Cruising Speed vs. Peak Power

The Nintendo 64 was the successor to the Super Nintendo, one of the most successful video game consoles of all-time. Its biggest competitor was the Sony PlayStation, who at the time, was a newcomer to the gaming industry.

Despite its tough position, Sony did in fact win the console war against the Nintendo.

One of the biggest reasons was the difficulty in developing games for the Nintendo 64, which The Economist once called “horrendously complex”.

When we made Nintendo 64, we thought it was logical that if you want to make advanced games, it becomes technically more difficult. We were wrong. We now understand it's the cruising speed that matters, not the momentary flash of peak power
- Genyo Takeda, Hardware Development Chief

The quote above was said with reflective regret from Genyo Takeda, one of the Nintendo's senior executives for hardware.

Cruising Speed vs. Peak Power

Further Reading