This N64-powered VR setup is the opposite of an Apple Vison Pro

By James On Mar 14, 2024

Most tech makers are on an endless quest for upgrades – always looking for higher frame rates, pixel counts and processing speeds, in a lighter, sleeker form factor – but a select few choose to look back. And so we got a Nintendo 64-powered Oculus Rift setup that’s pretty much the antithesis of the Apple Vision Pro.

It’s the latest project from James Lambert – previously known for the Portal 64 demake that aimed to bring the classic Valve game to Nintendo’s 1996 console – and in a video shared on his YouTube channel, he explained he explains exactly how he managed to create this unlikely VR connection.

The first step was choosing the right VR headset. Lambert chose the Oculus Rift DK1 because the tracking is “relatively simple” – there are only a few sensors in the headset – and they can all pass data via USB – which works great with Lambert’s custom N64 USB adapter.

He was then able to easily output video from his modified N64 to the headset via an HDMI cable running between their HDMI ports. And while the DK1 has a very low resolution of 640 x 800 pixels per eye, Lambert jokes that this “isn’t the sticking point here” while gesturing with the N64.

Another unavoidable problem is that while the Oculus Rift can read sensor data at a rate of about 1,000 samples per second, the N64 setup Lambert used can only read data at a rate of about 60 samples per second. But after calibrating everything as best he could, Lambert was able to send semi-accurate tracking data from the headset to the legacy console.

Lambert goes into much more detail in his 10-minute video on how he made the setup work despite these technical limitations, and it’s definitely worth a watch – but the TL;DR is, although the Rift can indeed run on an N64 running, the end result is not a VR experience you would actually want to try for very long.

A technical feat that we do not want to experience

The phenomenally low resolution – just 320 x 480 pixels per eye – gives the world a very grainy appearance. This combined with the input delay when turning your head and the low frame rate makes the whole thing “quite motion sickness-inducing”, according to Lambert.

Another disappointment was that he failed to complete the Nintendo experience by getting the Power Glove to work with the Rift-N64 setup – having previously managed to get the portable NES controller to work on the N64 in a last video. Lambert seems keen to continue tinkering with his N64 VR setup, but perhaps that’s an upgrade we’ll see in version 2.0.

Unfortunately, as with other modded hardware projects, you can’t buy an N64 VR rig yourself – unless you’re willing to spend a lot of time recreating Lambert’s mods. But even projects as eccentric as this are an engineering marvel, and we’re curious to see what strange hardware will power a VR setup next – following in Doom’s footsteps, we might see a lawnmower powering a Valve Index, or some other console will enter the mix with a PSP with a PlayStation VR headset.