Difference Between Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64

Super Nintendo vs Nintendo 64

As you may have figured out by the name, these are the two consoles from Nintendo. The main difference between them is the age as the Super Nintendo (SNES) was first released in 1990 and has been discontinued since 2003. The Nintendo 64 (commonly called N64) was intended to be the replacement of the SNES and was released in 1996. But it never really took over and was discontinued even sooner than the SNES. The SNES was a 16 bit system that was even competitive with early 32 bit systems. With the N64, Nintendo decided to skip 32 bit altogether and went with a 64 bit system; thus the 64 suffix in the name.

The biggest draw with the N64 is the 3D environments as nicely by its flagship game, Mario 64. The environment is quite large and frees the user from typical side-scrolling action that has become typical of older gaming consoles like the SNES. Although there are some 3D games on the SNES, those are nowhere near the level of games on the N64.

The controller of the N64 also saw a lot of changes from its predecessor. The N64 controller has a lot more buttons than the SNES controller. It also has an analog joystick placed in the middle of the controller. The joystick makes it easier to move around in a 3D environment. There is also an increase in the number of controllers that you can use from 2 with the SNES to 4 with the N64. More controllers mean more players playing at the same time. Not all games support 4 simultaneous players though.

The N64 was not as successful as the SNES in terms of sales. The biggest reason is Nintendo’s decision to stick with cartridge format which is more expensive than the CDs that were being used by their competitors. Only 32 million units of the N64 sold while the older SNES sold over 49 million units.

Summary:

1. The Super Nintendo is much older compared to the Nintendo 64
2. The Super Nintendo is a 16 bit system while the N64 is 64 bits
3. The Super Nintendo games were mostly 2D while that of the N64 is 3D
4. The N64 controller has an analog joystick while that of the Super Nintendo did not
5. The N64 can be played by up to 4 players while the Super Nintendo has a maximum of 2
6. The N64 was not as successful as the Super Nintendo