N64 NUS-001 (USA)
The standard Nintendo 64 is dark gray, nearly black, with a front end reminiscent of a classic luxury sedan. The 7.5 x 10.5 x 3 shell features 4 controller ports across the face, a sliding power switch on the left, a push button reset on the right, & an EXT port on the bottom (used in Japan for the orphaned 64DD attachment). The system came with standard Composite cables, although s-video cables can still be purchased for the best possible video output.
Enter N64, Nintendo loved to do things outside of the norm. Just imagine; launching a cart based console in the midst of a CD game-based console boom. Oh yeah, they went there with the N64. And regardless of how anyone felt about that move in 1996, Nintendo seemed to manage just fine. These days I might spend a night or 2 playing Left 4 Dead, but that doesn’t mean I no longer have a soft spot in my heart for 007 Goldeneye. I can still remember the night I held the bathroom stall door closed as my frantic roommate tried to figure out why it wouldn't budge, and why I was snickering (it was freakin split screen!!??) I also remember the day my roommate got jacked up on Crack and pawned my system! Yeah, I will always hate him.
In Living Color:
To spice things up Nintendo offered a variety of unique console adaptations throughout the life of this console. While the hardware and design remained largely the same, a myriad of color options were available, including: Fire Orange, Grape Purple, Ice Blue, Jungle Green, Smoke Grey and Watermelon Red (& now I want some Skittles). Their controllers had many of the same colors available in addition to: black, red, green, yellow, blue, purple and limited runs of gold.
Hey You Pikachu:
The Pokemon Edition of the Nintendo 64 features a Pokemon Logo where the N64 logo commonly resides, & has a large yellow Pikachu model on the top right side embedded in a blue Nintendo 64 top-shell. The bottom shell is Pikachu yellow, and the complete shell is wider than the original N64. The Power switch resembles a Pokeball while the reset button is Pikachu’s right foot, & the Expansion Pak port is covered. It shipped initially with a special edition blue Pokemon controller.
