Topic: Is it harmful to keep N64 on for long periods of time up to several hours?

Just want quick assurance, I recently purchased an N64. After gaming, I forgot to turn the console off and left it on for several hours overnight while sleeping. Can this cause any harm or damage to the console? I surely won't make this mistake again lol. Cheers! (I'm fairly new to older consoles.)

Probably not. The N64 has a stupidly big heatsink in it for a chip that basically needs very little colling because of how downclocked it was out-of-the-box. If you bought a used unit though, you may want to take a look inside to see if it's not dusty/has dead roaches and the like, as those things tend to make a system run hotter than otherwise.

The only hot point on an N64 is the expansion pak if it is equipped with any, but I've never heard of it being a failing point in the system.

Heat can be a problem over long periods of time, but the n64 doesn’t run that hot. Turning it on and off probably does more wear and tear ‘damage’ to circuitry than leaving it on tbh.

Anyone remember leaving their Nes on all night before back up batteries were common in games? I'd be playing Ninja Gaiden and didn't want to have to start the game from the beginning so I'd leave it on. I've never known an N64 to overheat. Those things were built though! Plus theirs no disc drive so it doesn't get very hot. You should be fine.

Um, I left mine on for a week when OoT came out and it worked fine. My mom spilled soda on it a decade later, which is why I don’t have it, not standard mechanical failure. I’m pretty sure you are fine.

Hmmmm being overly paranoid about something that is obvious. It's been awhile but you earned a Zoidberg

Thankyou to everyone who replied! Your input is appreciated.

I did this in 2001. It still works to this day.

You should unplug the power supply when you stop playing. It can get very hot and explode or damage the console, especially if you already used the cable for many years or it's a 3rd party product.