Pilotwings 64

PILOTWINGS 64 TAKES FLIGHT ON NINTENDO 64 Sequel to the Classic Super Nintendo Flight Simulation Combines Unprecedented Graphics With True Flight Mechanics

REDMOND, Wash., September 29, 1996 -- Ladies and gentlemen, start your Gyrocopters! Nintendo of America, the world leader in the home video game industry, today announced release of the most realistic flight simulation game ever created -- PilotWings 64.

Nintendo 64, the most powerful home video game system ever produced, launches in the U.S. today at a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $199.95. PilotWings 64, the 64-meg, one-player game, is now available for the 64-bit system at a MSRP of $69.95.

PilotWings 64 was created by a team of developers at Paradigm Simulation, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, under the direction of Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's legendary game designer and creator of the original PilotWings for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES). Concentrating on the real-life qualities of flying in a true, three-dimensional environment, the flight adventure is a combination of signature Miyamoto game play and detailed, visually breathtaking graphics, possible only with Nintendo's 64-bit system. Paradigm is the leading developer of real-time simulation and virtual reality software for Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) workstations, along with various applications for the U.S. military. "The combination of the computer graphics expertise at Paradigm Simulation, the game play genius of Shigeru Miyamoto, and the sheer processing power of Nintendo 64 has produced a game defying the boundaries of flight simulations," says Peter Main, Nintendo of America's executive vice president, sales and marketing. "With the meticulous attention paid to each environment, this could quite possibly be one of the most detailed games of any genre in the history of the industry."

As the original was for the Super NES, PilotWings 64 is the perfect showcase for the graphic capabilities of Nintendo 64. Using the hardware-based graphic features, the speed at which the detailed texture-mapped polygon environments are rendered is incomparable in the home video game industry. For example, although a character is soaring hundreds of feet in the air over a beach shoreline, the blue waves washing up to the sand and dissolving into white caps are still discernable. Paradigm also took care to ensure that the physics properties of aerodynamics were included -- integral for realistic flight simulation games.

"Most flight simulation games found on personal computers focus on the mechanical aspects of flight, forcing players to stare at a monitor for hours with nothing but a thin line for a horizon," says Ron Toupal, president, Paradigm Simulation, Inc. "The power of Nintendo 64 uses our 3-D expertise to not only simulate all the properties of aerodynamics, but to create the smooth and pixel-free graphics our work is known for in the flight industry." The objective of PilotWings 64 is similar to the original: players successfully accomplish a variety of assignments and stunts to earn badges -- gold, silver or bronze depending upon their score -- in an effort to obtain their pilot license certifications.

PilotWings 64 features six different characters, each with varying physical characteristics. For each flight, players select which character will take the controls of one of the three different flight vehicles -- a Gyrocopter, a Hang Glider, and a Rocket Belt. The score for each flight is a combination of a three factors: successful completion of the assigned task, speed of completion and accuracy and impact of the landing.

Players need to complete the Beginner's Class before they can move onto the first of the three badge rounds. Players who score at least a silver badge with each of the vehicles in a class, gain access to the bonus games: the free-flight birdman, human cannonball target shooting, skydiving and jumble hopper -- special flight shoes which generate bionic-like leaps.

There are 27 different courses spread out over four beautifully designed and rendered islands.

The soundtrack in PilotWings 64 complements each level, providing an aural equivalent to the graphics excellence. For example, the jazz-inspired accompaniment to the free-flight of the birdman in the star-studded night sky of the bonus round is truly soothing.

The Nintendo 64 system is a product of the worldwide joint development and license agreement combining Nintendo's expertise in video game development with Silicon Graphics Inc.'s (NYSE:SGI) renowned visual computing technologies as used to create special effects in numerous blockbuster motion pictures. Developed in partnership with SGI, the revolutionary Nintendo 64 system launched in Japan on June 23 where it sold more than one million units within the first ten weeks.

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan is the leader in the worldwide $15 billion retail video game industry. Nintendo and its international subsidiaries have sold more than one billion video games worldwide. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Washington, serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 40 percent of American homes own a Nintendo system.

Founded in 1990, Dallas-based Paradigm Simulation, Inc. is a world leader in visual and audio simulation, virtual reality products and 3-D entertainment applications. For more information on Paradigm Simulation, log onto http://www.paradigmsim.com.

For more information on PilotWings 64, Nintendo 64 or any other Nintendo product, log on to Nintendo Power Source on America On-line (Keyword: NINTENDO) or Nintendo's World Wide Web site on the Internet (HTTP//WWW.NINTENDO.COM).

Source:

Press Release

Soar into the wild blue yonder with this stunning flight sim/action game from Nintendo! Choose one of six aviators and tackle increasingly difficult assignments to win your wings: Beginner's Class, Class A, Class B and, finally, Pilot Class. Winning your Pilot Class wings will require you to successfully navigate 24 tests.

Basic vehicles include the Hang Glider, Rocket Belt and Gyrocopter. Score well on your way to a license and you can open up four bonus games. Parachute in Sky Diving, sprout wings and fly like a bird in Birdman, and bounce high in Jumble Hopper. You can even try to hit a distant bull's eye as a human Cannonball!

To earn your wings, you'll have to master takeoffs, landings and staying aloft. While in the air, keep close track of your fuel and altitude as well as wind conditions.

For advanced licenses, you'll have to follow tricky routes and bring home photographic proof. For example, the Pilot Class license for the Rocket Belt requires you to fly through a twisting cavern and guide a bouncing Rocket Ball down a steep mountainside.

On the way to winning your wings, you'll have to battle updrafts, clouds and blizzards. Action fans can squeeze off a few rounds off rockets against Meca Hawk, a robot rampaging through Little States Island.

The action ranges from torrid jungles of Crescent Island to the ice floes bobbing off Ever-Frost Island. Little States Island is packed with famous U.S. landmarks, including Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon.

The N64's powerful processors fill the lush backgrounds with plenty of moving objects, including hot-air balloons, spouting whales, smoke rising from an oil refinery and a soaring space shuttle. Excellent transparency effects make you feel that you're flying right through clouds.

Source:

www.nintendo.com – Nintendo 64

Forget about those other flying games. This is the ultimate flight experience! Pilotwings 64 carries you off into a vast three-dimensional environment. Pilot several different vehicles and take in breath taking sights. Successfully complete flight tests to earn your flight badge. Get a high enough score, and you'll get a chance at bonus games such as Cannonball and Sky Diving! Soar into the wild blue yonder with Pilotwings 64! * Tons of aerial challenges for you to master! * Hop into the seat of a Gyrocopter and fire off some missiles! * Strap on a Rocket Belt and check out places like Mt. Rushmore, the Space Needle and the Statue of Liberty! * Dangle in silent solitude from a Hang Glider as you soar above tropical jungles and frozen ice floes. * Save your progress in memory.

Source:

Back of Box - N64 (US)