In consideration of the 64DD's actual launch price equivalent of about US$90, Nintendo software engineering manager Jim Merrick warned, "We're very sensitive to the cost of the console. When that happens, you'll see Nintendo using CD as the software storage medium for our 64-bit system." : 77 But eventually, these problems with CDs will be overcome. So, we'll introduce our new hardware with cartridges. A Nintendo spokesperson said in 1993 that "it could be a cartridge system, a CD system, or both, or something not ever used before." In 1994, Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America said, "Right now, cartridges offer faster access time and more speed of movement and characters than CDs. With the 1993 announcement of its new Project Reality console, Nintendo explored options for data storage. IGN summarized the 64DD as "an appealing creativity package" which was "targeted at a certain type of user" that "delivered a well-designed user-driven experience"-and as a "limited online experiment at the same time", which partially fulfilled Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi's "longtime dream of a network that connects Nintendo consoles all across the nation". Most games once planned for 64DD were released as standard Nintendo 64 games, ported to other consoles such as the GameCube, or canceled. It was a commercial failure, with at least 15,000 total units being sold. Only ten pieces of software were released until the unit was discontinued in February 2001, with 15,000 Randnet subscribers at the time. Describing it as "the first writable bulk data storage device for a modern video game console", Nintendo designed the 64DD as an enabling technology platform for the development of new genres of games and applications, dozens of which were in development for several years. The system could connect to the Internet through a dedicated online service, Randnet, for e-commerce, online gaming, and media sharing. Its games and hardware accessories let the user create movies, characters, and animations to use within various other games and shared online. Plugging into the extension port on the underside of the console, the 64DD allows the Nintendo 64 to use proprietary 64MB magnetic disks for expanded and rewritable data storage, a real-time clock for persistent game world design, and a standard font and audio library for further storage efficiency. n64/64dd.html at the Wayback Machine (archived ).
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