An ultra-rare unboxed Nintendo 64 disk drive development kit appeared in a Twitter thread on @ReresTV. The kit, which was sent to Shane Luis for verification by a private game collector, is in mint condition, and the thread is genuinely happy with all the components out of the box.

Take a look:

The N64DD was designed to complement this kit and actually sits and locks under a standard N64. The software runs on a 64MB magnetic disk similar to a floppy disk, but more like a Zip drive than a standard 3.5" floppy; according to Looper, the N64DD can "import images from a TV, create 3D models and animations, and create F-Zero X-like included the ability to "create your own tracks for games.

The article notes that by paying a small monthly fee to an online subscription service named "Landnet," one could access the Internet and even share one's creations (wow). Unfortunately, this experiment did not work.

The failure of the N64DD and the ultimate scarcity of development kits resulted from several important factors. [The N64DD, which was supposed to be released in 1997, was not released until 1999. This was probably the main reason it did not become widely available.

By that point, the 1996 N64 had lost momentum, and "many of the games that would have bolstered N64 sales had either been previously released, cancelled, or moved to other platforms." During the time it took to launch, the N64DD was a flop, with the Sega Genesis, Dreamcast, and Super Nintendo 2 joining the party.

The N64DD sold only 15,000 units in total, and only in Japan. In the end, nine games and one utility disk were released.

It is safe to say that this ultra-rare development kit for the N64DD is a sight to behold, especially considering that the add-on itself was only sold in Japan and the packaging is in English. The instructions have been deciphered by the kind folks at Twitter.