In the late 90s, seeing a gold or silver border on an N64 box at the store meant one thing: you were looking at a masterpiece. The Player’s Choice program was Nintendo’s way of rewarding “Million Sellers” by re-releasing them at a budget price—typically $39.95 / £29.99 instead of the usual premium MSRP.
For collectors today, these variants are a fascinating piece of history, but they aren’t created equal. Depending on your region, you might find a perfectly matched set or a “mismatched” rarity that only exists on one piece of hardware.
The Silver Standard: Europe & Australia (PAL)
In PAL regions, the program was remarkably consistent. Moving away from the “Nintendo Classics” name used on the SNES, the European N64 Player’s Choice games are famous for their striking Silver (Platinum) borders.
Unlike the US, the PAL silver releases always featured a a “Silver Border” box. The cartridges and manuals however remained the same as their original releases.
Unlike the North American releases, which often featured a prominent “Million Seller” badge or logo on the front of the Gold Ribbon boxes, this claim was almost never found on the PAL box art. While the North American “Player’s Choice” program had a strict and public requirement—a game had to sell at least one million units to qualify—it remains unclear exactly what the requirements were in PAL regions. Because the European and Australian markets are fragmented into smaller territories, a game selling a million copies in just the UK or Germany was a much higher bar than in the unified US market.
As a result, some collectors believe the PAL criteria might have been different, possibly based on combined European sales or even simply “critical acclaim” and longevity. This lack of a “Million Seller” label on the silver-bordered boxes only adds to the mystery and allure of the PAL Player’s Choice library for modern collectors.
Throughout the lifespan of the N64, the following titles were officially inducted into the Player’s Choice library across Europe and Australia.
All European & Australian Player’s Choice Games
- 1080° Snowboarding
- Banjo-Kazooie
- F1 World Grand Prix
- F-Zero X
- GoldenEye 007
- Lylat Wars
- Mario Kart 64
- Snowboard Kids
- Super Mario 64
- Wave Race 64
Gold Ribbons & Mismatched Sets in North America (NTSC)
While Europe enjoyed consistency, North American collectors have to deal with the “mismatched” era of the Gold Ribbon releases.
Super Smash Bros. (The Boxless Wonder): This is the most famous NTSC exception. Super Smash Bros. received a Player’s Choice cartridge (with the gold logo on the label), but it never received a corresponding “Gold Ribbon” box.
WCW vs. nWo: World Tour: The opposite problem—this game has a confirmed Player’s Choice box, but the cartridge inside usually features the original standard label.
The “Sticker” Era: For titles like Perfect Dark, Pokémon Snap, and Turok 2, Nintendo (or the publishers) often skipped the reprint entirely, simply applying a gold “Player’s Choice” sticker to the existing boxes to clear out old stock.
Despite the chaos in North-America we have tried to make a comprehensive list of all NTSC Player’s Choice variants below.
All North-American Player’s Choice Releases
| Title | PC Logo on Box | PC Logo on Cart | Different Manual? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 007: GoldenEye | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1080° Snowboarding | Yes | Yes | No |
| Banjo-Kazooie | Yes | Yes | No |
| Bomberman 64 | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Bomberman Hero | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Cruis'n USA | Yes | Yes | No |
| Diddy Kong Racing | Yes | Yes | No |
| Donkey Kong 64 | Yes | Yes | No |
| F-1 World Grand Prix | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mario Kart 64 | Yes | Yes | Yes (Yellow cover) |
| NBA Courtside (Kobe Bryant) | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Perfect Dark | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Pokémon Snap | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Pokémon Stadium | Sticker Only | No | No |
| Star Fox 64 | Yes (Thin box) | Yes | No |
| Star Wars: Rogue Squadron | Yes | Yes | No |
| Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire | Yes | Yes | No |
| Super Mario 64 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Super Smash Bros. | No | Yes | No |
| Turok: Dinosaur Hunter | Yes | Yes | No |
| Turok 2: Seeds of Evil | Sticker Only | Yes (Grey Cart) | No |
| Wave Race 64 | Yes | Yes | No |
| WCW vs. nWo: World Tour | Yes | No | No |
| Yoshi's Story | Yes | Yes | No |
Join the Discussion
The world of N64 collecting is vast and full of regional quirks that are still being documented decades later. We hope this guide has helped clarify the differences between the Gold Ribbon releases and the PAL Silver Standard.
Accuracy is our top priority at Everything64. If you have found a variant we missed, own a copy that contradicts these findings, or believe there are any errors in our data, please contact us. Your input helps us keep this preservation project as accurate as possible for the entire community!
