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Still Kickin'

by Jonathan Metts - February 7, 2001, 7:49 am EST

Do you actually think the N64 is dead? Since when?!? Jon reminds everyone that one of their favorite systems should still be working great and still merits playing.

We gaming journalists are a wily lot, and in celebration of our infinite cleverness we have designed our own mini-vocabulary of buzzwords and catch phrases. In what other sector will you find such liberal use of words like “decidedly” or phrases like “a mixed bag”? I must admit, it’s fun to invent these things and see other people adopt them and make them a credible part of our specialized glossary. Sometimes we take normal words and give them new meanings. Most people look at the word “launch” and imagine a rocket or perhaps a boat; we gaming gurus conjure images of promotional material and pre-order slips.

One such neo-connotation has recently frequented the gaming news word, and it’s beginning to distress me. The word is “dead”. Most gaming journalists talk about the N64 being dead, dead as a doornail, dead in the water, dying, deceased, RIP. Excuse me? Last time I checked, the power light on the front still shines as brightly as it did in September ’96, when I first bought the thing. I don’t have to blow on the cartridges or hook up jumper cables to the console to enjoy a bit of Banjo-Kazooie. So what the hell are these journalists talking about?

Unfortunately, the term “dead” has become something of a misnomer in our realm. It actually means that a system no longer has new games coming out, or perhaps a negligible amount. There are two problems with that word being used in this manner. First, “dead” means that something no longer functions, has become inanimate, which is certainly not an accurate description of the N64 or most other old systems that have been replaced by newer technology. Second, and most distressing, the use of the word “dead” in this manner has led some younger or more inexperienced gamers to wrong conclusions about what happens to a console after its flow of new games tapers out.

Let me make it clear that I’m not out to find a better term than “dead”, nor am I simply bashing gaming journalists for choosing the word, although it would not have been my choice. Instead, I want to clarify for gamers, especially people new to the wonderful world of videogames, that any good system is actually immortal. Is the Bible dead because new books are no longer added to it? Is Citizen Kane dead because it’s not shown in theaters anymore? Of course not! These things continue to live and prosper even today, because people love them. Gaming systems are no different. When the last N64 game is released, that doesn’t mean that it’s time to chunk the system into the garbage and move on to the next platform. That last game means that the system has finally become complete, reached its full potential, entered into the console hall of fame! As long as your N64 system still turns on when you hit the switch, and as long you own games for it that you truly love, it will never be dead. In fact, you can pull out Wave Race 64 or Majora’s Mask any old time and probably have more fun than you could with most GameCube or PS2 games.

Even a decade from now, when most people’s N64 units won’t even be in working condition anymore, it will continue to live on in the form of emulation (which I consider perfectly ethical for systems that you can no longer purchase at retail). And on top of that, our little 64-bit dream will live eternally in the hearts and minds of we who nearly wet ourselves trying to open the box back in ’96, we who called the game store every day for a month to find out when they’d finally start taking pre-orders for Zelda, we who invited friends over for a bonafide Mario Party, we who didn’t piss and moan about delays and cancellations because we were too busy with Excitebike 64’s killer Hill Climb mode. We are the N64’s legacy, and it is up to us to keep playing the games we love on it and to never forget the monumental evolution of gaming which is was an integral part of.

So please, don’t sell off your N64 and all your games. If you’re going to pack it away in the closet, make sure it’s easy to get to...because sooner or later the Jet Force Gemini bug will hit, and you’ll just have to pull it back out, hook it back up, and let it live to the fullest all over again.

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