PlayStation Vs. N64: How They Matched Up In 9 Crucial Areas

Accessories helped Sony and Nintendo level the playing field on one another at the height of the PlayStation’s battle with the N64.

The Big N became the first games developer with a controller that offered vibration feedback thanks to the Rumble Pack, so Sony rolled out its first DualShock pad with the feature built in one year later.

Moreover, Sony loyalists no longer had to look on in envy at those mental four-player Mario Kart sessions when the electronics giant carted out Multitap 4 accessory.

Certain high-end games were not possible on the N64 until Nintendo upped its hardware game with the release of the 4MB memory expansion pack, a move which paved the way for titles like Resident Evil 2 to land on the system without the annoying loading times.

Nintendo wasn't afraid to innovate with its accessories. A stellar example is Pokemon Stadium's Transfer Pak, which allowed players to bring Pokemon they'd captured in the Game Boy versions of the popular collect-em-up to the N64 game.

Sony also showed ambition with later PSone add-ons, including the Combo edition of the lighter, slimmer PSone, which came with a 5-inch LCD screen attached.

This could have seen the gaming industry take its first steps towards home console-portable hybrids - which have only now entered the mainstream with the Switch - had Sony thought to release a battery pack to make it transportable.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's plans to minimise the storage woes presented by the cartridge format with the release of the 64DD add-on crumbled when the disc-based accessory tanked in Japan.