I hate to start this article off with bad news but the long awaited Nintendo 64 disk drive, known as the 64DD, will be delayed again. The reasons for the delay are because of slow development of software. The long awaited Legend of Zelda 64, projected to be one of the 64DD's biggest games, still has a long way to go before it is ready to be released. Nintendo just made the announcement that we may see the 64DD as early as June of 99.
Despite all of the delay, if and when the 64DD is released, it will kick ass! The system is a writable, magnetic disk drive. Its speed will be about that of a 6.5X CD-ROM. It will include a 4 Mb RAM BUS DRAM that will plug into an expansion slot and will enhance the memory capacity for both the disks and cartridges for the N64. It will also have an 8 Mb ROM chip that will allow the system to have midi sound. A system clock will keep track of the time and day. That doesn't sound like much but, the games may change due to the time of day. For instance, if you a playing a role playing game at midnight. It will be night in the game and your ability to complete tasks may depend on when you play the game. It will also have data error correction built into the system.
One of the more interesting features will be modem capabilities. Imagine playing a Goldeneye-type game over the net. With these capabilities you can surf the web, update both 64DD games and cartridges, trade customized and saved games and of course MULTI-PLAYER! You can even update new levels into old games for the N64. You will also be able to just update player stats in sports games instead of purchasing a whole new game.
As for the disks themselves, they each will contain 64 Mb of memory as compared to the 8 Mb cartridges for the N64. The disks are double-sided. Of the 64 Mb, 32 Mb will be writable. Every detail of a game can easily be saved now. For example, if you lose a weapon in a role playing game and go back to that spot a few weeks later, it will still be there. If its a piece of food, it may be rotten after those few weeks. The disks will even be able to be used at the same time as cartridges.
I guess you're wondering about the games. The big game that most people are looking forward to is Zelda 64, a classic to Nintendo. Other games will include Mario 64 2, Donkey Kong Country 64, Earthbound 64, Mario Artist, Sim City, along with several others. Each game will be 64Mb and like I said earlier, 32 Mb of those will be writable.
Well, it may be a while before we see the 64DD in this country but when it does, expect it to be a hit. By the way, the price for the system will probably be between $99 and $150. I will post a REVIEW of the system as soon as its released. Stay tuned.
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Name:mark legg Comments:
I herd from many different places that the dd is going to be canceled to the U.S. Do you have any information about this situation.
please respond to e-mail address
thank you
Name:Jack Major: art Comments:
The N64 and 64DD have many games you cannot find on PC's and if the N64 is only $129 compared to a $1,000+ PC. The 64DD should be no more than $150.
Name:Brian Major: Advertising Comments:
I don't know how in the hell Nintendo plans to advertise this. Saving games is cool and all, but really, what can this disk drive offer to the consumer that PC versions of the games can't already do?
