Background: The Nintendo 64 Disc Drive (or the N64DD) was a short lived add-on for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 1999, and had features such as Internet access and the use of discs instead of cartridges. Unfortunately, it sold about 15,000 copies, making it a bigger flop than their infamous Virtual Boy. The Internet service it ran on, RandNet, closed down in 2001, and the rest is history.
1st Logo[]
(December 1, 1999-February 28, 2001)
.jpg "Nintendo 64 Disc Drive logo (no disc inserted).jpg (12 KB)"){kind=logo}
Nickname: "Mario Runs!"
Logo: On a white background, we see the giant "N" from the Nintendo 64 logo rise out of water with ripples already forming. It starts off as white, but the "N" soon turns into its signature rainbow color (the date and time also appears in the bottom right corner in gray). "NINTENDO 64" (in blue and red, respectively) fades in over the logo. and the N drops, losing a reflection it had just made into the floor only seconds earlier. Mario (in his Super Mario 64 form) then peeks out and waves, then begins running all around the logo, jumping, kicking, attacking, etc. The "N" also occasionally bounces, changes size, and changes textures.
Trivia: There was an American release planned, though it unfortunately never made its way through. The retail unit (confirmed by Nintendo project manager Mark DeLoura; helped release the N64, Game Boy Advance, and GameCube) was found in Seattle in 2016. You can watch the video explaining the unit here.
Variants: Depending on whether you have a disc in the DD or not:
- If no disc is inserted when you power on the DD, some green Japanese text flashes below the N64 logo telling you so. Along with that, the animation continues to play.
- If a disc is inserted when you power on the DD, only the first part of the animation plays. After that, the logo cuts to black, and your game starts.
FX/SFX: CGI.
Music/Sounds: A synthesized "whoosh", then a pounding synth hit. It is silent for the rest of the animation save for voice clips recycled from Super Mario 64.
Availability: Extremely rare. Only released in Japan, you'll need to do a lot of searching around to even find an seller. It costs about $1,200 just for the drive itself, let alone the games with it. As for the American release, there is a 99.99% chance that you will see "rare" written all over it. So... good luck trying to get your hands on this rare gem!
Editor's Note: None.
2nd Logo[]
(1999-2001)
Logo: On a black background we see the N64 icon with the white text "64DD" next to it.
Variant: When loading F-Zero X on the N64DD, the green gradient text "DD LOADING" appears below while a scrolling animation of the Blue Falcon leaving a blue trail is seen.
FX/SFX: None, except the scrolling Blue Falcon on the variant.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Extremely rare. Ocassionally appears whenever you boot a game into the N64 Disc Drive.
Editor's Note: None.