Agreed, to argue that the PS1's 3D graphics were even in the same league as the N64 is absolute nonsense.  Take any big flagship N64 game and you can be certain it simply couldn't be reproduced on PS1 hardware, not even close.  Sure, the texture detail on the N64 was low, but overall the 3D rendering was far more advanced.

Also, the N64 wasn't some sort of mistake by Nintendo due to arrogance or however it was badly argued by someone above -- they decided to throw all their weight behind true 3D gaming with zero load times and analog control, so, while the system couldn't do a lot of things that the PS1 could in terms of cutscenes or 2D work, it pretty well ushered in the 3D era with its transformation of classic games like Mario and Zelda into the first fully realized 3D platformers and action-adventure titles.  What PS1 was producing in this area isn't even close; their 3D platforming games were either horribly rendered and awkward or actually only 2.5D like Bandicoot.

So sure, they lost the RPG genre and they started to lose the attention of the adolescent gamers who want more of what they often mistakenly deem 'mature' games, but it was a remarkable achievement in terms of reinventing classic 2D gameplay elements for the new 3D era, and we wouldn't have a hell of a lot of what we have now in gaming if not for this system. Let's not forget other important moves like the i nclusion of 4 controller ports standard -- I remember how much that meant to social gaming all those years ago.

Like everybody else here says. The N64's high cartridge cost really limits the 3rd party support of it. Was the N64 a failure like the 3DO, Jaguar, Lynx, Sega Saturn in the US, Virtual Boy, CD-I, Master System in the US, etc? It wasn't a failure, it was a big dissapointment to both fans & 3rd party companies however. Even then, amongst some of the droughts & the amount of games the PS1 gets, I still managed to enjoy my N64 every bit from December 1998 & to this time of writing & probably beyond that. Sorry for going a little off-topic.

Anyways, the N64 may have less 3rd party support due to Ninty's choice of using cartridges & the high cost of them, & several other issues, but even then, it still has quite a bit of good games. Sure, the N64 is lacking in a few genres like 2d fighters & RPG's, but sometimes, you just have to dig deeper to find the games you want to play (if they arn't fighters or RPG's that is.)

Last, but not least, the N64 has brought FPS's to home consoles, 1st system to have rumble, made the use of analog control sticks popular & revolutionizing 3D gaming forever. At the cost of having to be in 2nd place however. Where would we be without the N64?

N64 had the best games? don't make me laugh.

Rare saved it from being the console with least great games that gen... but they are nowhere near the PS1s library of amazing games. If I had a choice today, Id actually have the saturn over n64 due to the fact I love SHMUPS and fighters...neither of which exists on n64. What am I saying...I have a saturn :)

your'e wrong. The N64 was the best system of that gen. Just because one game: Ocarina of Time, wich is the best game of all time.

I really didn't get that game. Probably the the most over rated game of that gen.

Over rated?, well i played it in 1998. And still i haven't played a better game than that one.

People love load screens and emo JRPG characters.

The N64 didn't come out on top simply for the same reason the GC didn't.  Third parties went with another system.

And frankly, while carts may have costed more to produce, that wouldn't have stopped a determined third party company from producing for the N64 if they thought the a game would sell well on the system.  Just like the PSX and PS2 being hard to code for and the weaker system didn't stop them from making a record number of games for each system.

Third parties have their priorities, and its not always the bottom line.  This gen is a perfect example of that.  The Wii is obviously the biggest money maker, yet the majority of third parties are once again overlooking it.

true. ps1 got the most and better games but the n64 has the greatest games and zelda ocarina of time alone is worth owning an n64

This "emo JRPG characters" is getting really old... 1. The horrible emo culture didn't exist back in the PS1 era, so really, the emos are using "cloud-like haircuts" not the other way around, 2. The JRPG character art was inspired from the Japanese art, not by an American trend...

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Back to the subject:

N64 didn't succeed by one simple reason: Cartridges... By that time, they had a huge cost and a really little storage space, this turned into a problem with 3rd party companies because there were 2 consoles using CDs, and those were cheap and had 650 MB of space...

By that time, either Sega or Sony could have the advantage (PS1 was easy to develop for, but the race was too tight), but one company in particular decided this, Square Co. was the one that had the ugliest fight with Nintendo, it was so bad that Square didn't made a game for a Ninty system until Iwata replaced Yamauchi... Sony took the lead and made them an "offer they couldn't refuse": Co-publishing Final Fantasy VII in the West along with a really aggressive marketing campaign with it that consequently would make them big overseas... Of course, after this, the massive 3rd party went to the Playstation, devs lost interest in the Saturn (unless they were 2D games) and the N64 only kept the shovelware...

Despite this, the N64 had an epic 1st party production and those games are worth playing for every generation...