Formerly Nintendo R&D4, Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division was responsible for Nintendo's flagship franchises; Mario and Zelda. While other development divisions and 1st-party companies were allowed to develop Mario games, the N64's only Zelda games came out of this studio.
During the Nintendo 64's support cycle, EAD worked on N64 games exclusively, though about midway through the console's lifespan, designs for next-gen games such as Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine were drafted. THis division was also responsible for the Super Mario 128 tech demo shown at Spaceworld 2000.
Please note, it is difficult to know precisely how many units all of these games sold, because they were all packed in with the Nintendo 64 console at one point or another and sales reports considered pack-ins and individual sales to be the same.
| 1 |  |
Super Mario 64
Release date: Console launch Genre: Platforming, adventure Multiplayer?: No Sales: 11.91 million Pack-in? Yes Special considerations: none Current availability: Nintendo Classics |
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| 2 |  |
Mario Kart 64
Release date: December 1996 (JP) / February 1997 (NA) / June 1997 (EU) Genre: Sports, racing Multiplayer?: Yes (up to 4 players) Sales: 9.87 million Pack-in?: Yes Special considerations: Requires Memory Pak to save ghost data Current availability: Nintendo Classics |
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| 3 |  |
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Release Date: November 1998 (JP) / December 1998 (NA, EU) Genre: Adventure, puzzle-solving Multiplayer?: No Sales: 7.6 million Pack-in?: Yes Special considerations: Rumble Pak compatible, gold-toned cartridge for preorders, re-released twice on GameCube Current availability: Nintendo Classics |
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