My N64 experiment

[/n64]

I originally posted this yesterday on another n64 sub but was asked to post here.
Where I live, today is September 26th. I am an American but live abroad as I have for some time. According to Wikipedia, this is the anniversary date of the n64 North American launch in 1996.I have been waiting for this date to launch an experiment.
The short version is I’m going to play N64 games exclusively and try to keep up with the equivalent launch dates in terms of access to games as though this were September of 1996 rather than 2022. The experiment then would last if it goes all the way through to completion about five years.
More detail…
I’ve had ideas for this before with a variety of consoles but never actually tried to do it. Part of the reason is I just find the dates things came out historically interesting. It boggles my mind sometimes seeing how long we waited on many platforms between big releases now that we have access to so much.
Another reason is I want to play games less but enjoy them more. It’s a kind of restraint and delayed gratification. N64 is a prime candidate for this because it has a smaller library, but less junk than other consoles, and releases were more spread out. I mean as is this week we have Mario 64 and a pilot wings but nothing else till November. I chose n64 partly for this reason, but also because I was 10 when it came out and didn’t have one. That I think is a prime demographic age for the console. I was fascinated by it and what it could do, but I was always behind in consoles anyway until adulthood which may better prepare me for this. The year n64 came out, I finally got a genesis. I also even as an adult have barely touched its library so there is plenty for me to explore.
Gaming today with my personal mental habits often results in paying full price for games I barely touch or buying fifty things on sale I never touch. The sure number of choices we have is staggering. Overwhelming even. This is an exercise in discipline for myself. There’s really a ton of reasons to do it, but the most important one is just to see what happens, see how long I can stick with it. I can’t promise I’ll succeed. At the same time whenever I have brought up similar ideas before I always found it funny people would be more willing to believe I could quit gaming entirely, or even go live on an Amish commune, than they could believe I could play one classic console exclusively for five years despite thousands of kids doing exactly that from 1996 to 2001.
All that is different for me is that those kids didn’t have the temptation of something newer. But that too is part of the experiment. How much is it going to matter to me that I’m not playing the latest stuff? It shouldn’t at all given how rarely I finish games due to bouncing around between so many.
I wanted to post this here as the start of a kind of record. I’ll also answer any questions if anyone actually finds this interesting. There are details of how I’m doing this I’ve left out. I also though wanted to join this community because I felt this will be easier with a community primed to talk about the console and it’s games. Gaming as a hobby was always as much about social interaction as it was playing after all. So, nice to meet you. Happy launch day!

submitted by /u/genesisages
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