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1996Super Mario 64 game familyGame family

Nintendo · Game family

Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64, developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo, was released for Nintendo 64 in North America on 1996-06-23. Its documented physical format is Cartridge. The catalog classifies it as Action · Platform. PLAYBACK links 1 documented physical package to this game family.

Verified catalog factsA separately reviewed, source-backed history appears below.

Super Mario 64 is documented as a physical Cartridge release for Nintendo 64. Developer: Nintendo EAD. Publisher: Nintendo. Cataloged genre: Action · Platform. The archive records this package family for North America with a documented release date of 1996-06-23. This family currently groups 1 documented physical package.

Released
June 23, 1996
Platform / family
Nintendo 64
Format / type
Cartridge
Region
North America
Developer
Nintendo EAD
Publisher
Nintendo
Genre
Action · Platform
Exact physical item

Source-verified package identity

2 IDs

This panel separates the exact physical package from its broader game family. Only identifiers and contents tied to a stored source are shown as verified.

Verified identifiers

Documented package components

Manuals, inserts and extras not listed here have not yet been source-verified. They are not assumed absent.

Curated archive history

Why this release matters

Source-backed

Super Mario 64 was developed by Nintendo EAD as a launch title for Nintendo 64. Released first in Japan on June 23, 1996, it translated Mario's running and jumping into freely explored 3D spaces and tied movement to the console's analogue stick. Its camera, hub castle and objective-based courses became reference points for later 3D platform games.

Developer
Nintendo EAD
Publisher
Nintendo
Editorial review
2026-08-05
01

Release context

Development ran through the mid-1990s as Nintendo designed both the game and Nintendo 64 controller around analogue 3D movement. The North American release followed in September 1996 and Europe in March 1997.

02

Regional differences

Titles, box art, cartridge labels, language and rating marks differ across Japan, North America and PAL territories. PAL versions run under a different television standard, while Japan later received the revised Shindou Pak Taiou version.

03

Physical packaging

Original cardboard boxes contain a cartridge tray, cartridge, manual and regional inserts. North American Player's Choice and European budget packaging are identifiable reissues rather than first printings.

04

Editions and revisions

Japan's 1997 Shindou Pak Taiou release adds Rumble Pak support and includes software changes. Later Nintendo DS and Switch releases are remakes or reissues on different physical formats, not Nintendo 64 packaging variants.