Nintendo N64 DD Roms Section.
The 64DD (Japanese: ロクヨンディーディー Hepburn: Roku Yon Dī Dī?), colloquially referred to as the Nintendo 64DD, is a magnetic disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was originally announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was finally released only in Japan on December 1, 1999. Only ten pieces of software were released until the unit was discontinued in February 2001. It was a commercial failure, with an estimated 15,000 total units sold.
"DD" is short for "Disk Drive", and originally "Dynamic Drive". Plugging into the N64 through the extension port on the system's underside, it allows the N64 to use proprietary 64 MB 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. Furthermore, the 64DD's software titles and peripherals let the user create movies, characters, and animations. The system could also connect to the Internet through a now-defunct dedicated online service for e-commerce, online gaming, and media sharing.
Calling it "the first writable bulk data storage device for a modern video game console", Nintendo designed the 64DD as an enabling technology for the development of new genres of games and applications, dozens of which were in development for several years. Upon the decline of 64DD's commercial viability, most such software titles were either ultimately delivered on Nintendo 64 cartridges alone, ported to other consoles, or cancelled altogether. IGN summarized the 64DD as "an appealing creativity package" "targeted at a certain type of user" "that delivered a well-designed user-driven experience" and 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".
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