Fifth-generation console in the context of "Sega Saturn"

The Nintendo 64 (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), the N64 was the last major home console to use ROM cartridges as its primary storage medium. As a fifth-generation console, the Nintendo 64 primarily competed with Sony's PlayStation and the Sega Saturn.

Development of the N64 began in 1993 in collaboration with Silicon Graphics, initially codenamed Project Reality and later tested as the Ultra 64 arcade platform. The console was named for its 64-bit CPU. Although its design was largely finalized by mid-1995, the console’s release was delayed until 1996 to allow for the completion of the console's launch titles, Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, and the Japan-exclusive Saikyō Habu Shōgi.

The PlayStation (codenamed PSX, abbreviated as PS, and retroactively PS1 or PS one) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released in Japan on 3 December 1994, followed by North America on 9 September 1995, Europe on 29 September 1995, and other regions following thereafter. As a fifth-generation console, the PlayStation primarily competed with the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn.

Sony began developing the PlayStation after a failed venture with Nintendo to create a CD-ROM peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in the early 1990s. The console was primarily designed by Ken Kutaragi and Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan, while additional development was outsourced in the United Kingdom. An emphasis on 3D polygon graphics was placed at the forefront of the console's design. PlayStation game production was designed to be streamlined and inclusive, enticing the support of many third party developers.