Welcome to 30 Ridiculous Retro Rumors, a brand new series that will run daily between November 26 and December 25, 2015. This is a series where we debunk some of the craziest rumors and predictions of all time. Today we're taking a look at the Nintendo 64. A year before release, Electronic Gaming Monthly was busy anticipating a huge batch of launch games. This proves to be unintentionally hilarious. See for yourself in the sixth episode of 30 Ridiculous Retro Rumors.


This is a real rumor taken directly from the August 1995 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly ...


Oh how I envy the optimism in this post.

With Nintendo's 64-bit console more than a year away, this left Electronic Gaming Monthly with a lot of time to speculate about the launch line-up. Perhaps it gave them a little too much time, because here we see Quartermann predict 12 to 15 games at release. And not just any old launch games, but titles like Pilotwings 2 and Starfox X. It's a rumor too good to be true.

Unfortunately, in reality, Nintendo didn't even come close to launching with 12 to 15 games. After spending a year stressing "quality over quantity," the first-party publisher released only two games at the Nintendo 64 launch -- Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64. Next Generation was quick to name Mario's first 64-bit outing the "Top Videogame of All Time" and consumers were won over by the open 3D stages.

Even if we're generous to Quartermann and include the entire North American launch window, that still leaves only eight games released in the entirety of 1996. In fact, it took the Nintendo 64 eight months before finally seeing its fifteenth game. Things weren't much better in Japan, where the system launched with Mario, Pilotwings and a niche board game that never found its way West. In Europe, FIFA Soccer 64, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey joined the line-up, making for an almost crowded six games.

Can you even imagine a modern console launching with only six games?