Somewhat inexplicably, it is a quarter of a century since the Nintendo 64 first appeared in Japan – marking the beginning not just of Nintendo’s first proper foray into 3D, but also the start of a whole new era of video games. It’s far from Nintendo’s most successful console, and with a relatively slim number of titles it’s perhaps not one of its most beloved either, but there’s a strong case to be made for the N64 being one of Nintendo’s most important pieces of hardware.
Working within Nintendo back then was Giles Goddard, who’d helped push Nintendo into 3D with his work on Star Fox at Argonaut before he decamped to Kyoto to join the company full-time. It’s here that Goddard worked on 1080° Snowboarding, the extreme sports game that went on to become beloved by many – and it’s territory he’s since returned to with Carve Snowboarding, which recently released on Oculus Quest to critical acclaim, while elsewhere his studio is lending its talents to Playdate with the California Games-esque Whitewater Wipeout.
Carve Snowboarding – Announcement Trailer | Oculus Quest Watch on YouTube
As the N64 approached this milestone anniversary, we spent a short while reminiscing about the console and its legacy with a man who was able to witness it all first-hand.
I don’t know if you’re the kind of person who keeps anniversaries in their heads, but the Nintendo 64 turns 25 this month.
Giles Goddard: So I heard, yeah. So when was that?
It was 1996. I remember because I spent all summer working at an indoor kart track breathing in a load of asbestos to be able to buy one of the things, they were so expensive. When you joined Nintendo the N64 was still being prototyped I guess?