Mario Kart 64 was first revealed in 1995 alongside the N64. The development team focused on best utilising the console's technology for smooth gameplay, rather than innovating significantly on its predecessor, in order to appeal to a wide audience. Developers were bounded by the N64's processing power and made use of rendering techniques to save on memory, and used car physics simulations to aid the game's kart design. Mario Kart 64 was released in late 1996 in Japan and in 1997 worldwide, months after the launch of the N64.