Star Tech Journal

"""A,.~AR TECH JOURNAL
May 1994
NINTENDO ANNOUNCES
PROJECT REALITY
FORMAT
Nintendo of America (NOA) this
past February 10 announced that
their new 64-bit video game sys-
tem, code named Project Reality,
would utilize new, high storage
capacity cartridge format.
"The choice we made is not car-
tridge versus CD - it's silicon over
optical," said Peter Main, Vice
President-Marketing for NOA.
"The cutting edge silicon technol-
ogy, which will be housed in the
new Nintendo cartridge, is the
fastest technology available.
When it comes to speed, no other
format approaches the silicon-
based cartridge."
The new cartridge format can
hold more than 100 MB (100 mil-
lion bits) of data for each game.
This will allow, Nintendo hopes,
for unparalleled graphics, sound,
and music in video games. By
comparison, the storage capacity
of cartridges used for Nintendo's
16-bit SNES hardware is in the 15
to 20-MB range.
On the decision to opt for a car-
tridge instead of a CD or CD-
E.om-based system, NOA's Mr.
Main stated, "The cartridge for-
mat is the only proven method.
CD-Rom, at this stage of the
game, is too slow and no other
format has proven its worth."
The company also believes the
format will help keep prices
down. Project Reality is slated to
list at a price of under $250 in the
U.S. Nintendo believes that the
combination of the new silicon
technology and the company's
data compression technology will
allow the new cartridges to be
sold at prices close to those of
today's 16-bit cartridges.
The Project Reality development
plan will unveil the first software
in arcades in the fourth quarter
of the 1994, followed by a world-
wide introduction of the home
system in 1995. (JAM).
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