Nintendo 64 D D

After Nintendo realised their mistake with the Nintendo 64 being a cartridge only system, in 1995, they released a Japanese only edition, known as the Nintendo 64 DD. This Nintendo 64 DD system was featured as a hardware expansion for the basic Nintendo 64. This expansion featured a CD-ROM drive.

The Nintendo 64 DD was released in Japan only, in 1999. The reason for this was due to the extensive planning and development of the expansion. This expansion featured a 32-bit coprocessor which was designed to read the magnetic disc's data and transfer it from the DD unit to the actual Nintendo 64 unit.

The system was actually set up to work in similar fashion to a zip drive. It also came with an enhanced library of audio tracks which were able to be utilised during gameplay. The main Nintendo 64 console would read the cartridges, without the need of having the discs in the DD unit. This was a great expansion to allow one to play either the Nintendo 64 cartridges or the Japanese only magnetic discs.

Also available with this Nintendo 64 DD gaming console, was the RANDnet, which was only available in Japan as an online service through Satelleview. This network would allow various players throughout Japan to compete against each other online. It also allowed those with the Nintendo 64 DD to listen to music online, surf the Internet, and much more.

This system came in a package deal that included a Nintendo 64 modem, an expansion pack, and the Nintendo 64 DD unit itself. Once you were able to log on to the service you could choose between battle mode, conservation mode, information exchange, community, Internet surfing, digital magazine, and music distribution or editing tools. Obviously with the battle mode, you were able to compete against other players throughout the entire country, while in the observation mode you could actually watch other games while they were being played. For the beta test mode peeks on upcoming release games and on the information exchange, you could communicate with other players around the country.

Unfortunately for most however, this was a Japanese release only expansion module for the Nintendo 64. Those who have managed to get their hands on them as a collector’s item should consider themselves lucky to have a piece of the iconic history of the Nintendo gaming development industry.