GoldenEye 007 Almost Used This N64 Peripheral To Reload

Now that the classic "GoldenEye 007" has arrived on both Xbox platforms and the Nintendo Switch, players seeking to relive some good, old-fashioned, James Bond-fueled FPS action will be able to do so without digging out their Nintendo 64. Additionally, with its newfound time in the limelight, plenty of interesting tidbits about "GoldenEye 007" have come forth. Not the least of which is the fact that the game was, at one point, supposed to use an N64 peripheral in order for players to reload their in-game weapons. 

The latest ports have shown that "GoldenEye 007" has aged poorly and that getting modern controls on the Nintendo Switch in particular is a bit of a hassle. If the original title would have had a feature that required players to interact with an N64 peripheral, it would have undoubtedly made the creation of the Xbox and Switch versions even more challenging. Of course, it could have also made the original experience even more memorable.

It's difficult to imagine in the modern world of gaming, but there was once a time when video game controllers didn't vibrate. Explosions would happen on screen, and one's controller would remain completely still as a much less immersive piece of plastic. However, Nintendo changed the game in 1997 when it introduced the Nintendo 64 peripheral attachment known as the Rumble Pak.

This additional hunk of plastic slotted into the bottom of an N64 controller, took two AAA batteries, and, as the name implied, rumbled in coordination with the action of a game. Of course, the Rumble Pak wasn't nearly as elegant as the PlayStation 5 DualSense's game-changing haptic feedback, but it was a first step toward something that became common within the industry. If the developers behind "GoldenEye 007" would have stuck with their initial plan, the Rumble Pak could have been even more.

Thanks to an interview conducted between NowGamer and several of the original team members behind "GoldenEye 007," we know that during the title's development, there was a plan to have players use their Rumble Pak to reload. According to developer Steve Ellis, "At one point, we were going to have reloading done by the player unplugging and re-inserting the rumble pack on the controller. Nintendo weren't keen on that idea and I think it might have affected the pacing a bit."