Editing 64DD (section)

== History ==
=== Development ===
With the 1993 announcement of its new Project Reality console, Nintendo explored options for data storage. A Nintendo spokesperson said in 1993 that "it could be a cartridge system, a CD system, or both, or something not ever used before."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=McGowan |first=Chris |date=September 4, 1993 |title=Nintendo, Silicon Graphics Team for Reality Check |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BEEAAAAMBAJ&q=silicon+graphics&pg=PA89 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page=89}}</ref> In 1994, Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America said, "Right now, cartridges offer faster access time and more speed of movement and characters than CDs. So, we'll introduce our new hardware with cartridges. But eventually, these problems with CDs will be overcome. When that happens, you'll see Nintendo using CD as the software storage medium for our 64-bit system."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Gillen |first=Marilyn A. |date=June 25, 1994 |title=Billboard (June 25, 1994) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UggEAAAAMBAJ&q=Howard+Lincoln&pg=PA77 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207095401/https://books.google.com/books?id=UggEAAAAMBAJ&q=Howard+Lincoln&pg=PA77 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |magazine=Billboard |page=77}}</ref>

In consideration of the 64DD's actual launch price equivalent of about {{US$|90}}, Nintendo software engineering manager Jim Merrick warned, "We're very sensitive to the cost of the console. We could get an eight-speed CD-ROM mechanism in the unit, but in the under-$200 console market, it would be hard to pull that off."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kasten |first=Alex S. |date=March 1997 |title=Off-Computer |magazine=Emedia Professional |page=66 |volume=10 |issue=3}}</ref> Describing the final choice of proprietary floppy disks instead of CD-ROM, Nintendo game designer [[Shigesato Itoi]] explained, "CD holds a lot of data, DD holds a moderate amount of data and backs the data up, and [cartridge] ROMs hold the least data and process the fastest. By attaching a DD to the game console, we can drastically increase the number of possible genres."<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" />

{{further|topic=the Nintendo 64's alternate storage strategies and the optimizations involved with cartridges|Nintendo 64 Game Pak}}

The company also explored the forging of an early online strategy with Netscape, whose founding management had recently come directly from SGI, the company which had designed the core Nintendo 64 hardware.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lashinsky |first=Adam |date=July 25, 2005 |title=Remembering Netscape: The Birth Of The Web |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606214527/http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/07/25/8266639/index.htm |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |magazine=Fortune}}</ref><ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> Within its budding online strategy, Nintendo reportedly considered multiplayer online gaming to be of the highest priority, even above that of web browsing. Several third party game developers were developing prominent online gaming features based on 64DD, including Ocean's ''Mission: Impossible'' deathmatches<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> and Seta's competitive four-player ''Ultimate War''<ref name="64DD Goes to War" /><ref name="64DD Loses War" /><ref name="Ultimate War 64DD cancel" /> and online racing game.<ref name="Ultimate 64DD FAQ" /> Nintendo would ultimately retain the core impetus of these ideas, but would drastically alter both plans over the following years, in favor of a floppy-based storage technology and the Randnet online software and service partner—although with no online multiplayer gaming support whatsoever.

=== Announcement ===
{{quote box|width=25%|align=right|quote=It would have been easier to understand if the DD was already included when the N64 first came out. It's getting harder to explain after the fact. (laughs)|source={{mdash}}[[Shigeru Miyamoto]]<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" />}}
Nintendo President [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] announced the dual-storage strategy of the "bulky drive" at [[Nintendo]]'s [[Nintendo Space World#Shoshinkai 1995|Shoshinkai 1995]] trade show. He intended the product to be revealed at Shoshinkai 1996 and launched sometime in 1997,<ref name="lost per" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 1996 |title=Nintendo's Lincoln Speaks Out on the Ultra 64! |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20078%20%28January%201996%29/page/n75/mode/2up |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=Sendai Publishing |pages=74–75 |issue=78}}</ref> although giving virtually no technical specifications.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Willcox |first=James K. |date=April 1996 |title=The Game is 64 Bits |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207095411/https://books.google.com/books?id=MGUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |magazine=Popular Mechanics |page=134}}</ref> ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'' reported unconfirmed specifications, far above what would be actually launched: 4" disk caddy, 150&nbsp;MB floppy disks, 2.44&nbsp;Mbit/s speed, 13 ms access, 2-4&nbsp;MB RAM upgrade, and costing about {{JPY|20,000}} (US$200).<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1996 |title=Nintendo Ultra 64 |url=https://www.outofprintarchive.com/articles/features/TradeShows/Shoshinkai1995-CVG171-11.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807073541/https://www.outofprintarchive.com/articles/features/TradeShows/Shoshinkai1995-CVG171-11.html |archive-date=August 7, 2022 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |location=UK |page=26 |issue=171}}</ref>

The 64DD was fully revealed at Nintendo's [[Nintendo Space World#Shoshinkai 1996|Shoshinkai 1996]] show of November 22–24, 1996,<ref name="lost per" /> where IGN reported that it<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /> was one of the biggest items of the show.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 23, 1996 |title=Report from Shoshinkai |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/23/report-from-shoshinkai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016123336/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/23/report-from-shoshinkai |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |access-date=October 15, 2017 |website=IGN}}</ref> There, Nintendo of America Chairman Howard Lincoln stated that the hardware specifications had been finalized and had its own show booth. Nintendo's Director of Corporate Communications, Perrin Kaplan, made the company's first official launch window announcement for the peripheral, scheduled for late 1997 in Japan.<ref name="Shoshinkai 96 at Nintendo.com" /><ref name="The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive" /><ref name="64DD delay at GameSpot" /><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/1ZXA2pzrLlo Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20141110094105/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZXA2pzrLlo&feature=player_detailpage Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZXA2pzrLlo |title=Nintendo SpaceWorld '96: Miyamoto Interview + Super Mario 64 on 64DD + Rumble Pak Unveiled |access-date=September 2, 2014 |via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''Core Magazine'' said, "Nintendo representatives insisted the system would be aggressively supported by third parties and Nintendo's internal development teams" with sequels for ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' and ''Zelda 64'', and 64DD originals ''[[Cabbage (video game)|Cabbage]]'' and ''[[Jungle Emperor Leo|Emperor of the Jungle]]''. Nintendo's list of 64DD developers included Konami, Capcom, Enix, and Rare.<ref name="lost per" /> [[Rare (company)|Rare]] officially discounted any rumors of the peripheral's impending pre-release cancellation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 15, 1996 |title=Closing in on Shoshinkai |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/16/closing-in-on-shoshinkai |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903075502/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/11/16/closing-in-on-shoshinkai |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |access-date=September 2, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref>

Reportedly, several developers attended the show to learn 64DD development, some having traveled from the US for the 64DD presentation and some having received 64DD development kits.<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /> A 64DD prototype was in a glass case, not visibly operational, but with a makeshift demonstration of ''Zelda 64'' which was said to be running from disk.<ref name="lost per" /> An improvised disk conversion of the familiar ''Super Mario 64'' game demonstrated the drive's operation and performance, and a graphics application mapping the audience's photographical portraits onto live 3D animated avatars—a feature which was ultimately incorporated and released in 2000 as ''[[Mario Artist: Talent Studio]]'' and the Capture Cassette.<ref name="Shoshinkai 96 at Nintendo.com" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 6, 1996 |title=N64.com Interviews Howard Lincoln |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/07/n64com-interviews-howard-lincoln |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206110135/http://www.ign.com/articles/1996/12/07/n64com-interviews-howard-lincoln |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=January 11, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref>

The event featured ''Creator'', a music and animation game by [[Software Creations (UK)|Software Creations]],<ref name="Creator and Mario Artist" /> the same UK company that had made ''Sound Tool'' for the Nintendo Ultra 64 development kit. They touted the game's ability to be integrated into other games, allowing a player to replace any such game's textures and possibly create new levels and characters. There was no playable version of ''Creator'' available there, but the project was later absorbed into ''[[Mario Artist: Paint Studio]]''.<ref name="Creator and Mario Artist" /><ref name="Mario Artist: Paint Studio (Import)" /> Nintendo announced 64DD would be bundled with a RAM expansion cartridge.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=January 1997 |title=Nintendo Unveils N64 Disk Drive |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20090%20%28January%201997%29/page/n117/mode/1up |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=118 |issue=90}}</ref>

Much of the gaming press said the 64DD reveal at Shoshinkai 1996 was not as significant as Nintendo had promised, leaving the public still unaware of the system's software lineup, practical capabilities, and release date.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=February 1997 |title=Shoshinkai '97: Nintendo Gets in the Games |url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-26/page/n19/mode/2up |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |pages=18–20 |issue=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Semrad |first=Ed |date=February 1997 |title=Insert Coin |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20091%20%28February%201997%29/page/n5/mode/1up |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=6 |issue=91}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 1997 |title=The 64DD Gets Real |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |page=37 |issue=102}}</ref> ''Zelda 64'' (eventually released as the cartridge game ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]]'') was seen as the 64DD's potential [[killer app]] in the months following the system's unveiling.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=May 1997 |title=Future Memory |url=https://archive.org/stream/NEXT_Generation_29#page/n46 |magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] |publisher=[[Imagine Media]] |page=46 |issue=29}}</ref>

On April 3–4, 1997, Nintendo of America hosted a Developer's Conference in Seattle, Washington, where a surprise overview was delivered by Nintendo Developer Support staff [[Mark DeLoura]] about the 64DD.<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" />

=== Delays ===
The 64DD is notable in part for two years of many launch delays, which created an interdependent cascade of delays and complications of many other business processes and product launches for Nintendo and its partners,<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" /><ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Imagineer |url=http://www.ign.com/companies/imagineer |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151129171456/https://www.ign.com/companies/imagineer |archive-date=November 29, 2015 |access-date=July 21, 2021 |website=IGN}}</ref><ref name="DD Date?" /> and the cancellation of Space World 1998 due to lack of completed 64DD software. IGN reported in June 1999 that many called it "the most elusive piece of [[vaporware]] to date".<ref name="a reality" />

On May 30, 1997, Nintendo issued a press conference announcing the first 64DD launch delay, rescheduled to March 1998 with no comment on an American release schedule. This was reportedly attributed to the protracted development of both the disks and the drive technologies.<ref name="64DD delay at GameSpot" /><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1997 |title=64DD-Layed |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20097%20%28August%201997%29/page/n21/mode/1up |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=20 |issue=97}}</ref> On June 9, 1997, Nintendo and [[Alps Electric]] announced their manufacturing partnership for the still tentatively titled<ref name="N64 Dev Conf 1997" /> 64DD.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 9, 1997 |title=Nintendo Teams Up with Alps on 64DD |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/10/nintendo-teams-up-with-alps-on-64dd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105231835/http://www.ign.com/articles/1997/06/10/nintendo-teams-up-with-alps-on-64dd |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |website=IGN}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote=We're hesitant to say [the status of the 64DD software lineup, but] if software doesn't come out consistently after we sell the 64DD, we'll be stuck.<br />Don't worry. Feel easy about the 64DD.|source=—Miyamoto, July 29, 1997<ref name="Miyamoto Reveals Secrets" />}}
On June 18, 1997, at the [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]] pre-show press conference, the company lacked even a prototype unit to display, while Howard Lincoln stated that the company wouldn't release the device until sufficient numbers of software releases support it. Reportedly featuring at least twenty games in development including ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' and the sequel to ''Super Mario 64'', the device retained its projected Japanese launch window of "at least" March 1998, and received its first American launch window of early 1998.<ref name="Donkey Kong 64 Jumps to DD" /> Also at the show, Nintendo confirmed that the 64DD would have Internet capability,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1997 |title=News Bits |url=https://archive.org/details/gamepro-issue-108-september-1997/page/n25/mode/1up |magazine=[[GamePro]] |publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]] |page=22 |issue=108}}</ref> and Nintendo's main game designer, [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], speculated that its launch games could be ''[[SimCity 64]]'', ''[[Mario Artist]]'', ''[[Pokémon|Pocket Monsters]]'', and ''[[Mother 3]]''.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Imamura |first=Takao |title=Pak Watch E3 Report "The Game Masters" |last2=Miyamoto |first2=Shigeru |url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-099-august-1997/page/n113/mode/2up |work=Nintendo Power |publisher=Nintendo |date=August 1997 |pages=104–105}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=September 1997 |title=Shigeru Miyamoto: Mario 2 Might Be Ready Next Year |url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronicGamingMonthly_201902/Electronic%20Gaming%20Monthly%20Issue%20098%20%28September%201997%29/page/n78/mode/1up |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |page=78 |issue=98}}</ref>

At [[Nintendo Space World#Space World 1997|Space World]] from November 21–24, 1997, the 64DD was shown prominently but its delay was extended from March 1998 to June 1998,<ref name="Tough Talk" /> with no mention of an international launch. ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' magazine observed the attendees and the demonstrations, finding no appeal to the US market from any current 64DD software, which was mainly ''Mario Artist'' and ''[[Pocket Monsters Stadium|Pocket Monsters]]''. The magazine said "64DD's future does not look good. And whether or not it was ever a serious mainstream contender is now open for debate", and wondered if 64DD would become "just an interesting footnote to the Nintendo 64 story". The magazine, and [[Argonaut Software]] founder [[Jez San]], found Nintendo's third-party relations, and the third-parties' products, to be poor with no sign of improving; San said "Rumors have been circulating for a while that recently within Nintendo the main priority has been [...] taking development staff off other games and projects [at the expense of Nintendo 64 and 64DD] to make sure that ''Pocket Monsters'' was done on time."<ref name="NG38" /> Nintendo's presentation focused mainly on first party Nintendo 64 cartridges and the [[Pokémon Red and Blue#Sales|top selling game of 1997]], ''Pocket Monsters'' for Game Boy. ''Zelda 64'' had always been a [[killer app]] for the 64DD, but was now announced as lost to cartridge (Nintendo's largest ever, at {{nowrap|256 megabits}} or {{nowrap|32 megabytes}}) because Nintendo said the 64DD userbase probably couldn't support a blockbuster even if launched in June 1998<ref name="Tough Talk" /><ref name="NG38" /><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Vestal |first1=Andrew |last2=O'Neill |first2=Cliff |last3=Shoemaker |first3=Brad |title=The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_zelda/page14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204141027/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_zelda/page14.html |archive-date=February 4, 2013 |website=History of Zelda |publisher=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_103_Volume_09_Number_04_1997-04_IDG_Publishing_US/page/n105/mode/2up |title=The Legend of Zelda 64 |publisher=Gamepro |year=1997 |pages=102}}</ref> and because 64DD floppy disk speed cannot continuously stream 500 [[Motion capture acting|motion-captured]] character animations throughout gameplay as only a cartridge can.<ref>{{Cite interview |last=Iwawaki |first=Toshio |interviewer=[[Satoru Iwata]] |title=Iwata Asks : The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D : What We Couldn't Do with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time |last2=Aonuma |first2=Eiji |last3=Kawagoe |first3=Takumi |last4=Koizumi |first4=Yoshiaki |last5=Osawa |first5=Toru |url=https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/1/4/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314055137/https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/zelda-ocarina-of-time/1/4/ |archive-date=March 14, 2024 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |subject-link2=Eiji Aonuma |subject-link4=Yoshiaki Koizumi}}</ref>

George Harrison, vice president of [[Nintendo of America]], described the logistics of the 64DD launch delays:<ref name="Tough Talk" />

{{blockquote | quote=Certainly [64DD] hasn't been sidelined, it's still in the starting gate.<ref name="NG38" /> [Nintendo can't guarantee that the 64DD will launch in the US in 1998], but what we can say is that it will launch when it is ready and when we have a compelling piece of software for it. But it's an accessory and we all know the history of selling add-ons in this marketplace, and to be successful we'd have to get a 60%-to-80% penetration of this 64DD into the installed base of N64 to be considered a success. We can't just have 10% or 20% of people buy it, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to continue software support for it.<ref name="Tough Talk" />}}

In a December 1997 interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and [[Shigesato Itoi]], Miyamoto confessed the difficulty of repeatedly attempting to describe and justify the long-promised potential of the mysterious peripheral to a curious public. He said that it "would have been easier to understand if the DD was already included when the N64 first came out. It's getting harder to explain after the fact. (laughs)" To illustrate the fundamental significance of the 64DD to all game development at Nintendo, Itoi said, "I came up with a lot of ideas because of the 64DD. All things start with the 64DD. There are so many ideas I wouldn't have been allowed to come up with if we didn't have the 64DD." Miyamoto concluded, "Almost every new project for the N64 is based on the 64DD.&nbsp;... we'll make the game on a cartridge first, then add the technology we've cultivated to finish it up as a full-out 64DD game."<ref name="The 64Dream Dec 1997" /> By 1998, IGN optimistically expected all major Nintendo 64 cartridge games to have software support for an impending expansion disk. Known third-party 64DD developers included Konami, Culture Brain, Seta, Japan System Supply, Titus, Infogrames, Rare, Paradigm Entertainment, Ocean, and Factor 5.<ref name="Nintendo's Internet Connection" /><ref name="64DD: The Games" />

{{quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote=Despite NCL's confident announcements, we still suggest gamers looking to import the drive shouldn't hold their breath. Nintendo's 64DD delay track record still has a few openings for more entries.|source=—IGN, April 8, 1999<ref name="DD Date?" />}}
More delays were subsequently announced. The American launch was delayed to late 1998.<ref name="The 64DD: Nintendo's Disk Drive" /> The Japanese launch was delayed to June 1998, later adjusted by the apologetic announcement on April 3, 1998, that it would launch "within the year".<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 3, 1998 |title=NCL Officially Confirms 64DD Delay in Japan |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/04/ncl-officially-confirms-64dd-delay-in-japan |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206111438/http://www.ign.com/articles/1998/04/04/ncl-officially-confirms-64dd-delay-in-japan |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=February 6, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> The 64DD was conspicuously absent from E3 1998, having been briefly described the prior day as "definitely not" launching in 1998 and "questionable" in 1999, which ''Next Generation'' magazine interpreted as being "as close to 'dead' as we can imagine".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=August 1998 |title=E3: That was the show that was |url=https://archive.org/stream/ng_unedited/ng_44_unedited#page/n41/mode/2up |access-date=December 14, 2015 |magazine=Next Generation |pages=20–21 |issue=44}}</ref> IGN pessimistically explained that the peripheral's launch delays were so significant, and Nintendo's software library was so dependent upon the 64DD, that this lack of launchable software also caused Nintendo to entirely cancel Space World for 1998.<ref name="DD Date?" />

On April 8, 1999, IGN announced Nintendo's latest delayed launch date of 64DD and the nearly complete ''Mario Artist'', as June 1999.<ref name="DD Date?" /> Demonstrated at the May 1999 [[E3]] as what IGN called an "almost forgotten visitor", there was no longer a plan for release outside Japan, and its launch in Japan was still withheld by the lack of completed [[launch game]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 13, 1999 |title=64DD Makes an Appearance |url=http://ign64.ign.com/news/8040.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010803212131/http://ign64.ign.com/news/8040.html |archive-date=August 3, 2001 |access-date=November 20, 2015 |website=IGN}}</ref> In June 1999, IGN reported that month's completion of Randnet and the modem, as having "breathed new life into what many have called the most elusive piece of vaporware to date". IGN said Nintendo "is surprisingly confident about the 64DD and is predicting to sell the full initial shipment of 500,000 before year's end".<ref name="a reality" />

As of [[Nintendo Space World#Space World 1999|Space World 1999]] in August, Nintendo had set Randnet's launch date at December 1, 1999, but reportedly had not yet set a launch date for the 64DD. The 64DD pre-order program had been recently announced for mid-September, and was now delayed to November or December.<ref name="Core99day1" /> ''[[Earthbound 64]]'', which IGN cynically called "in development for nearly 1,000 years",<ref name="Mother 3 Pushed Back" /> had been heavily anticipated inside the company and globally as a crucial 64DD launch game, but the sudden announcement of its release being retargeted from disk to {{nowrap|32 megabyte}} cartridge plus expansion disk was interpreted by IGN as unsurprising and as a sign of possible further delay or cancellation of the 64DD.<ref name="Earthbound 64 cancel" /><ref name="Mother 3 Pushed Back" /> Nintendo's 64DD booth demonstrated eight launch games, including ''[[DT Bloodmasters]]'', which used the [[64 GB Cable]] to connect a Game Boy Color to the 64DD.<ref name="Core99day1" /><ref name="What's DT, you ask?" /><ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /> Nintendo listed many more 64DD games in development.<ref name="64DD Lineup Exposed" /> Randnet had recently been announced and was being tested in Japan.<ref name="Core99day1" />

=== Launch ===
The 64DD was launched on December 13, 1999, exclusively in [[Japan]],<ref name="64DD Kotaku" /> as a package called the Randnet Starter Kit including six games bimonthly through the mail, and one year of Internet service. ''Core Magazine'' and IGN reported Nintendo's stated initial retail shipment of 500,000 units.<ref name="a reality" />

Anticipating that its long-planned peripheral would become a [[List of commercial failures in video gaming|commercial failure]], Nintendo initially sold the Randnet Starter Kit via mail order.<ref name="64DD: Broken Promises" /> Later, very limited quantities of the individual 64DD and games were released to stores.

=== Discontinuation ===
On August 25, 2000, [[Nintendo Space World#Space World 2000|Space World]] was signified by the launches of the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, and by what IGN considered to be the unofficial discontinuation of the 64DD, jokingly calling it "DeaDD". According to IGN, "Nintendo did not speak about 64DD during its opening speech, nor did the hardware itself have any booth presence. In fact, the unofficial 'No 64DD!' policy seemed to be enforced by Nintendo so brutally that had we even muttered the name of the hardware, we would have probably been tossed out of the show."<ref name="DeaDD" />

In October 2000, Nintendo announced the impending discontinuation of the 64DD and Randnet, with 15,000 active subscribers.<ref name="64Dream Feb 2001" /> They were discontinued in February 2001. Only ten 64DD disks were ever released, including three third-party games and one Internet application suite. Most planned 64DD games were either released on increasingly larger [[Nintendo 64 Game Pak]], ported to other consoles like the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] or [[GameCube]], or canceled entirely.<ref name="Everything about 64DD at IGN" />