N64 Era

Change The System

Change the system was a short lived ad campaign utilized mainly for the launch of the N64. Playing on the concept of the games getting a complete overhaul, it was also meant as the player needing a new system to play these games. It still used that rebellious attitude from the Play It Loud campaign, but as a sort of oxymoron. This time, the kids here wanted to tell the world that they wouldn’t be confined to living and playing they way they are expected, but to do it the way they wanted to do it. This would fall in line with the new-found freedom prevalent in games like Super Mario 64.

Not much else to really say about the campaign. But for Nintendo, they were sitting rather pretty by this point. SEGA was faltering, and the Playstation was still trying to find it’s groove. After Change The System, Nintendo didn’t have a centralized campaign. They just made regular commercials with the spinning “N” at the end. But this respite would be brief as game developers kept jumping ship from the N64 to develop for the Playstation. Soon, hits like Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil were making some pretty huge waves that Nintendo couldn’t ignore. Nintendo slipped to #2, and they weren’t going to take this lying down. And so they presented an ultimatum to gamers: “Get N or Get Out.”