-mail services; and publication of digital newspapers and magazines.|source=— Recruit web site, June 30, 1999<ref name="Randnet announcement by Recruit" />}}

In April 1999, Nintendo ended its partnership with St.GIGA, which had provided the Satellaview online service for the Super Famicom in Japan from 1995 to 2000. Nintendo then partnered with the Japanese media company Recruit to develop a new proprietary online platform for the 64DD called Randnet, a portmanteau of "Recruit and Nintendo network." The two companies established a joint venture named RandnetDD Co., Ltd., announced on June 30, 1999.<ref name="Randnet announcement by Recruit" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Randnet start |url=http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/company/profile.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000229005937/http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/company/profile.html |archive-date=February 29, 2000 |access-date=August 11, 2020 |language=ja}}</ref>

Randnet operated exclusively in Japan from December 13, 1999, until February 28, 2001.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 22, 2000 |title=ランドネットサービス終了のお知らせ |url=http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010413234643/http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/ |archive-date=April 13, 2001 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |language=ja}}</ref> It provided Internet access through a members-only portal and allowed users to share content such as artwork. The subscription included a dial-up Internet account, 64DD hardware, and a schedule of game disk deliveries by mail. Multiplayer online gaming was initially considered more important than web browsing functionality.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /><ref name="64DD Loses War" />

The system connected via a CPU-powered {{nowrap|28.8 kbps}} software modem, developed with Nexus Telocation Systems, Ltd. and Surf Communications.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Surf Technology Integrated Into Nintendo Product |date=June 14, 1999 |publisher=Surf Communications Solutions |location=Teradyon, Israel |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/surf-technology-integrated-into-nintendo-product-74813337.html |access-date=January 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907081014/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/surf-technology-integrated-into-nintendo-product-74813337.html |archive-date=September 7, 2017 |work=PR Newswire |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref><ref name="a reality" /> Housed in a cartridge with a modular cable port, this modem was the only officially licensed Internet connectivity product for the Nintendo 64.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 27, 1999 |title=N64 Modem Caught on Film |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/28/n64-modem-caught-on-film |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111070701/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/28/n64-modem-caught-on-film |archive-date=January 11, 2015 |access-date=January 10, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavish |first=Amnon |date=November 21, 2012 |title=Vidyo & Nintendo enable video conferencing endpoints in every living room |url=http://blog.vidyo.com/technology/vidyo-nintendo-enable-video-conferencing-endpoints-in-every-living-room |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127183643/http://blog.vidyo.com/technology/vidyo-nintendo-enable-video-conferencing-endpoints-in-every-living-room |archive-date=November 27, 2012 |access-date=January 10, 2015 |publisher=Vidyo |quote=I was part of a project that involved embedding a software dial up modem into the Nintendo N64 game console.}}</ref> Although there had been discussions to integrate a modem directly into the console, this did not come to fruition.

The Randnet Starter Kit included the 64DD drive, the Nintendo 64 modem, and the Randnet Browser Disk. The browser provided access to a members-only page and several online features: an editing tool for creating custom avatars, message boards and email, communication with game developers, Internet browsing optimized for TVs, and limited postcard creation through ''Mario Artist''. Randnet also included e-commerce through GET Mall, which sold CDs, books, and 64DD software, as well as a digital magazine service, although only horse racing results were ultimately implemented.<ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=64DD研究所 > ランドネットのコンテンツ |url=https://ksnk.jp/ddlab/rnet/cn.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915155344/https://ksnk.jp/ddlab/rnet/cn.html |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=February 2, 2020 |website=64DD Laboratory |language=ja}}</ref>

Nintendo originally promoted several features that were later canceled. These included downloadable Famicom games via an emulator,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Yukiyoshi Ike |date=December 21, 1999 |title=Downloadable NES Games on 64DD |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/downloadable-nes-games-on-64dd/1100-2440289/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427161418/http://www.gamespot.com/news/2440289.html |archive-date=April 27, 2010 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |work=GameSpot}}</ref> online battle modes for titles such as ''Mah-jongg'', ''DT Bloodmasters'', ''Ultimate War'', and ''Wall Street'',<ref name="64DD at NOM 3" /><ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="64DD Goes to War" /> ghost data observation, beta test downloads, and music distribution.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" />

Initial registration for Randnet was open from November 11, 1999, to January 11, 2000, limited to 100,000 users. The service could only be accessed with both a Nintendo 64 and 64DD system, and the hardware was not sold at retail but made available by mail order through participating convenience stores and game retailers. Game disks were delivered monthly after the hardware was shipped.<ref name="Randnet 64DD GS" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nintendo Online Magazine |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/05/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731143434/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/05/index.html |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |access-date=June 23, 2017 |publisher=Nintendo Co., Ltd. |language=ja |issue=15}}</ref>

Two plans were offered: one for users who already owned a Nintendo 64 and another lease-to-own option that included a translucent black console. Monthly payment plans were priced at {{Yen|2500}} (approximately {{US$|23.50}}) for the base plan and {{Yen|3300}} ({{US$|31}}) for the lease-to-own option, with Randnet service costing {{Yen|1500}} ({{US$|14}}) per month afterward. Users also paid dial-up access fees of up to {{Yen|20}} per minute.<ref name="Randnet 64DD GS" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=スタータキット |trans-title=Starter kit |url=http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/apply/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000226213125/http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/apply/index.html |archive-date=February 26, 2000 |access-date=August 11, 2020 |publisher=Randnet |language=ja}}</ref> Initially available only in Tokyo, the subscription model was eventually replaced with annual prepaid plans costing {{Yen|30000}} ({{USD|290}}) for purchase and {{Yen|39600}} ({{USD|380}}) for lease-to-own. The 64DD and later software titles eventually became available for direct retail purchase.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" />

As part of the subscription, games were delivered in stages: ''Doshin the Giant'' and ''Mario Artist: Paint Studio'' in December 1999, followed by ''Randnet Disk'', ''SimCity 64'', and ''Mario Artist: Talent Studio'' in February 2000, and ''F-Zero X Expansion Kit'' and ''Mario Artist: Polygon Studio'' in April 2000.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" />

== Games == === Released === <!-- Deleted image removed: thumb|Nine officially licensed and released games for the 64DD are showcased here. --> A total of ten disks were released for the 64DD, which comprise six games, two expansions, and two dial-up utility disks. {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |- ! Title ! Release date |- !{{nihongo|''Mario Artist: Paint Studio''<br />|マリオアーティスト ペイントスタジオ}} | rowspan="2"| December 13, 1999 |- !{{nihongo|''Doshin the Giant''<br />|巨人のドシン1|Kyojin no Doshin 1}} |- !{{nihongo|''Randnet Disk''<br />|ランドネットディスク}} | rowspan="3"| February 23, 2000 |- !{{nihongo|''Mario Artist: Talent Studio''<br />|マリオアーティスト タレントスタジオ}} |- !{{nihongo|''SimCity 64''<br />|シムシティー64}} |- !{{nihongo|''F-Zero X Expansion Kit''<br />|エフゼロ エックス エクスパンション キット}} | April 21, 2000 |- !{{nihongo|''Japan Pro Golf Tour 64''<ref name="64DD's Lineup" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 28, 2000 |title=Famitsu Scores Golf |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/29/famitsu-scores-golf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919043555/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/04/29/famitsu-scores-golf |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |access-date=August 6, 2020 |work=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=September 1, 2000 |title=Japan Pro Golf Tour 64 (Import) |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/02/japan-pro-golf-tour-64-import |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114231737/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/09/02/japan-pro-golf-tour-64-import |archive-date=January 14, 2015 |access-date=August 6, 2020 |work=IGN}}</ref><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /><br />|日本プロゴルフツアー64|Nippon Puro Gorufu Tsua 64}} | May 2, 2000 |- !{{nihongo|''Doshin the Giant:<br />Tinkling Toddler Liberation Front! Assemble!''<br />|巨人のドシン解放戦線 チビッコチッコ大集合|<br />Kyojin no Doshin Kaihō Sensen Chibikko Chikko Daishūgō}} | May 17, 2000 |- !{{nihongo|''Mario Artist: Communication Kit''<br />|マリオアーティスト コミュニケーションキット}} | June 29, 2000 |- !{{nihongo|''Mario Artist: Polygon Studio''<br />|マリオアーティスト ポリゴンスタジオ}} | August 29, 2000 |}

=== Proposed === Several games that were announced for the 64DD were, due to the system's delays and commercial failure, either released on Nintendo 64 cartridge format only, completely canceled, or otherwise ported to another console, such as Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation, Sega Dreamcast, or Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

{{Div col| colwidth=20em}} *''7th Legion''<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 20, 1997 |title=Epic and DMA Go to 64DD Again |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/03/21/epic-and-dma-go-to-64dd-again |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524004017/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/03/21/epic-and-dma-go-to-64dd-again |archive-date=May 24, 2014 |access-date=February 25, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref> (canceled) *''Asylum''<ref>{{cite web | last=Yarwood | first=Jack | title=Monolith Almost Made A Horror Game For Nintendo's Ill-Fated 64DD Add-On | website=Time Extension | date=May 13, 2025 | url=https://www.timeextension.com/news/2025/05/monolith-almost-made-a-horror-game-for-nintendos-ill-fated-64dd-add-on | access-date=May 14, 2025}}</ref> (canceled) *''Automobili Lamborghini'' Add-on<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 23, 1997 |title=Titus Makes Games 64DD Compatible |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/04/23/titus-makes-games-64dd-compatible |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523225859/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/04/23/titus-makes-games-64dd-compatible |archive-date=May 23, 2014 |access-date=February 25, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref> (canceled) *''Cabbage''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Cabbage at IGN" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 10, 1997 |title=64DD Pet Projects |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/12/11/64dd-pet-projects |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185624/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/12/11/64dd-pet-projects |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref> (canceled; later influenced ''Nintendogs'' and others)<ref name="Miyamoto Opens Vault" /> *Communication Game (canceled; online game by the development team of ''PostPet''){{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} *''Creator'' (later integrated into ''Mario Artist: Paint Studio'')<ref name="Creator and Mario Artist" /><ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /> *''DD Sequencer''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> (canceled) *''Derby Stallion 64''<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 24, 1997 |title=Derby Stallion Coming to 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/25/derby-stallion-coming-to-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915150335/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/25/derby-stallion-coming-to-64dd |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref><ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 18, 1999 |title=GDC: Miyamoto Unveils Camera Connection |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/7393.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010610193803/http://ign64.ign.com/news/7393.html |archive-date=June 10, 2001 |access-date=November 20, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> (released on cartridge)<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2000 |title=Derby Stallion Lives |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/derby-stallion-lives |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915155258/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/derby-stallion-lives |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="Connecting to the Cube" /> *''Desert Island: No Man's Island''<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2008 |title=Desert Island 64 [N64 – Cancelled] – Unseen64 |url=https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/desert-island-64dd-unreleased/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185608/https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/desert-island-64dd-unreleased/ |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=Unseen64}}</ref><ref name="RPGs! Imagineer's" /> (canceled) *''Dezaemon 3D Expansion Kit''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 22, 1999 |title=Create Your Own Shooter 2 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/10/23/create-your-own-shooter-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915172641/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/10/23/create-your-own-shooter-2 |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 6, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (canceled) *''Diablo''<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 12, 1997 |title=Nintendo Nabs Diablo |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/05/13/nintendo-nabs-diablo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185622/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/05/13/nintendo-nabs-diablo |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> (canceled) *''Digital Horse Racing Newspaper''<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /> (canceled) *''Digital Sports Newspaper''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> (canceled) *''Dōbutsu Banchō''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (previewed on cartridge in 2000,<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 28, 2000 |title=Nintendo's Partial Space World Lineup |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/29/nintendos-partial-space-world-lineup |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915152819/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/07/29/nintendos-partial-space-world-lineup |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=IGN Staff |date=January 9, 2001 |title=Doubutsu Banchou |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/01/10/doubutsu-banchou |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915150244/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/01/10/doubutsu-banchou |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020 |publisher=IGN}}</ref><ref name="DeaDD" /> later released as ''Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest'' on GameCube)<ref name="Gone to GameCube" /> *''Dōbutsu no Mori'' (released on cartridge in Japan, and later as ''Animal Crossing'' on GameCube)<ref name="Gone to GameCube" /> *''Dragon Quest VII''<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 16, 1997 |title=Enix/Sony Update |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/01/17/enixsony-update |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218114556/http://psx.ign.com/articles/062/062208p1.html |archive-date=February 18, 2012 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref> (released on PlayStation) *''DT Bloodmasters''<ref name="Core99day1" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="What's DT, you ask?" /><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /><ref name="Connecting to the Cube" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (canceled) *''Fire Emblem 64''<ref name="Miyamoto Reveals Secrets" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (canceled; plot elements later used in ''Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi'' for GBA) *''Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 2''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Mysterious SW2000" /> (released on cartridge)<ref name="Mysterious SW2000" /> *''Game Maker''<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="Get Creative" /> (canceled) *''Gendai Daisenryaku: Ultimate War''<ref name="64DD Goes to War" /><ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=monokama |date=April 4, 2008 |title=Gendai Dai-Senryaku: Ultimate War [64DD – Cancelled] |url=https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/gendai-dai-senryaku-ultimate-war-64dd-cancelled/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220100421/https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/gendai-dai-senryaku-ultimate-war-64dd-cancelled/ |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |website=Unseen64}}</ref><ref name="Ultimate War 64DD cancel" /><ref name="64DD Loses War" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (converted to cartridge in 2000,<ref name="DeaDD" /><ref name="64DD Loses War" /> then canceled) *''Graphical Message Maker''<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="Get Creative" /> (canceled) *''Ide Yosuke no Mahjong Juku''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 27, 1999 |title=A Few Minutes in Mah-jongg School |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/9966.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020105103402/http://ign64.ign.com/news/9966.html |archive-date=January 5, 2002 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=IGN |quote=Japan's Seta Corporation, one of the few Nintendo 64 developers with experience in creating network games ... There is plenty of speech in the game, thanks to the 64&nbsp;MB disk capacity of the 64DD. ... Mah-jongg School is set to connect to Nintendo and Recruit's Randnet service for additional features, network play and Mah-jongg related online content. 90% complete [as of Spaceworld '99] ... will ship in December 1999}}</ref><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /> (released on cartridge) *''Kirby 64''<ref name="GSpot: DD">{{cite web |last1=Ike Sato |first1=Yukiyoshi |title=N64 DD Titles Become Cartridges |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/n64-dd-titles-become-cartridges/1100-2451150/ |website=GameSpot |date=April 27, 2000 |access-date=April 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603065418/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/n64-dd-titles-become-cartridges/1100-2451150/ |archive-date=June 3, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="IGN: DD">{{cite web |last1=Schneider |first1=Peer |title=Everything About the 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/everything-about-the-64dd |website=IGN |date=February 9, 2001 |access-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808221259/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/everything-about-the-64dd |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> (released on cartridge as ''Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards'') *''Mario Artist: Sound Maker''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Get Creative" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=August 27, 1999 |title=Mario Artist: Talent Studio (Import) |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/28/mario-artist-talent-studio-import-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129024408/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/28/mario-artist-talent-studio-import-2 |archive-date=January 29, 2015 |access-date=January 25, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mario Artist: Paint Studio / Sound Studio |url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/softography/index.php?game=61 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229045238/http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/softography/index.php?game=61 |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |access-date=January 5, 2014 |publisher=Zee-3 Digital Publishing}}</ref><ref name="Leaves CD Systems" /><ref>{{Cite interview |title=Sensei Speaks |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/30/sensei-speaks |access-date=February 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820235938/http://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/30/sensei-speaks |archive-date=August 20, 2013 |url-status=live |work=IGN |date=January 29, 1999 |subject=Shigeru Miyamoto |interviewer1=Peer Schneider |interviewer2=Matt Casamassina |translator=Minagawa-san}}</ref><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (split from ''Paint Studio'',<ref name="64DD's Lineup" /> then canceled) *''Mario Party 2''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jimmy130 |date=July 12, 2008 |title=Inside The Cartridge |url=http://jimmy130.free.fr/?Mario-Party |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212124/http://jimmy130.free.fr/?Mario-Party |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=August 7, 2015 |website=Adonf-Jv}}</ref> (released on cartridge) *''Mario no Photopi'' (cartridge released without 64DD storage option)<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 2, 1997 |title=Mario no Photopi |url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/971202.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980205081520/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/971202.html |archive-date=February 5, 1998 |access-date=October 30, 2017 |publisher=Nintendo Co., Ltd.}}</ref> *''Mission: Impossible'' (released on cartridge)<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1998 |title=Nintendo 64 |url=https://archive.org/stream/ng_unedited/ng_44_unedited#page/n87/mode/2up |access-date=December 14, 2015 |magazine=Next Generation |page=86 |issue=44}}</ref> *''Mother 3''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Nintendo Sequel Rumblings" /> (converted to cartridge with expansion disk{{Dubious|date=October 2025}} in 1999, canceled in 2000,<ref name="Earthbound 64 cancel" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2000 |title=Earthbound 64 Cancelled |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/22/earthbound-64-cancelled |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013064553/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/22/earthbound-64-cancelled |archive-date=October 13, 2020 |access-date=August 31, 2014 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> then redeveloped and released for GBA in Japan) *''Mother 3.5'' (''Mother 3'' expansion)<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 14, 1999 |title=Mother 3.5? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/14/mother-35 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185611/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/14/mother-35 |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref>{{Dubious|date=October 2025}} *''Namco RPG''<ref name="64DD: The Games" />{{Dubious|date=October 2025}} *''New Japan Pro-Wrestling: Toukon Road Brave Spirits'' Add-on (canceled){{Citation needed|date=October 2025}} *''Ogre Battle Saga''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (released on cartridge as ''Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber'') *''Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai'' (canceled, then redeveloped and released for GBA in Japan)<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=October 3, 2003 |title=シリーズ最新作のパワー 開発者インタビュー |url=http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0310/t_inter/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220114039/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0310/t_inter/index.html |archive-date=February 20, 2009 |access-date=August 5, 2024 |magazine=Nintendo Online Magazine |publisher=Nintendo |issue=63}}</ref><ref>Nintendo Magazine (France) January 2004, Oriental Blue GBA preview</ref> *''Pokémon Snap''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (released on cartridge) *''Pocket Monsters Stadium''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (released on cartridge)<ref>{{Cite web |author=IGN Staff |date=April 3, 1998 |title=Pocket Monsters Ditch DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/03/pocket-monsters-ditch-dd |access-date=October 7, 2025 |website=IGN |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123013624/https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/03/pocket-monsters-ditch-dd |archive-date=January 23, 2025 }}</ref> *''Pokémon Stadium'' (released on cartridge) *''Project Cairo''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 20, 1997 |title=Project Cairo |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/20/details-on-crave-rpg-uncovered |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221013409/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/20/details-on-crave-rpg-uncovered |archive-date=February 21, 2017 |access-date=July 23, 2021}}</ref> (canceled) *''Rev Limit''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /> (canceled) *''Seaman'' (released on Dreamcast)<ref>{{Cite interview |title=Miyamoto Talks About the Future |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/miyamoto-talks-about-the-future/1100-2450207/ |access-date=July 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185609/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/miyamoto-talks-about-the-future/1100-2450207/ |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |url-status=live |work=GameSpot |publisher=CBS Interactive |date=September 1999 |subject=Shigeru Miyamoto |interviewer1=Sam Kennedy |interviewer2=James Mielke |translator=Minagawa-san}}</ref> *''Shogi''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (canceled) *''SimCopter 64''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (canceled) *''Snow Speeder'' (released on cartridge)<ref name="RPGs! Imagineer's" /> *''Street Fighter III''<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 26, 1997 |title=Street Fighter III Aims for 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/03/27/street-fighter-iii-aims-for-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224115819/https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/03/27/street-fighter-iii-aims-for-64dd |archive-date=February 24, 2019 |access-date=February 23, 2019 |website=IGN}}</ref> (canceled) *''Super Mario 64 2''<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /><ref name="Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Nintendo Sequel Rumblings" /> (canceled) *''Super Mario RPG 2''<ref name="Miyamoto Reveals Secrets" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Nintendo Sequel Rumblings" /> or ''Super Mario Adventure''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> (released on cartridge as ''Paper Mario'') *''Suul''<ref name="RPGs! Imagineer's" /> (canceled) *''Teo''<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> (canceled) *''Tonic Trouble'' expansion (canceled)<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 20, 1997 |title=E3: Tonic Trouble Comes to...64DD? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/21/e3-tonic-trouble-comes-to64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107045313/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/21/e3-tonic-trouble-comes-to64dd |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=November 4, 2017 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 13, 1998 |title=Tonic Trouble Q & A |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/03/14/tonic-trouble-q-a |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107074134/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/03/14/tonic-trouble-q-a |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=November 4, 2017 |website=IGN}}</ref> *''Ultra Donkey Kong'' (released on cartridge as ''Donkey Kong 64'')<ref name="Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 25, 1997 |title=Donkey Kong Swings to 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/07/26/donkey-kong-swings-to-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113074206/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/07/26/donkey-kong-swings-to-64dd |archive-date=January 13, 2015 |access-date=January 13, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=July 1997 |title=Dengeki |magazine=Dengeki Nintendo |publisher=ASCII Media Works}}</ref> *''Unreal''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1997 |title=An Interview with Epic MegaGames |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-26/page/n75/mode/1up |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |pages=75–76 |issue=26}}</ref> (canceled) *''Ura Zelda''<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="Nintendo Sequel Rumblings" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 1998 |title=Zelda DD: The Other Adventure |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/11/18/zelda-dd-the-other-adventure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220000241/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/11/18/zelda-dd-the-other-adventure |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref> (initially canceled,<ref name="IGN: Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda" /><ref>{{Cite interview |last=Miyamoto |first=Shigeru |interviewer=IGN Staff |title=Miyamoto Roundtable: Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto talks to the press about Gamecube, N64 and GBA |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/29/miyamoto-roundtable |access-date=August 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160812153604/http://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/29/miyamoto-roundtable |archive-date=August 12, 2016 |url-status=live |work=IGN |date=August 28, 2000}}</ref> then released on GameCube as ''Master Quest'')<ref name="IGN: Miyamoto and Aonuma on Zelda" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Fahs |first1=Travis |last2=Thomas |first2=Lucas |date=August 27, 2010 |title=IGN Presents the History of Zelda |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/08/27/ign-presents-the-history-of-zelda |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224173937/http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/08/27/ign-presents-the-history-of-zelda?page=3 |archive-date=February 24, 2014 |access-date=December 30, 2015 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |page=3}}</ref> *''Video Jockey Maker''<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="Get Creative" /><ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> (canceled) *''Wall Street''<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /><ref name="64DD's Lineup" /><ref name="64DD at NOM 1" /> (canceled) *''Yoshi's Island 64''<ref name="IGN: Q&A" >{{cite web | title=Q&A | publisher=IGN | date=May 5, 1997 | url=http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/05/06/qa-10 | accessdate=October 15, 2017}}</ref> (released on cartridge as ''Yoshi's Story'') *''Zelda 64''<ref name="Iwata Asks OoT 3D" /> (released on cartridge as ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'') *''Zelda Gaiden'' (released on cartridge as ''The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'')<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 19, 1999 |title=First Zelda Gaiden Details Exposed |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/20/first-zelda-gaiden-details-exposed |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926013155/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/20/first-zelda-gaiden-details-exposed |archive-date=September 26, 2022 |access-date=September 25, 2022 |website=IGN}}</ref>

{{div col end}}

== Reception == Rating the overall system at 6.0 out of 10.0, IGN's Peer Schneider finds the industrial design language of the 64DD and its accessories to perfectly match and integrate with that of the Nintendo 64, with no user-accessible moving parts, a single mechanical eject button, sharing the N64's power button, and child-friendly usability. Installation is said to be "quick and painless", operation is "even simpler", and the whole system "couldn't be easier to use". Software load times are described as "minimal", where the most complex possible point of the system's library reaches about five seconds. The site says that the 64DD popularity was inherently limited, due in part to its limited release in Japan, a country which had a limited adoption of the Nintendo 64 and of dialup Internet connectivity.<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />

Schneider found the combination of the Randnet's web browser and the mouse to provide a "passable surfing experience". He described the portal's private content as "much too limited", where "[a]nyone who has used the Internet would snicker at the lack of up-to-date contents or tools offered on Randnet". He was disappointed in the companies' failure to have ever delivered certain promised online features, such as game beta testing and music distribution.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> But it provides new users with a "simple network [which] functions as first baby steps into the vast world of the Internet".<ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" />

Schneider liked the overall product value provided by the Randnet Starter Kit, including hardware, games, accessories, and Internet subscription. However, the platform's abrupt discontinuation proved to limit the appeal to a per item basis rather than as a whole. Because these items were sold only as a soon-discontinued bundle, all with such ultimately limited application, he found the disks' cheaper prices to be aggregated back up to the level of cartridges.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" />

He found the ''Mario Artist'' series (especially the 64DD's "killer app", ''Talent Studio'') to be uniquely compelling in creative ways that "couldn't be done on any other gaming console on the market", utilizing the disks' writability and "[leaving] CD systems behind".<ref name="Leaves CD Systems" /> As a flagship 64DD game, IGN found ''Paint Studio''{{'}}s well-made art creation functionality to be both a low-cost paint program, and edutainment akin to an Adobe Photoshop for kids.<ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 23, 2000 |title=Mario Artist: Paint Studio Review |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/mario-artist-paint-studio-import |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220916105332/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/mario-artist-paint-studio-import |archive-date=September 16, 2022 |access-date=January 5, 2015 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> Knowing Nintendo's stated plans, he supposed that if the platform hadn't been abruptly canceled, Nintendo would have utilized ''Paint Studio'' as a source of user-generated art content for a substantial library of customizable games.<ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /> IGN also called ''Wall Street'' a 64DD killer app, though canceled.<ref name="64DD's Lineup" />

Schneider acknowledges Nintendo's vision, attributing the system's downfall generally upon the drastically changing marketplace during the several years of delays. He summarized the 64DD as "an appealing creativity package"<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> "targeted at a certain type of user"<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /> "that delivered a well-designed user-driven experience"—and a "limited online experiment at the same time", which partially fulfilled Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi's "longtime dream of a network that connects Nintendo consoles all across the nation".<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />

''Core Magazine'' honored the 64DD: "In Japanese culture, there is a concept known as ''mono no aware''. While this term completely defies English translation, one of its connotations is that there is nobility in things that soon perish."<ref name="lost per" />

Nintendo reported 15,000 active Randnet subscribers as of the October 2000 announcement of the service's impending closure, implying the sale of at least as many requisite 64DD units.<ref name="64Dream Feb 2001" />

=== Legacy === {{quote box|quoted=1|border=none|align=right|All things start with the 64DD. —Itoi}} {{quote box|quoted=1|border=none|align=right|Don't worry.<br />Feel easy about the 64DD. —Miyamoto}} New genres of games were developed due to the advent of 64DD's rewritable mass storage, real-time clock (RTC), and Internet appliance functionality.<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /> However, the system's commercial failure required many 64DD games to be released on traditional Nintendo 64 cartridges alone, ported to other consoles, or canceled.<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />

Some of these standalone Nintendo 64 cartridge releases include the equivalent of the 64DD's RTC chip directly on board the cartridge, as with Japan's ''Animal Forest''. The {{nowrap|4 MB}} RAM Expansion Pak became a sometimes mandatory staple of Nintendo 64 game development, being packaged along with a few cartridge games. All subsequent Nintendo consoles would directly include RTC functionality.

The concept of the popular multiplatform ''Animal Crossing'' series originated with the 64DD's rewritable storage and RTC. The eventual initial release of the series was adapted to utilize only the Nintendo 64 cartridge format with an embedded RTC, in the form of Japan's ''Animal Forest''. That game was cosmetically adapted for GameCube (with the console's built-in RTC and its removable and rewritable memory cards) with the new name of ''Animal Crossing''. All games in the series are played in real time persistent game world, with the passage of time being recorded on writable media. The realtime effect reflects real seasons, real holidays, virtual plant growth, development of virtual relationships, and other events. Interactivity between real human players on different subsequent console generations has been enabled through the swapping of various Nintendo consoles' writable mass storage cards or through online communications.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=May 30, 2002 |title=Animal Crossing Preview |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/05/30/animal-crossing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185611/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/05/30/animal-crossing |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref>

The legacy of what is now the ''Nintendogs'' series originated because of 64DD, in the form of a pet creature breeding prototype called ''Cabbage''. Never released, it had been codeveloped by Shigesato Itoi (designer of ''EarthBound''), Tsunekazu Ishihara (designer of ''Pokémon''), and Shigeru Miyamoto.<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /> Its publicized four-year development was fundamentally enabled by the real-time clock and mass writability, where Miyamoto explained, "We're doing it on the 64DD because I wanted to make a clock function, such that even if the power is cut, [the game] can still raise the creature"<ref name="Cabbage at IGN" /> and with optionally purchasable enhancement data.<ref name="64DD: The Games" /> A subset of creature maintenance functionality is made portable on the Game Boy via the Transfer Pak, to be synchronized back to the 64DD disk.<ref name="64DD: The Games" /><ref name="Cabbage at IGN" /> In 2006, Miyamoto concluded that "the conversations and design techniques that popped up when we were making ''Cabbage'' are, of course, connected to ''Nintendogs'' and other things that we're doing now."<ref name="Miyamoto Opens Vault" />

The concept of a personal avatar creator app which had begun with prototypes for the Famicom was solidified in ''Mario Artist: Talent Studio'' and then has been seen on all subsequent Nintendo consoles.{{Citation needed|reason=What Nintendo consoles had this besides the Wii?|date=July 2025}} Those ''Talent Studio'' avatars can be imported into select 64DD games including the ''SimCity 64'' game. Nintendo designer Yamashita Takayuki credits his work on ''Talent Studio'' as having been foundational to his conception and development of the entire Mii component of the Wii platform a decade later.<ref name="Virtually Overlooked: Mario Artist" /><ref name="64DD at NWP" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Iwata |first=Satoru |title=Iwata Asks: Wii Sports |url=https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/wii_sports/0/0/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714150559/https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/wii_sports/0/0/ |archive-date=July 14, 2022 |access-date=October 5, 2022 |website=nintendo.com |page=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=64DD English (Engrish) user document |url=https://ksnk.jp/ddlab/supp/en.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170326/http://ksnk.jp/ddlab/supp/en.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |access-date=June 14, 2014 |publisher=64DD Institute}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|title=Mii Prototype Development History From NES to Wii GCD 2007|id=SbaNZ7IwrxY}}</ref> The game's concepts were reportedly specifically foundational to the characters in ''Wii Tennis''.<ref name="Miyamoto Opens Vault" />

The concept of graphical stamps that are seen in various Miiverse-supported games is found in ''Mario Artist: Paint Studio''<ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /> and ''Mario Paint''.

The user-creation of graphics, animations, levels, and minigames which are in the ''Mario Artist'' series and ''F-Zero X Expansion Kit'' are revisited in later console generations. The idea of minigames was popularized generally during the Nintendo 64's fifth generation of video game consoles. Some early minigames can actually be created in ''Mario Artist: Polygon Studio'' in the style that would later be used in the ''WarioWare'' series of games.<ref name="64DD at NWP" /> Certain minigames directly originated there, as explained by Goro Abe of Nintendo R&D1's so-called Wario Ware All-Star Team: "In ''Polygon Studio'' you could create 3D models and animate them in the game, but there was also a side game included inside. In this game, you would have to play short games that came one after another. This is where the idea for ''Wario Ware'' came from."<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Sakamoto |first=Yoshio |title=Nintendo R&D1 Interview |last2=Nakada |first2=Ryuichi |last3=Takeuchi |first3=Ko |last4=Abe |first4=Goro |last5=Sugioka |first5=Taku |last6=Mori |first6=Naoko |url=http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/ncl_nintendo_wwiv_apr06_p1.asp |access-date=June 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220005915/http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/ncl_nintendo_wwiv_apr06_p1.asp |archive-date=February 20, 2010 |url-status=live |publisher=Video Games Daily |date=April 7, 2006 |page=2}}</ref>

In 2018, historian Chris Kohler said that as one of Nintendo's "oddest" products, the 64DD is "now a sought-after collectible and a unique piece of the company's long, long history of bold experimentation".<ref name="64DD Kotaku" />

== See also == {{Portal|Video games}} *Family Computer Network System *Famicom Disk System *Sega CD – a similar peripheral for the Sega Genesis *Satellaview

== Notes == {{notelist}}

== References == <references> <ref name="The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive">{{Cite web |date=January 28, 1998 |title=The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/29/the-64dd-nintendos-disk-drive |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027203707/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/29/the-64dd-nintendos-disk-drive |archive-date=October 27, 2014 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> <ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=February 9, 2001 |title=Everything About the 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/everything-about-the-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808221259/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/everything-about-the-64dd |archive-date=August 8, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="64DD at NOM 3">{{Cite web |title=Nintendo Online Magazine |url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/03/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701183041/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/03/index.html |archive-date=July 1, 2015 |access-date=June 23, 2017 |publisher=Nintendo Co., Ltd. |language=ja |issue=15}}</ref> <ref name="64DD: Broken Promises">{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2001 |title=64DD: Broken Promises |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/24/64dd-broken-promises |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111165558/http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/24/64dd-broken-promises |archive-date=January 11, 2015 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> <ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997">{{Cite web |date=1997 |title=Nintendo Reveals New Details on 64DD at N64 Developer's Conference |url=https://www.nintendo.com/newsroom/articles/64dd.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606100126/https://www.nintendo.com/newsroom/articles/64dd.html |archive-date=June 6, 1997 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |publisher=Nintendo of America}}</ref> <ref name="64Dream Feb 2001">{{Cite magazine |date=February 2001 |title=The 64 Dream |magazine=The 64 Dream}}</ref> <ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection">{{Cite web |date=December 13, 1996 |title=Nintendo's Internet Connection |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/14/nintendos-internet-connection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907081435/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/14/nintendos-internet-connection |archive-date=September 7, 2017 |access-date=September 6, 2017 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Shoshinkai 96 at Nintendo.com">{{Cite web |title=Nintendo 64 Shoshinkai '96 |url=https://www.nintendo.com/newsroom/show_frame.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961222150158/https://www.nintendo.com/newsroom/show_frame.html |archive-date=December 22, 1996 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |publisher=Nintendo of America}}</ref> <ref name="Creator and Mario Artist">{{Cite web |title=Career timeline |url=http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/career_timeline.php#nintendo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525044621/http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/career_timeline.php#nintendo |archive-date=May 25, 2014 |access-date=January 5, 2014 |publisher=Zee 3}}</ref> <ref name="64DD delay at GameSpot">{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Chris |date=May 30, 1997 |title=Nintendo Says 64DD Delayed |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-says-64dd-delayed/1100-2466742/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180208123826/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-says-64dd-delayed/1100-2466742/ |archive-date=February 8, 2018 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> <ref name="Miyamoto Reveals Secrets">{{Cite interview |last=Miyamoto |first=Shigeru |subject-link=Shigeru Miyamoto |interviewer=IGN Staff |title=Miyamoto Reveals Secrets: Fire Emblem, Mario Paint 64 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/07/30/miyamoto-reveals-secrets-fire-emblem-mario-paint-64 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105020648/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/07/30/miyamoto-reveals-secrets-fire-emblem-mario-paint-64 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |url-status=live |work=IGN |date=July 29, 1997}}</ref> <ref name="Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD">{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Chris |date=June 23, 1997 |title=Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/donkey-kong-64-jumps-to-dd/1100-2466865/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703045539/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/donkey-kong-64-jumps-to-dd/1100-2466865/ |archive-date=July 3, 2016 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=GameSpot}}</ref> <ref name="NG38">{{Cite magazine |date=February 1998 |title=Nintendo's Space World 1997 |url=https://archive.org/details/NextGeneration38Feb1998/page/n23/mode/2up |access-date=August 6, 2022 |magazine=Next Generation |issue=38}}</ref> <ref name="Tough Talk">{{Cite interview |last=Harrison |first=George |interviewer=Neil West |title=Tough Talk With Nintendo |url=http://www.next-generation.com/specials/112797.chtml |access-date=March 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980204091831/http://www.next-generation.com/specials/112797.chtml |archive-date=February 4, 1998 |url-status=dead |publisher=Next Generation |date=April 9, 1997}}</ref> <ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997">{{Cite magazine |last1=Miyamoto |first1=Shigeru |last2=Itoi |first2=Shigesato |date=December 1997 |title=A friendly discussion between the "Big 2" (translated text) |url=https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/itoi-miyamoto-interview-64dd/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114032258/https://yomuka.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/itoi-miyamoto-interview-64dd/ |archive-date=January 14, 2015 |access-date=January 14, 2015 |magazine=The 64 Dream |page=91 |subject-link1=Shigeru Miyamoto |subject-link2=Shigesato Itoi}}</ref> <ref name="64DD: The Games">{{Cite web |date=January 29, 1998 |title=64DD: The Games |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/30/64dd-the-games |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150129025943/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/30/64dd-the-games |archive-date=January 29, 2015 |access-date=January 25, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="DD Date?">{{Cite web |date=April 8, 1999 |title=DD Date? |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/04/09/dd-date |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915154430/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/04/09/dd-date |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 13, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Mother 3 Pushed Back">{{Cite web |date=March 22, 2000 |title=Mother 3 Pushed Back |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/23/mother-3-pushed-back |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919065557/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/03/23/mother-3-pushed-back |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |access-date=August 14, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Core99day1">{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Dennis |title=Spaceworld 99: Day One |url=http://www.coremagazine.com/features/7.php3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991124063805/http://www.coremagazine.com/features/7.php3 |archive-date=November 24, 1999 |access-date=September 25, 2022}}</ref> <ref name="a reality">{{Cite web |last=IGN staff |date=June 15, 1999 |title=Internet Access for the N64 is a Reality |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/16/internet-access-for-the-n64-is-a-reality |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929074754/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/06/16/internet-access-for-the-n64-is-a-reality |archive-date=September 29, 2022 |access-date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> <ref name="DeaDD">{{Cite web |date=August 25, 2000 |title=DeaDD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/deadd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724105322/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/26/deadd |archive-date=July 24, 2021 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Iwata Asks OoT 3D">{{Cite web |title=Iwata Asks: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D |url=http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517024727/http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/ |archive-date=May 17, 2019 |access-date=March 2, 2014 |website=Iwata Asks |publisher=Nintendo of America, Inc. |page=5}}</ref> <ref name="Virtually Overlooked: Mario Artist">{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=JC |date=August 28, 2008 |title=Virtually Overlooked: Mario Artist |url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/28/virtually-overlooked-mario-artist/ |url-status=dead 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|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/02/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731143433/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/9911/02/index.html |archive-date=July 31, 2018 |access-date=June 23, 2017 |publisher=Nintendo Co., Ltd. |language=ja |issue=15}}</ref> <ref name="Randnet 64DD GS">{{Cite news |last=Sato |first=Yukiyoshi Ike |date=October 21, 1999 |title=Randnet 64DD Details |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/randnet-64dd-details/1100-2448717/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621154630/http://www.gamespot.com/news/2448717.html |archive-date=June 21, 2009 |access-date=November 24, 2020 |work=GameSpot}}</ref> <ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=December 15, 1999 |title=IGN64's Ultimate 64DD FAQ |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/12/16/ign64s-ultimate-64dd-faq |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185614/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/12/16/ign64s-ultimate-64dd-faq |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis}}</ref> <ref name="Connecting to the Cube">{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2001 |title=Connecting to the Cube |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/14/connecting-to-the-cube |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128163844/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/14/connecting-to-the-cube |archive-date=November 28, 2020 |access-date=August 7, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="64DD's Lineup">{{Cite news |last=Horst |first=Tim |date=February 28, 2000 |title=A Look at the 64DD's Lineup |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/29/a-look-at-the-64dds-lineup |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915170940/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/29/a-look-at-the-64dds-lineup |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=August 6, 2020 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|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041220053459/http://ign64.ign.com/articles/069/069944p1.html |archive-date=December 20, 2004 |access-date=January 3, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Mysterious SW2000">{{Cite news |date=October 18, 2000 |title=Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2 |url=http://ign64.ign.com/previews/10111.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010401015910/http://ign64.ign.com/previews/10111.html |archive-date=April 1, 2001 |access-date=August 13, 2020 |work=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Get Creative">{{Cite web |date=August 26, 1999 |title=Get Creative: Nintendo wants 64DD owners to create their own games |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/27/get-creative-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721185624/https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/08/27/get-creative-2 |archive-date=July 21, 2021 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="64DD Goes to War">{{Cite web |date=August 27, 1999 |title=64DD Goes to War |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/9949.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020105102124/http://ign64.ign.com/news/9949.html |archive-date=January 5, 2002 |access-date=January 10, 2015 |website=IGN |quote=Seta brings a networkable multiplayer strategy sim to the 64DD. ... one of the more impressive 64DD titles at the Spaceworld Expo. ... sequel to the classic System Soft war sims ... Ultimate War supports Randnet competitive network gaming. Up to four players can go to war online.}}</ref> <ref name="Ultimate War 64DD cancel">{{Cite web |date=January 11, 2001 |title=Gendai Dai-Senryaku: Ultimate War |url=http://ign64.ign.com/previews/13209.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010401065654/http://ign64.ign.com/previews/13209.html |archive-date=April 1, 2001 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="64DD Loses War">{{Cite web |date=August 21, 2000 |title=64DD Loses War |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/23779.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010401065738/http://ign64.ign.com/news/23779.html |archive-date=April 1, 2001 |access-date=February 20, 2020 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Leaves CD Systems">{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Peer |date=November 21, 1997 |title=Mario Artist Series Leaves CD Systems Behind |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/22/mario-artist-series-leaves-cd-systems-behind |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105143448/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/22/mario-artist-series-leaves-cd-systems-behind |archive-date=January 5, 2015 |access-date=January 5, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="Earthbound 64 cancel">{{Cite news |date=August 22, 2000 |title=Earthbound 64 (Mother 3) Last Known Details |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/earthbound-64-mother-3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919024158/https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/23/earthbound-64-mother-3 |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |access-date=August 13, 2020 |work=IGN}}</ref> <ref name="RPGs! 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== External links ==

* {{webarchive|url2=https://web.archive.org/web/20001206022100/http://nintendo.com/n64/64dd.html|date2=2000-12-06|title=64DD Official Website|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980205064729/http://nintendo.com/n64/64dd.html|date=February 5, 1998}} * {{webarchive|title=Randnet Official Website|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000302032500/http://www.randnetdd.co.jp/index2.html|date=March 2, 2000}} {{Nintendo hardware}} {{Nintendo 64}}

Category:1990s toys Category:2000s toys Category:Fifth-generation video game consoles Category:Japan-exclusive video game hardware Category:Joint ventures 64 Category:Products introduced in 1999 Category:Products and services discontinued in 2001 Category:Video game console add-ons Category:Video game storage media Category:Discontinued video game consoles Category:Computer-related introductions in 1999