Episode 46 – Although the history of 3D gaming stretches all the way back to the very early 1980’s, outside of the arcades it didn’t start in earnest until the early 90s. The 3DO Interactive Mulitplayer and Atari Jaguar both launched in 1993, Nintendo used the Super FX chip to create polygonal 3D games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX on the Super Nintendo, while Sega used the SVP chip to create a home port of arcade hit Virtua Racing on the Genesis. In 1993, Nintendo partnered with Silicon Graphics to develop their next-generation hardware, while in 1995, the release of both the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation signaled the “real” beginning of home 3D gaming. After numerous delays, Nintendo finally joined the next generation of consoles, as the Nintendo 64 was launched in Japan and North America in mid 1996. Although many gamers who grew up playing the Nintendo Entertainment System had, by the mid 90’s, moved on to more “grown-up” systems like the Playstation and Saturn, the Nintendo 64 was a big part of the 90’s childhood, and made Nintendo fanatics out of a whole new generation of gamers.
Show Notes:
– This show took 9 months (on and off) to make.
– All gameplay footage was captured using an RGB-modded Nintendo 64 upscaled through a Framemeister and recorded using an Elgato Game Capture HD.
Music courtesy of Kevin MacLeod (www.smartsound.com/royalty-free-music/incompetech)