Why there are 5 Different Versions of 3D N64 Logos in N64 Games

In this Video I look at the 5 different variants of 3D spinning Nintendo 64 models in Nintendo 64 games.
N64 logo stats
Mistake Percentages
30% by using all red on bottom
50% by using 2 Green on the bottom
10 by uses 3 red faces on top and bottom instead of 2
10% by uses 2 extra red faces on the inside N portion
The games with the incorrect logos are
Aidyn chronicles (use all red faces on bottom)
Banjo-Kazooie (uses all red faces on bottom)
Clay Fighter 63 1/3 (uses all red faces on bottom)
Conkers Bad fur Day (uses 2 green faces on bottom)
EarthWorm Jim 3d (uses 2 green faces on bottom)
Lego Racer's (uses 3 red faces on top and bottom instead of 2)
Powerpuff Girls Girls Chemical X-Traction (uses 2 green faces on bottom)
Tetrisphere (uses 2 green faces on bottom)
Tom and Jerry (uses 2 green faces on bottom)
Top Gear Rally 2 (uses 2 extra red faces on the inside N portion)
Nintendo'd own guideline for using the N64 logo
===
Proper Use of the N64 Logo
The following rules should be followed when using the N64 Logo.
____ For broadcast and game video, it is acceptable to use a black background behind the logo, with the "Nintendo 64" text appearing in white.
____ Logo colors should match as closely as possible the colors of the logo as it appears in static/printed form. Following are the RGB colors for the N64 logo:
Red: R196, G0, B38
Blue: R56, G56, B127
Yellow: R242, G171, B0
Green: R63, G162, B68
____ When spinning, the logo should rotate to the left (counterclockwise when viewed from the top) at about 16 RPM (one revolution per 2 seconds.)
____ The camera viewing angle must represent the "N" cube exactly as it appears in printed form. The sides of the logo should be parallel and the logo must not appear warped, such as with a "fish eye" lens.
____ Other camera movements, flybys, etc. can be used as long as the correct angle and orientation of the logo is used to establish the identity at some point in the sequence.
____ It is critical that the proportions of the "N" cube accurately reflect those of the printed version of the logo. The size relationship of the "N" cube to the "Nintendo 64" text should be maintained.
____ The "Nintendo 64" text should be placed above the "N" cube logo and the correct font must be used. (An Alias file of the logo is available from Nintendo Licensing Support.
Note: For additional information regarding the proper use of the N64 logo, please review the "N64 Logo and Application Rules" sheets included in your Software Development Kit.
===
All game play was captured with an Gv-usb-2
#n64
#n64logo
#wrong

[@thebigdawgj]

Moral of the story: If you're going to insist someone use your logo on their products, give them all the assets to do so, don't make them guess at anything.

[@Knux5577]

^ Nintendo should've given each game the correct model

[@thebigdawgj]

@@Knux5577 Yeah, mine was just a more general way to say it.

[@miguelzavaleta1911]

I'm probably too young to know this for sure, but I bet industry standards at the time weren't at the point yet where you could just "share" your 3D model with anyone. I have different engineering experience, but whenever you have to deal with old PLCs or legacy hardware at work, it's usually a nightmare to even interface with it -- let alone modify it. Every company had their own proprietary HMIs (and i mean everything from language, software, connectors, to even comm protocols -- since the serial port was already an attempt at standardizing communication, if you can believe that).

[@kevinmonzel]

I mean a bunch of em couldn't even get "counterclockwise" right, js

[@seefore5409]

Moral of the story: If you leave anything ambiguous, people WILL fuck it up because people are lazy and stupid.

[@davidparsonsmisc]

This is one of the most complicated logos in gaming history.

[@themissingkoopa6218]

Its so hard to guess which one was the original

[@DlcEnergy]

gordon ramsay: what's so fucking complicated!?! 8:04 you've cut through it you thick fuck. 9:29 get that fuckin donkey outta theeere 12:06 look at the mess!!

[@SetsuneW]

That really does give Conker's "Stupid logo!" line new meaning, knowing all the rules in place (and likely difficulties nailing down the details with Nintendo). Possibly Rare subtly venting...

[@helmetluigi]

Rare likes venting a lot in their games

[@TheDisarminghinkle]

The entirety of Conker's Bad Fur Day is Rare venting about Nintendo.

[@vincentsalinas-piper146]

Judging by how they got it right for Banjo-Tooie, Perfect Dark, and I think Diddy Kong Racing... it was definitely intentional for CBD.

[@Gryzly123]

The fact that some companies bothered with making their own 3D models instead of just using an image despite Nintendo not providing proper assets really shows that they cared about their games. The logo only shows for a few seconds but somebody had to sit down to model and program it in there

[@bonkboi420]

Its probably to keep everything consistent lol

[@Kalvinjj]

@@bonkboi420 It's ironic how it backfired in the end

[@aislingoda6026]

Worth mentioning: Originally OOT got it _completely_ wrong (red and blue on top, green and red on bottom, red faces opposite each other), and they updated it in the later revisions of the game to match the other logos in use. It didn't even match the logo on the front of the console!

[@eastbeast1379]

I never knew that was so much confusion for the Nintendo 64 logo. It's not as simple as their other logos like the GameCube.

[@eastbeast1379]

Yeah, that's true. It was the GameCube's start up, similar to the PS2, the Xbox Original and the Xbox 360 just to name a few. At least it made it easier for developers.

[@RikiZ8]

Wow that Tetrisphere logo looks soooo bad. They didnt even try xD

[@innersysteminbound7561]

RikiZ8 it was actually a really fun game

[@onekopaka]

The documentation from Nintendo you showed mentioned that developers could contact Nintendo to get an Alias file of the logo. (Alias being a 3D modeling package from back then) I dunno if maybe it did not have colors and it had only geometry data, but they could get access to a model it sounds like.

[@Kalvinjj]

Wouldn't doubt that they charged for the model

[@KalokesMysteries]

I love how the GameCube just did away with this problem by having its own console start-up animation.

[@jomarcenter]

plot twist: Nintendo did this on purpose as a secret social experiment.

[@NightFore]

I'm pretty sure this topic could even end up in some random IQ test on internet.

[@MeesterTweester]

Another video on this! So weird how complicated this logo is

[@robuxyyyyyyyyyy4708]

Yeah I wonder what they were thinking

[@FatherAxeKeeper]

File it under: stuff I never noticed in my 23 years of owning an N64 until Snooplax told me.

[@mawinstallation6626]

This explains it much better than the other video

[@Lovuschka]

You'd have thought it was some obscure trademark reason that didn't allow them to use the real logo. But it was just Nintendo not providing enough info.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

not allowed to use their logo for an officially licensed game allowed to produce a game that Nintendo puts on cartridge yeah, that makes sense

[@Lovuschka]

@@HappyBeezerStudios Who knows, they could have licensed the games but not their logo. Trademark law is complicated.

[@SenshiSunPower]

@@Lovuschka Then why would they be able to use the picture of the logo, but not a model?

[@Lovuschka]

@@SenshiSunPower I have no clue.

[@FezTheSpaceBiker]

Man, how the hell did anyone not catch that error on Top Gear Rally 2? You can clearly see it in the game itself!

[@PixelBytesPixelArtist]

please don’t use smooth shading on the N64 logo

[@Jamie-tx7pn]

I was bothered by this too lol

[@SnoFitzroy]

it gives it that "aged garbage" aesthetic lol

[@MrMoon-hy6pn]

Well it's the look that those old games had, so I don't blame him

[@mrowoknuckles4260]

The more I look at the thumbnail, the more my head hurts

[@masonschwalm2010]

0:22 The “Miyamoto” comment cracked me up 😆

[@dogboi76]

Wow I didnt even know it was deep like that with the different logos lol

[@AgentXRifle]

Rocking the Mario Party Jungle music... so good!

[@Lady8D]

8:04) This video is making me wonder if the developer did this as a result of their frustration trying to create the damn thing lol

[@NickJamNG]

I'm very glad this topic got a second video. I felt the first was lacking in background and explanation, and this one did a good job of both clearing up the confusion around the first video and expanding upon its topic in a more comprehensive manner. Good job.

[@jcags]

I wonder why Nintendo didn't ship their logo with their dev kits.

[@wariolandgoldpiramid]

Loved the subtle reference to panenkoek. Did anyone else catch that?

[@GrayFoxRJ]

The poor Lego game developer did what he could

[@WumpusFruit]

i never figured a weird shape would have so many inconsistencies across games

[@Hacks4AllVideos]

Snoop-L-A-X back at it again. Glad this is still going on!!

[@dego-mon]

The start of the video it sounded like Watch For Rolling Rocks .5 A Presses

[@gen157]

Definitely inspired by it.

[@EduardoKerrGames]

The most important questions actually is: What color is the bottom of the n64 logo?

[@wesnohathas1993]

The world may never know.

[@chaboki]

First vid I've seen and I already joined notification squad. Nice to see this kind of content!

[@dalemonshateu6948]

0:15 An A press is an A press, you can’t say it’s only a half

[@ptw315]

To answer that we need to talk about parallel universes.

[@dallen3000]

Ok TJ *Henry* Yoshi

[@TheDisarminghinkle]

The entire story of Conker's Bad Fur Day is a metaphor for Rare's frustration with Nintendo's game design decisions. They felt the entire concept of a collectathon was a bad idea (ironic considering that Rare made the best collectathons). Which is why Conker's Bad Fur Day is a game about collecting money which you never use resulting in Conker getting everything anyone could ever want, but losing everything he wanted. It culminates in a completely empty and soundless black screen followed by a really morose credits roll to say to the audience, "Congratulations, you collected everything in a video game. Here's what you get: nothing." So, starting the game by demonstrating the frustration and hatred they've built up for the logo over the years of using it is pretty hilarious.

[@MistaClean]

So this is why the switch logo is in black and white

[@devishaho3775]

Umm you mean red and white right?

[@Astrelixia]

well its kinda both

[@knownas2017]

Can still be drawn in Binary.

[@riverrapids438]

It's minor but "logo's" doesn't need an apostrophe

[@Snooplax]

Thanks I changed it

[@lepidotos]

@@Snooplax not just "doesn't need", straight up shouldn't have-an apostrophe-s ending is the possessive form.

[@aislingoda6026]

@@lepidotos which funnily enough is also redundant most of the time. apostrophes for possession are so pointless in fact that a few well-renowned authors refused to use them. it's believed that the reason we have it is by a mistake: either that people assumed that it was a shortening of his (Reese his pieces, Reese's pieces) or that it marked an elision of an e that used to be there in some, but not all, genitive forms, and later got added to all of them for no reason. so really I'd argue we should never have an apostrophe-s. it'd make it a lot easier.

[@F0nkyNinja]

@@aislingoda6026 It's for names that end with the letter S so you know that there is a possessive S at the end of it, like for example Johannes's. I guess it's to preserve the name because it'd look weird with Johanneses.

[@aislingoda6026]

@@F0nkyNinja Yeah, names are probably a good enough reason to keep the apostrophe, so you don't get confused on which part is the name 🤔 never thought about that

[@Sypaka]

Now it makes sense *why* Conker saws it in half.

[@OH.A.M.]

Now I have to open my Nintendo 64 and see if there's anything wrong in there.

[@Sly88Frye]

Honestly I feel like a video like this should not have my interest, but it's just so well done. It was a joy to watch from beginning to end and stroked my curiosity

[@BagOfMagicFood]

I guess it's just hard to wrap one's head around the lack of joined reds: The blue-faced Ns that have solid green on top have a green-red split on bottom, and the green-faced Ns that have solid blue on bottom have a red-blue split on top?!

[@NCG337]

i fucking died at the pannenkoek2012 refference once i realized what was going on xD love this, subbed!

[@Faygris]

Just for the fun of it I had to try creating a 3D version of the logo myself while watching this. And it was really easy to get it right. I don't know why so many artists failed there :D

[@wesnohathas1993]

Probably the artists not wanting to put too much effort into recreating a logo Nintendo should've given the assets for to begin with.

[@kyrette1666]

But first, we need to talk about parallel universes. Ok seriously was the intro basically a rewording if that? Since it really sounded like it lol.

[@circuit10]

Yes, it was.

[@mittenface]

Video appreciated!

[@Monody512]

If I made an N64 game, I'd be tempted to have the logo be a random one of these variants on each startup just to mess with anyone who noticed.

[@groszak1]

How would you randomize it in the first place?

[@Monody512]

@@groszak1 I assume the N64 has a pseudorandom number generator. If not, you could base it on the save data. It wouldn't be random, but it could be different every time.

[@DamianYerrick]

@@Monody512 PRNGs need a seed, or they'll return the same sequence every time. I know there is an obscure seed source in the NES PPU, for which I made a tech demo called "Pretendo". But I don't know if there's one in the N64 RSP (shader) or RDP (triangle filler).

[@Monody512]

@@DamianYerrick Alright, then the second method I mentioned above should work. Every time the game is booted, read a value in the save data, display a logo variant based on that, then write the value incremented by one. As long as the battery doesn't die and nobody takes the time to write down the whole sequence of likely at least 256 logos, it'd appear random.

[@BiigSnaxx]

I was watching this video and then my neighbor came and we watched it together. He said this video really changed his life and it touched my heart. My village people are so grateful. Am proud to say cool post wow thanks for sharing. Also Jerry says hi

[@technoguyx]

1:20 Top Gear Rally 2's like "fuck you I'll use an entirely different color altogether"

[@Ad-im1ne]

This vid made me go and model it for myself just to see if I could get it right. I can only assume they were crunching or the tools were shit to work with.

[@NovaDelta]

nice pannenkoek reference in the beginning

[@ekotedepoulet4014]

Why the fuck did you ask this question, now my brain has explode

[@HomerGumther]

I was kinda expecting it to be some sly anti-piracy thing Though finding out it was just guess work due to a lack of info is amusing

[@asomelord]

Honestly considering how many rules there were for 3d models of the N64 logo I'm shocked Rare got away with as much as they did. I imagine by Conker's Bad Fur Day they were just like "We made some of the best games on this system, we can do whatever we want." And Nintendo just gave up

[@framedthunder6436]

5:18 Playstation 1 startup

[@The90sGamingGuy]

I never noticed this at all in the games or packing lol.

[@minerbloxer6471]

Note: on the Wii virtual console, you don’t have to pause the game for too long, you just need to open the home menu and then exit it.

[@IndieLambda]

That logo was cool, but when I was a kid it always confused the fuck out of me, it almost looked like on of these wonky perspective stairs, you know the ones, where it intersects wrong yet does meet, an would be impossible to use in real life, if even build.

[@Krankie_V]

The Aidyn Chronicles logo was spinning the wrong way too haha

[@JanR1995]

The top gear rally 2 is pretty obvious I think, would have done exactly like that. In every side all three colors are shown in a rotating position equally to the rotation of the logo.

[@xana3790]

couldin't they just look at an official game with a 3d logo?

[@1Shuckle]

Why is this what explodes my mind

[@shawn_7413]

I always assumed most of these logo screens in games were just a pre-made asset they add in.

[@RainbowRoadCrashTest]

So for everyone who's confused as fuck. Here's a really simple formula on how to make the official N64 logo. Green face - Red on top. Blue on bottom. Blue face - Green on top. Red on bottom. The back face should be the same color as the front. About the right top side of the N and bottom left side of the N, you may ask. They are part of the back face of whatever is connected to, so should be the same color as the face it is connected to. Also the poles should all be yellow, including the bottom that's about it. My god, no wander Conker said it was a stupid logo. This is like Rocket Science or getting stuck on a error code on a script for hours until you realized you misspelled that code. No wander over a third of N64 games got the logo wrong. They should've just paste a picture of the logo instead as the startup, instead of a full 3d spinning N64 logo model if they're not sure about the coloring.

[@kfoley275]

This is the mandela effect, but actually real

[@d4m13nb3rry]

You should check the N64 logo in your channel logo. It shows the bottom colour as red also.

[@TheRealSeiferoth]

Aidyn Chronicles also broke the rules by having the logo spin the wrong way

[@0x8087]

I wonder if it would of just been best for the logo to just be the normal vectors being shown as color, that way it'll have the same end result

[@LucasLealDev]

rotate to the left (counter-clockwise when viewed from the top) I have a problem with that sentence because it can not be both. When turning to the left and viewed from the top, the logo spin clockwise.

[@trashmeme2328]

Conker's Bad Fur Day's logo was batshit crazy.

[@BAIGAMING]

A Powerpuff game on the N64? Seems like it must've been made when the N64 was being phased out, because I swear Powerpuff came out in the early/mid 2000's and would've been on the Gamecube rather than the N64.

[@princesscarol9404]

the first episode came out in 1998, two years after the launch of the n64 in 1996

[@boltstrikes429]

Oh my god I just realized the entire first minute of this video is actually "watch for rolling rocks 0.5xA presses"

[@dullicecream]

I had no idea there were even different models.

[@dominickcruz128]

0:22 miyamoto call you a idiot

[@Bit_Boi]

the all red bottom dose look better makes it have better colorspread

[@ArcRay20]

"in first party Nintendo games" *first references 2 games made by a 3rd party company* even if the logo is correct, it doesnt change who made the games and their assets.

[@daniellee4003]

Well, Rare were 2nd party at the time - iirc Nintendo owned a 49% stake in them - so they definitely weren't 3rd party. I do agree that it's a pretty silly mistake to make though, especially when Banjo and Conker have incorrect logos despite being also made by Rare.

[@JSwanson547]

Could you tell us more about the logo's dimensions?

[@japester5927]

woah

[@hectorj2496]

Well this is interesting i never see it (because i play n64 games in emulator, my firts videogameconsole is the playstation 1).

[@circuit10]

It should show up in an emulator

[@hectorj2496]

@@circuit10 i mean i never put attention in this...my bad

[@CuriousGuy_]

0:15 I get the reference

[@real_Furryratchet]

Why wasn't Nintendo offering an official 3D render of the logo? Instead they made a complicated logo and just giving a picture.

[@Coburn64]

At 2:08, what game showed the spinning Nintendo 64 logo if you left it paused for too long?

[@rezeldevezel7047]

it wasn't a game it was the console itself.

[@sentientricecake3125]

Tetrisphere's logo makes me feel sick

[@SuperBeastlyMario]

most sane nintendo 64 fan

[@runforitman]

2:30 0.5 revolutions per second is 30rpm not 16 what

[@Kalvinjj]

nintendon't math

[@ninjabaiano6092]

6:25 because it is a solid color and it looks strange and loses the 3d effect when you dont color it in a diferent color! Omho they needed another color to insides. On 9:46 it shows as if te N leg grows .

[@nate5862]

you sound like pannenkoek2012

[@backup368]

They made their sides red because red is the color aside form yellow that the logo lacks the most.

[@ShaggyRogers5348]

What happened to the n64 logo in monopoly?

[@kevinmonzel]

huh, neat.

[@Noxedwin]

Imagine being so upset with a guy talking about how games use the wrong logo that they have to write scathing KZbin comments telling him how he's a stupid moron, while ignoring the hundred-word essay he wrote in the description about why the logo might *look* like it's wrong to someone who isn't expressly looking for the reason why. I assume its misrepresentative of the kind of audience you have, but it makes your audience look like children who can't tell someone that they're wrong without also insulting them.

[@F0nkyNinja]

I'm starting to see the logo as a Z on its side...

[@creeperlamoureux]

N

[@RainbowRoadCrashTest]

@@creeperlamoureux A Z is basically a sideways N lol

[@creeperlamoureux]

@@RainbowRoadCrashTest ziztezdo

[@snowmanman4508]

I don't need sleep I need answers

[@yojoehojo4291]

The bottom actually alternates between red and blue if you look closely at the N64DD, Majora's Mask, or even Banjo... If we are going to be as pedantic as this video is.

[@jonnygulmatico9472]

I assume that Nintendo had blue because it contrasts with the green N.

[@crashoveride879]

For anyone interested here is the page in the N64 SDK manual with game submission requirements n64devkit.square7.ch/info/submission/ntsc/01-02.html

[@keiyakins]

I'm gonna put most of the blame here on Nintendo. The 3d logo seems to be underspecified.

[@lakim3017]

Colorblind people: N64 LOGO IS N64 LOGO!

[@draco18s]

You can even see the bad coloring on that one leg (red instead of green) for a few frames: i.postimg.cc/7hR8c9GX/redgreen.png

[@mynamehasspacesinit8687]

Why does the thumbnail look like a Mandela effect video?

[@Illegal_Immigrant]

Ohno, pannenkoek references

[@Dirakiaa]

Is this a reupload? I swear i saw this vid over a month ago

[@howdyhamster]

You basically did. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpy0ppuaZpKti6s

[@theputnamto3468]

moral of the story, as you can see, that red face, should be blue.