If PS1 sold 3x more, why does everyone remember N64 more?

PS1 sold like 100 million units. N64 sold like 30m. Yet, N64 are where all the memories seem to be coming from.

Two theories.

1. N64 had a more unified fanbase. Everyone who had the N64 were playing the same 5-10 games: Mario, Zelda, Starfox, Banjo, etc. Whereas the PS1 had a divided fanbase with a much larger library to choose from. There's very few games on the system that most or all of the owners remember.

2. Different demographics. N64 seemed to target younger kids who would grow up to be gamers and buy newer consoles. PS1 seemed to target more casual non-gamers who stopped gaming once they got married and had a kid or something.

For you maybe, i remember ps one a lot more and my friends too.

Because half the people who bought a PS1 were casual FIFA players?

DEM PHANTOM STATS.

Everyone? What is your source for that?

I remember both fondly. I only had a n64 at the time. I bought it with my first paycheck from my first real job. My friends had ps1s and n64s. I remember playing lots of RE games and FF7 but mostly LOTS of goldeneye and wrestling game multiplayer and OoT

I never had an N64 as a child, so my fondest memories were with the PS1

Where are you grabbing this info from? There is some truth to it though. Nintendo is directly related to characters and games that are still ongoing, with some older games being rereleased. The original Playstation did have some exclusive properties, but most have either died off or have lost that exclusive property.

The Nintendo 64 had all of the best multiplayer/party games at the time, and I definitely have stronger memories of playing against friends rather than playing alone. So I guess that would help.

1. N64 had revolutionary games like Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, and Ocarina of Time that completely redifined their genres. The PlayStation may have had a greater number of games, but it did not have the revolutionary games that the N64 had.

2. N64 was the party machine! Playing and laughing with friends tend to generate stronger memories than playing alone.

@starwolf474: Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7, Tomb Raider, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil say hello. You mean to tell me none of these games weren't revolutionary in their respective genres, if not all of gaming in general?

I think there might be two reasons

1) The N64 for had games like Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time that defined 3D gaming for years to come. Things like camera control and Z targeting really set the stage for how to develop in the new dimension. The PS1 had games like Crash Bandicoot and Final Fantasy 7 which merely represented the same 2D experiences we had before but at a different angle. The N64 set the standards for how to push forward in 3D.

2) It was the party system with its built in four controller slots to play classics like Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Mario Party, and the slew of new Mario sports titles that debuted on the console.

Back then I was more wowed by the N64, but now, I'd say PS1 is the much stronger system. The N64 didn't age well, but it was a pioneer in many ways.

because N64 was Nintendo's last GREAT system?

Nice try.

But first you have no data to back up that "everyone" also you clearly are just out to spike a anger-debate and lastly its the wrong forum to post this in.

System wars-threads funny enough should be posted in system wars.

You can't just pull "facts" out of your ass and call it a day.

I barely know anyone that talks about the N64, and even when they do it's always Star Wars Racer and Goldeneye.

For the same reason everyone remembers a console:

The games.

it is proven that 99% of the time TC says bs with lower iq than 100% of the people.

I can make data too!

More people remember the Nintendo 64 because Ocarina of Time was one of the best games released for it at that time.

@benleslie5: ps1 was the start of alot of series that continue today and it had FF7

Right of course and Playstation was just crap.

Also what do you base "more people" on?

Can you name them?

@dotWithShoes: Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid (though technically the Metal Gear series started before then, but the Solid series started on the PS1), Resident Evil, Silent Hill, to name a few.

Also dont forget GTA III that basically made openworld a thing. Crash Bandicoot, FIFA, PES,

@Jacanuk: GTA 3 was on the PS2, so that one technically doesn't count.

There's a game that was on the ps1 that I cannot remember, I know it started on it but cannot remember it. Gonna drive me crazy, lol.

N64 games were more Fun than most of the garbage that was on PS1, imo at least.

PS1 had "stuff" and with only a few key AAA titles here and there, and that's it really.

Maybe your friends were all like ninty kiddies then thus giving you this warp view.

I'll admit the lasting legacy is stronger than its library/sales by quantity. Also I bet a lot of people never owned one as a kid, but played one over at friends house back when 4 player parties were the rage.

While the ps1 it was must to own your own console, there is no way you are going to share your time with lonnnggg games like FF, Gran Turismo, the plethora of jrpg, etc.

@VERTIGO47: And that's entirely YOUR opinion. My opinion is that there were many more games on the PS1 that I consider to be amazing more so than what the N64 could muster up, with exceptions being The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario, Mario Party, Banjo-Kazooie, and Conker's Bad Fur Day. Everything else was good, but not great.

You are absolutely right, darn memory is sometimes funny :D i was sure that it was on ps1 i sat with my friends after school going crazy in GTA Liberty City.

Good for you.

Exactly that is MY OPINION and YOU have YOURS. And neither of us are going to convince each other, otherwise.

@VERTIGO47: it's all subjective when it comes to games. However, in terms of hardware impact, the PS1 was far more important and superior. Sure, it could only sustain 32-bit animations and had bad loading times, but a CD could hold a lot more space than a cartridge, and so games could become larger and have more content than what was originally thought possible. It allowed developers to create more content in games at a lower production cost, as N64 cartridges, while graphically better, couldn't hold the amount of content some devs were hoping for.

You speak for "everyone" now?

@VERTIGO47: other than long goldeneye 4 player marathons and OoT I don't really remember the n64 being nearly as popular as the ps1.

@drekula2: the ps1 personifies casual gaming.

unless you work here.

This is an easy one, bc of SM64 and it open world 3d gameplay with analog stick. First time playing Zelda in 3d also many ps broke having to turn them upside down. Unfortunately I only got my ps to its side, never once did it cross my mind to turn it all the way upside down.

I got the ps and n64 right when they came out and both had a big impact but there was much more magic with playing SM64 at a kiosk for the first time.

Simple: Because of the games.

ps1 had better games. like, there isn't even a comparison.

@tab134: splinter cell, halo, psychonauts, beyond g and e. what other games do you think the xbox can't compete with?

chaos theory beats the gear solid crap all day every day. i hate the fact that i bought that "solid" metal gear crap.

lol we're talking about n64 not xbox, and ps1 games are better than xbox games imo, and 360, and xbone. splinter cell psychonauts and halo you can find on either pc or ps2.

@Ish_basic said:

@pyratrum said:

You can't just pull "facts" out of your ass and call it a day.

unless you work here.

Well... you got me there.

@Ish_basic said:

@pyratrum said:

You can't just pull "facts" out of your ass and call it a day.

unless you work here.

Or here

What's the n64?

That's just your memories, my memories were the ps1 and the Sega Saturn.

I got the Saturn on launch thinking it was gonna be awesome and was stuck with it for about 3 years before I got a play station for Christmas.

I played an n64 very late into the generation when one got lent to me by a friend, who then moved away and never took it back.

Because it had great memorable games? Other than Crash and a few other games I really don't remember that many PS games.

Compared to Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time...no, they are not in the same league. Super Mario 64 and OoT wrote the blueprint for 3D gaming which everybody then copied for years and none of those games you listed ever made my jaw hit the floor in amazement over the things I was seeing for the first time ever in a videogame like it did the first time I played Super Mario 64 and OoT.

All three of these games are legendary. Then you throw in Starfox, Smash Bros., Mario Party, Perfect Dark and Mario Kart 64. I mean c'mon. The only people saying PS1 over N64 are people that only had a Playstation.

My point is already self-explanatory. The PS1's Hardware impact on the industry holds no bearings as to how I personally enjoyed my N64 over my PS1. The latter did have some good games, I'm not denying that, as well introducing untested never been realized genres, like Resident Evil series. And that's fine. But it doesn't change anything as to how I personally feel....that the N64 was a "better" console than PS1. And the PS1 library was still riddled with GARBAGE 3rd party "filler" or "stuff" the way I to put it. Also I'm not a Weeaboo, Jrpgs which flooded the PS1, are not my cup of tea. N64's library, though a bit minimalistic, had more of the fun and important games at it's disposal.

The N64 introduced many things to the gaming fold, which I felt made it a "better" console than PS1:

• Standardizing the Analog stick....PS1 waited over a year to introduced the Dual Shock 1 and to this day I can NEVER EVER GO back to Pre-Dualshock PS1 games, once you go analog, I can never go back to digital, and Pre-Dualshock PS1 games couldn't properly handle 3D games in terms of control with the D-pad, it just felt awkward, just play Alien Trilogy or Duke Nukem and see what I mean. Even sports games like NHL was just bad for the PS1 original digital controller. When I played Wayne Gretzky Hockey for N64, I was floored at how amazing it controlled with the analog stick. The N64 introduced the Analog stick and built that control method around that system.
• N64 also help developers realize that Console FPS can be possible on a Console, not just on PC (no, the original XBOX didn't do that), PS1's quality AAA FPS that somewhat rivaled to Goldeneye was Dreamworks SKG' original Medal of Honor and maybe Id's Quake 2.
• Also N64 games had "proper 3D" games that actually look good in 3D, albeit blurry as opposed to the ugly pixelated close ups you see in many PS1 games.

"Popularity" has absolutely nothing to do with my first post.

Agreed. I would love to hear if there is anybody that had both the PS1 and N64 for most of the generation and honestly has stronger memories of the PS1?

I had both and even had the PS1 for a year before I got the N64, but none of my memories of PS1 are as strong as my memories of my jaw hitting the floor in amazement over what I was seeing in Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time or all of the fun and laughs my friends and I had from the countless hours we spent playing the N64's legendary multiplayer games like GoldeneEye 007, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party games, Mario Tennis, NFL Blitz, F-Zero X, Star Wars Racer, Super Smash Bros, the AKI wrestling games, ExciteBike 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day, etc.

@starwolf474: I never owned an N64, but I would always play on one via my friends and family as well as owning a PS1, so I can say I had roughly the same experience with both consoles. And I can honestly say my time spent playing on my PS1 had more of an impact on me. Nintendo will always hold a special place in my heart, but it was games like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Mega Man X4, Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, and various other PS1 games that truly sparked my love of gaming, and are the reason I wanna get into game design. Games like Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64 were amazing as well, but the rest of the N64 library just didn't do it for me like the PS1 library did.