15 years later, I would probably still say that Super Mario 64 is the best free-roaming 3D platformer I've played. It wasn't only hype or the lack of other games, it's just an amazing game and is still recognized as such, by the industry, by players, and by kids that never played it when it was new (or when the N64 was even still alive). It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's hard to deny the effort that was put into the game. Super Mario 64 was the game that the N64 was invented for.

So, really, the N64 could have had ONE game at launch and it would've been fine by me. If you were buying the system at launch looking for something else to buy, you were doing it wrong.

In comparison, let's look at the PlayStation's launch with 10 games:

Total Eclipse Turbo
Power Serve Tennis
Street Fighter: The Movie
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
Battle Arena Toshinden
Ridge Racer
The Raiden Project
Kileak: The DNA Imperative
ESPN ESPN2 Extreme Games
Rayman

First off, pretty much no one still knows/cares about these games, not remotely on the level of Super Mario 64 at least. Second, even as collectors, gamers that are more informed and more willing to try out obscure/forgotten games, how many do you guys think are worth giving a damn about whatsoever in this day and age? I would say only four: Toshinden, Ridge Racer, Raiden, and Rayman. And even though those may be worth picking up for cheap, none of those are remotely worth buying the PlayStation at launch for and spending $360 (even more if you picked up a memory card). I would easily say that the N64 had a far more satisfying launch, and I say this despite being a huge PS1 fan as well.

The Saturn isn't even worth comparing because it only had a whopping ONE more launch release than N64. It had Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon, and Daytona USA. But I'd say that was a more successful launch than the PlayStation's as well since those games are still held in decently high regards. They sure as hell weren't worth paying $400 plus the games' prices in my opinion, though. I'll take my N64 and Super Mario 64 for $260 any day, thanks.