Bitmap Books Is Launching 'N64: A Visual Compendium' This Year

I have a couple of Bitmap books; the Master System and Game Boy books. They never published the Mega Drive/Genesis one, I believe for legal reasons, which is a real pity as the Master System one is lovely. I will look into the N64 one as it is another of my childhood consoles.

Great sign that they're using a photo of Ness on the front cover... using promotional art from the SNES era... for an N64 book.

@bahooney is that not promotional art for the cancelled Earthbound 64/Mother 64? I thought when they were first working on it before they cancelled and shifted over to Mother 3 that Ness was originally shown in the game

@bahooney @darthmoogle Ness also featured in Super Smash Bros as an unlockable character. For gamers in the UK/Europe, this was the first time we encountered Ness as a Nintendo character, and was a gateway to the Earthbound series (not released here). So like darthmoogle, I don't think it is particularly controversial he is on the cover. "PK FIRE!"

@Hippolytus The closest we got to Ness in the cancelled EarthBound 64 is this image that bears a resemblance, but their true identity remains unconfirmed. No promotional art exists of Ness, only of Lucas and his family: https://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452033569e20120a6090dc2970b-600wi

@Darthmoogle An appearance in a spinoff game hardly warrants a place on the cover. If this was a Super Nintendo book, absolutely, but I think it's a stretch to associate the Nintendo 64's legacy with a series that never graced the console. By your logic, Samus should be on the cover too.

Another funny bit: the cover is going through the character/image names alphabetically. Kirby for "K," Red Shell for "R," etc. Hilariously, Link is for... Z? Why wouldn't they use Zelda?

@bahooney That specific image of Ness is from (or at least used in) the opening scene from Super Smash Bros., when the secret characters briefly pop up on the screen. (Note that they only appear as silhouettes, until you unlock them.)