Nintendo 64

The Nintendo64 was the first console that offered serious 3D graphics processing. It had an unusual development, the result of a partnership between Nintendo and Silicon Graphics, and the system was based on technology used in Silicon Graphics high-end MIPS-based workstations, using a custom R4300i chipset - and the entire system retailing less than $300, was a remarkable feat at the time. As such, the system was far ahead of it's time. The casing was a very durable, hard plastic design, cart, instead of CD based, and featured an unusual controller that was ergonomically superior to anything before it - and turned out later, ideally suited to first person and fighting games. The Nintendo64 enjoyed a long life, and several historically significant games developed natively for the system that remain to this day benchmarks in game design.