Quite often nowadays talk of playing retro games drifts to emulators - and arguments over them - and services like the Virtual Console. Plenty still dust off their original (and surprisingly functional) systems, however, and there's a sub-industry of gadgets to help these retro gamers get the most out of their systems.
A rather neat device, for which 8Bitdo x Analogue have teamed up, is the Retro Receiver. Conceptually it's simple, though we imagine the mechanics behind it are rather clever - it allows you to use modern Bluetooth-based controllers on the original hardware (and clones such as the Analogue Nt).
To give some modern examples this includes the Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii Remote, and Sony's DualShock 3 and 4. Naturally it also supports 8Bitdo's controllers, many of which are recreations of classic Nintendo pads.
Another couple of notable features are that additional buttons on modern controllers are mapped as turbo buttons, and you can plug two of these into your NES for multiplayer.
It's a neat concept and only has a price tag of $19.99. The official website is listing Play Asia as the retailer, though at the time of writing there's no listing for it as yet - one to watch out for.
So, retro gamers, does this appeal to you?
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[source analogue.co]
Comments 28
It's here on Play Asia:
http://www.play-asia.com/retro-receiver-for-nes/13/70a2f7
Nice very cool.
So here we are trying to make out old console work with wireless controllers yet we want wired hori pads to get away from wireless due to latency on the current system.
Oh wow! This is really neat! Maybe not something I would buy. But something I'd definately look into.
Nah, wires are part of the charm unless your console is too far away of course.
Wait, wasn't there some kind of expensive third party wireless controller for the NES?
@SetupDisk Akklaim did it
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/videogamedatabase/images/3/3f/Joy017.jpg
That's pretty awesome. One of the most annoying things (for me) in going back to old systems is the wired controllers. I'm still kicking myself for never getting a Wavebird back in the day.
That's definitely a neat novelty for retro systems, quite a feat of engineering to be sure.
Nice to see that Play-asia happens to be selling those 8Bitdo SFC30 GamePads I've been eying, I may just indulge.
If I had a old school NES or SNES this would be awesome.
Why would I ever want to?
It's a cool idea, but I wouldn't want to play NES games with anything other than the dogbone controller. It's beautifully simple and extremely comfortable to hold, in some ways I think it's Nintendo's best controller.
Oh, finally! Wireless controllers for the NES that actually work! Only 30 years late.
I'd be interested if it was anything other than bluetooth. I find the tech to be laggy for this type of stuff.
Kind of odd. I prefer to play my old school games, with the old school controllers. Considering how many you can find in excellent, sometime, never opened shape, online,why would you want to use a new one?
Give me an NES Max or Advantage any day of the week to play NES games. Playing with a pro pad, or god forbid the terrible playstation controllers, just seems like a travesty on the NES.
No thanks.
@BulkSlash
That one is quite comfortable in your hands and clearly based on the SNES controller, which is also a damn fine controller. And they are tough. The SNES controller I have has a hole in it, near the top, because I threw it against the wall in a rage quit, in the mid 1990s, during its actual life cycle...yet despite the hole, it still works great to this day. In comparison, I've had to replace my PS3 controllers, TWICE, as they all eventually break.
How do spell Quality? N-I-N-T-E-N-D-O.
I miss the wired controlles just because you didn't have to charge/change batteries in the most inappropriate times. And we all know they don't last longer than a couple years, so, you're getting a dead controller at some point, because retailers won't sell these forever.
Could someone ease find out which way they mapped the B and A buttons? Usually these things are a let down because they map the buttons in the wrong direction. B should be mapped to the Y button, and A should be mapped to the B button (on the 8bitdo controllers/SNES style). This way you can hold down the run button and press the jump button at the same time, in platformers.
I have a feeling they just mapped B to B, and A to A though , making it useless for most anything but RPGs.
I might actually buy this. I'm not sure about if I REALLY need it for the NES. Maybe for the SNES. Yes, please for N64. I'd be a lot more inclined to hook my old systems up to my living room tv if I also had a wireless controller that works well.
Now that I know it's this "easy", I'm really surprised this didn't happen much sooner.
Very nice. Please review ASAP! They need to send you a review unit.
I dig this idea! But I can't endorse the NES30 pad pictured in their ads. After just a few months of minor use (plugged in as USB), the port that charges the thing fell INTO the device. Which was weird because it happened while the device was just sitting on my desk for a while. 8bitdo would not replace it but offered to fix it for 2/3 the cost of a new controller. The other two products of theirs I've purchased are still stellar, but if you're not normally an extended warranty dude, consider it.
I just ordered one of these and a FC30 from Play Asia. In hindsight, I should have bought an extra wireless receiver for my NES30.
@jbopatrick It uses B+A. I've always prefered this style for some reason. B/A on GBA, DS, Wii/Wii-U VC just feels natural to me. Just look at the NES Dogbone and Game Boy / GBA design. They slant the buttons lower left to upper right. I also always use "B" or alt control mode option when playing All Stars on SNES or New Mario Bros.
It's the B/Y pad layouts that feel awkward to me, but to each his own. Lots of gamers disagree with me and I'm perfectly okay with that.
Amazon (US) looks like they are getting this soon, and it will be $19.99 and available via Prime . . . .
I am drooling over 8BITDO's NES30 Pro . . . which Play Asia indicates could be used with the NES via the Retro Receiver . . . but first things first, I suppose.
I don't even unplug my PS4 controller...
@sleepinglion I've had an FC30 since December and it's still going strong. They did a good job with the pad's feel, but there are some unfortunate issues, and one known issue is weak charging ports that break. I recall that the company has revised hardware before, but have not heard yet about revisions for that. I should open up my controller and have a look at it.
@3MonthBeef agreed. nes games dont have a lot of complicated movement so the controllers developed for them are fine as they are.
The retro receiver is great concept, the support of multiple platform controllers is great, especially for those that have preference of a particular platforms pad for comfort such as the wii pro pad over the nes pad which can get quite uncomfortable when having a long gaming session. If they adapted this device for the famicom (utilizing the expansion port) that would be even better as the wired pad cables are very short, so wireless would be extremely beneficial.
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