How Much Did the Nintendo 64 Cost at Launch?
By the Price Time Machine team · Updated
The Nintendo 64 launch price was $199.99 when it launched in the United States on September 29, 1996. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $427.03 in September 2026 money, roughly 2.1 times the original price.
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Nintendo 64 at a glance
- US launch price
- $199.99
- In today’s money
- ≈ $427.03September 1996 to September 2026 (CPI-U, BLS)
- US release date
- September 29, 1996
- Where it was designed
- Kyoto, JapanDesigned by Nintendo in Kyoto, Japan, with chips from Silicon Graphics in California.
- Category
- Gaming & tech
- Price source
- en.wikipedia.org
Today’s price is the US launch price adjusted for US inflation with the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing the launch month with the latest published month. It updates automatically as new figures come out.
Why the Nintendo 64 launched at $199.99
Nintendo originally planned to sell the console for $250. By the summer of 1996 Sony and Sega had both cut the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn to $199.99, so Nintendo matched them and launched the N64 at $199.99 too. Games cost extra: no game came in the box, and cartridges usually cost around $10 more than PlayStation discs.
Demand was so strong that, in the months between the Japanese and American launches, import shops sold Japanese consoles for as much as $699 plus shipping.
The Nintendo 64 launch price in today’s money
Inflation means a dollar buys less today than it did in 1996. Using the US Consumer Price Index, the original Nintendo 64 launch price of $199.99 works out at about $427.03 in September 2026 money, around 2.1 times the original figure. That is what the same amount of spending power would cost now, not what the Nintendo 64 sells for second-hand.
When was the Nintendo 64 released?
- Japan: June 23, 1996
- North America: September 29, 1996
- Europe and Australia: March 1, 1997
Where was the Nintendo 64 developed?
Nintendo designed the N64 at its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. Work began in 1993 with the American graphics company Silicon Graphics, under the codename “Project Reality”. Silicon Graphics, based in California, supplied the chips behind its 3D graphics.
Nintendo 64 facts you might not know
- Its controller was the first to include an analogue thumbstick as standard, and the console had four controller ports for multiplayer games.
- Time magazine named it its 1996 “Machine of the Year”.
- It was the last major home console to use cartridges until the Nintendo Switch in 2017. Cartridges loaded quickly but were costly to make, and many game makers moved to the PlayStation instead.
- Only 388 games were released for it, but they include Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
- Nintendo sold 32.93 million N64 consoles before discontinuing it in 2002.
Frequently asked questions
How much was the Nintendo 64 in 1996?
The Nintendo 64 cost $199.99 in the United States when it launched on September 29, 1996.
How much is $199.99 from 1996 worth today?
Adjusted for US inflation, the Nintendo 64’s $199.99 launch price is about $427.03 in September 2026 money.
Did the Nintendo 64 come with a game?
No. The standard US console came with one controller and no game. Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 were the two games available on launch day.
How many Nintendo 64 consoles were sold?
Nintendo sold 32.93 million Nintendo 64 consoles worldwide.
Want to compare the Nintendo 64 launch price with other launch prices? See what the AriZona Iced Tea cost, browse more famous launch prices, or play this question in Price Time Machine.
Sources
Launch prices and dates are checked against the sources below. Today’s price is calculated from official US inflation data and updates automatically when new figures are published.
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