Nintendo DSi and N64 Games: Hardware Incompatibility Explained

No, the Nintendo DSi cannot play Nintendo 64 games.

Feature	Nintendo DSi (2008)	Nintendo 64 (1996)
CPU	ARM9 (133 MHz) + ARM7 (33 MHz)	MIPS III (NEC VR4300 @ 93.75 MHz)
GPU	None (2D engines + 3D via SW/limited HW)	Reality Coprocessor (RCP) - SGI 64-bit GPU
RAM	16 MB WRAM + 16 MB VRAM	4 MB RDRAM (8 MB w/ Expansion Pak)
Media	DS Card (Flash) + SD Card	Game Pak (Cartridge - Mask ROM)
Architecture	Dual Screen, Touch, ARM, Low Power	Single Screen, TV Out, High Power, 3D Pipeline

Instruction Set Incompatibility: ARM vs MIPS. N64 code cannot execute on DSi CPU.
No Cartridge Slot: DSi has DS/DSi card slot only. N64 carts are physically/electrically different.
No Emulation Capability: DSi lacks the raw power (especially GPU/RDRAM bandwidth) to emulate N60 in software. Even the much more powerful 3DS struggles with N64 emulation (requires VC injection per game, not general emulator).
No Official Virtual Console: Nintendo never released N64 games on DSi Shop.

Nintendo Switch + NSO Expansion Pack: Official N64 library (growing).
Wii / Wii U Virtual Console: Large library (requires Wii/Wii U).
Retro Handhelds (Anbernic, Retroid, Miyoo, Ayaneo): Run Mupen64Plus / ParaLLEl / Ares cores via RetroArch/Lakka. Excellent compatibility.
Smartphone (Android/iOS): Mupen64Plus FZ (Free), RetroArch. Good performance on mid-range+ phones.
PC / Mac / Linux: Project64, Mupen64Plus, Ares, simple64. Best accuracy/features.

The DSi is a wonderful DS player. For N64, look elsewhere.

Nintendo DS