This Wireless Nintendo 64 "Pro-Style" Controller Is Hitting Stores Early Next Year

Isn't this, I dunno, 10 years too late?
Also the trident controller is a main staple of the N64 which I loved, so in my eyes this is just rubbish

No rumble support?

i always wonder what exactly is "pro" about some controllers?

Could do with a picture of the back of the controller really... where's the Z button positioned? I get how the analogue stick position would be better for GoldenEye, but the other buttons, including position of A and B and wherever the Z button is will all feel very odd.

It looks kinda ugly and it's missing a pretty important feature - analogue sticks, or if replicating the N64, just one analogue stick. Can't see this working well with those high performance title Goldeneye or Mario Kart

@FragRed it has an analogue stick?

While I might need some convincing on the layout, the idea of using a more modern analogue stick on my n64 (rather than the God-awful ones that the console had back in the day) is quite appealing. I'll keep an eye out for this one.

What a hideous monstrosity that is.

Cheap knock-off consoles have had nicer controllers than this.

For everyone saying it's ugly. It's a carbon copy of the Hori pad,which people love.

If the N64 Classic ever happens, it's going to be weird picking up that dog toy of a controller again.

I still have my N64, but I wonder how well something aimed at such old console would sell.
At least it can connect to a PC and others through bluetooth

This is great and all but I would’ve preferred this idea on a original Nintendo 64 controller

@1UP_MARIO Agreed. Surely, if the N64 Classic is happening, Nintendo will put in a quality analogue stick in place of the old type? It just makes sense.

@jtmnm I played GoldenEye with a few mates a few weeks ago for a solid 3 hours or so and I was surprised by how comfortable the controller felt. I don't know whether it's just because of how much time I spent playing N64 back in the day that it just clicked into place, or whether it's because I currently play Switch handheld most of the time (which is fine, but obviously less comfortable than pretty much any controller) but even so, it holds up pretty well. Slap a decent analogue stick in place of the one they had originally and it'll be a perfectly good controller.

I love the trident. Not the most comfortable controller in the world, but I would feel dirty playing GoldenEye etc. with anything else.

This looks ugly.

Honestly if somebody made an N64 controller I could use in Smash Bros Ultimate I'd be all over that!

Meh. Hyperkin doesn’t have the best track record. I wonder if you can pair the receiver with 8bitdo’s N64 controller. 8bitdo made a Bluetooth N64 controller, but no receiver for an actual N64, which is just baffling.

I’ll probably just wait for the N64 mini, which should provide more options for accessories.

I was at Digital Kids in Manchester yesterday playing GoldenEye against some kids in a queue to play an Unreal Tournament 3 LAN tournament and it was interesting watching them try to figure out how to hold the N64 pad.

Hopefully if Nintendo ever release an N64 Mini they’ll do without the trident controller.

@Bunkerneath
I'd even say 20 years to late. But yeah, as impractical as the original controller is, it will always be the best N64 controller to me.

I'd love any option that lets me play the old n 64 games again. Banjo tooie, mario party 3, diddy kong racing...sign me up!

Bulbasour wants its curves back.

Would be neat if it could connect to the Wii U; say what you want about the design, it's probably a better controller for games like DK64 than the Wii U Gamepad or Pro Controller.

@garfreek You do realise this is just a controller, not the console itself

6 hour battery life, and no USB-C in 2019, is a no buy from me. I really don't get why every device does not use a type C port at this point. It's backwards compatible, you can still ship with a C to A cable if they are really worried about compatibility, and it adds no cost.

As someone who loved the N64 growing up, it has only been in recent years that I have learned how much people dislike the controller. I only talked to people at school and around town about it when it was relatively new, and I don't recall people hating on it then. But that could have just been a fluke in my town.

@Heavyarms55 At the time, most people I knew found it hard to use at first but once they got used to it, there was never really any discussion about it. I think looking at it retrospectively with the PlayStation Dualshock, Xbox pads and most recently the Switch Pro controller and I can see why people are scratching their heads a bit and fearing using it... As I said in an earlier comment though, it still feels good when I used it recently.

@nocdaes No need for a Z button if the L button is in easy reach.

If it will let me backup my N64 saves to the pc with a decent support, I'm absolutely gonna buy it.

@Unblowupable5 You couldn't use a memory card with that pad either.

I would love to have a wireless controller for the 64 but I would prefer to keep the 64 design.

@jtmnm I recently played SM64 on an original console and the controller plays as it ever did (spectacularly well!!!)

@FragRed Look at the picture again...

Brilliant. I'm all over this. I truly have nothing against the OG controller, but I'm always open to controller options. My only hope is the stick has the proper dead zone settings. Even Nintendo had issues with N64 games on the Wii U VC.

Perfect for N64 emulators.

@Atariboy @Buizel Thanks. I don’t know why I didn’t spot that first time. Think I was expecting it in the bottom centre like the original N64 controller had. I guess it makes way more sense where it is in this version.

@HalBailman Yep, it's an option. It would need to be customisable for left handed players (so can swap it to the right shoulder button). Not sure if it would feel right... shoulder buttons work well as a trigger on, for example, PlayStation's Dualshock but that's because they're a bit chunkier and a bit lower down I think?

This is great! I’ve been planning on getting an N64, but I hate the original controller due to the low quality stick it has. This looks great. Can’t wait to pick one up.

Does anyone remember that Goldeneye 64 could be played with two controllers, one in each hand, for dual-analog stick control using the middle prong of the two N64 controllers?

That had to make it one of the first (or the first) dual analog stick shooters on console?

Did anyone actually play that way? And did any other games attempt this?

@Balta666 Rock on. I'd cast any concerns aside if I could play SF64 again regardless. It's probably not as bad as I'm imagining anyway.

@nocdaes I think playing the Switch in handheld mode is pretty comfortable. Back in the day, I sank seemingly countless hours into the trident too. Maybe it's just the idea of it that's off-putting. I haven't touched one of those things in well over a decade.

make this look more like the original N64 controller, make it a watermelon, orange, or blueberry color, and I'll take it.

@timson72 More like spiritual successor, as they are not identical, with possibly a better D-Pad. But you can't blame folks for trusting Hori and being distrustful of Hyperkin....

This looks wrong. Like a cyclops baby.

I always felt the N64 trident was one of the stupidest controllers ever made. That 3rd grip makes no sense whatsoever, nobody has three hands. The only thing worse is the WiiMote, never understood how people can sit around and play games with a TV remote. Both are terrible controllers. This new Hyperkin controller is what the N64 controller should have looked like all along.

HORI might have somehting to say about it unless the design patent has expired.

@SuperWeird They did. This is simply a copy of the HORI gamepad released at the time.

@SuperWeird tbh the Wiimote was super comfortable to use. It only got ugly when they wanted you to use it like a NES controller.

It’s nice to see a few others in the thread defending the N64 controller. I’ve been regularly playing on my N64 since getting an Ultra HDMI installed and I still love using it (I also like the Dreamcast controller so maybe I have weird hands?)

If the analogue stick on this controller is good it might be worth a look, but let’s be honest, I think Nintendo are the only ones to ever make good N64 analogue sticks, the rest just never work right.

I prefer the 3 prongs, if nothing else because it made it so easy to play through Waverace 64 one handed, using just the middle one.

@Buizel You should watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3GYtAyRCOo. It's from an (awesome) youtube channel dedicated to retro gaming, and this particular video deals with N64 replacement sticks. IIRC they had some reservations on how modern sticks perform on N64 games due to how the games were designed. Definitely worth a watch if you are interested in better N64 sticks.

EDIT: It's now how the games are designed, but how the sticks perform, I just rewatched to make sure.

@holygeez03 I tried it a couple of times, but I defaulted to the even less popular setup-- D-pad for movement/strafing, analog stick for aiming.

@BulkSlash Modded my original with parts from Steel Sticks and it never felt so good.

@timson72 Just looked... $125 for the entire module. Ouch! Still, I would if I could.

I like the N64 controller. Maybe I'd be intrested if it were a wireless controller with the original design.

Cool ... but can be better with analog C-stick :-/

@holygeez03 It was Alien Trilogy on PS1 that used dual analog first iirc, at least for a FPS.

EDIT: it was Alien Resurrection i was thinking of

So I guess I can count on replacing my Docs controller.

I'll stick to my wired Retro Fighters N64 Pad I backed on kickstarter

I played my N64 to death back in the day, even rounding out my catalogue in the 2000s when the games got real cheap 2nd hand. But I'd swear that I never once in my life touched the D-pad. That extra prong was nothing but a failsafe in case this analogue thing didn't catch on.
Beautifully iconic though.

@timson72 That’s good to know, every alternative N64 stick I’ve tried over the years has disappointed. I’ve been nursemaiding my old green N64 pad I’ve had since the ‘90s by using compressed air to blow debris out of the bowl and for a while it feels great.

Where is my 3rd hand supposed to go?

I need to look around for a size comparison. The problem the hori version had was it was seemingly made for tiny hands. If these has the same issue, it's a non-starter regardless of how ugly or pretty it is.

@Bunkerneath Considering its bluetooth, and the N64 mini is almost certainly coming next year, we should be able to sync it to an N64 mini with one of 8bitdo's classic system/wiimote bluetooth receiver adapter. Let's be real, as iconic as the trident controllers are, they are a mess and have aged horribly. I'm honestly hoping that when the N64 classic does launch, that the official controllers that launch with it are revised at least in some way, even if they don't change the overall shape, getting rid of the memory card slot on the back of the controllers and implementing a proper joystick that can last longer than a few years would be welcome, though I'd still like a wireless option like this, ideally with a form factor like or similar to this one's.

@bigcalsworld That is a nice controller. I do have to admit having a wireless N64 controller does sound appealing though. It is all about the price. I'm game My N64 library and grown quite a bit and gaming on my N64 via my HDTV is a lot better since I found a better way to connect my console to my flat-screen. Could this mean the N64 Classic is just around the corner?

Personally I always loved the original N64 controller shape and I never liked it when people get away from that design.

I love me some N64, but I don’t no about this lol

@Unblowupable5 8bitdo made the n64 controller for emulation with PC, It is a little strange to make a bluetooth controller purely for emulation and not official hardware at all like the rest of the 8bitdo lineup.

I'm gladly replaced stock controllers by four Hori mini-pads, they're so much better in almost all titles excluding those rare ones which require a d-pad controls. But this replica is just a big NO, looks so cheap, will stick with my Hori set.

It looks like an ugly boomerang. I bet if you try to toss it away it will eventually come back to you!

I'm torn on this. I love the classic trident controller, its art. But this is strangely similar to the Hori mini 64 controller and I'm intrigued. I may just pick one up if the price is right, but I'm guessing it will be pricey.

This is actually huge, there aren’t many decent original controllers left as the analogue sticks are all worn out and the clone controllers so far have been absolute bobbins. Even if thes are just ok and get the job done I’m getting a few!

@Gorfvic20 If your stick is still fairly tight,just adding the steel bowl will do wonders.

This is the furthest I strayed from my trusty trident;

@Bunkerneath ...nah. Retro companies make controllers of retro consoles all the time.

@timson72 Good to know. I've also had pretty good luck with lithium grease in the existing bowl.

@Bunkerneath yes, but the control stick is so poop, that I can't play anymore! So a good working controller does wonders ^_^

@garfreek The bowl is the biggest problem and that's where the white dust comes from not the stick.

Oh cool! Looks grea-- and it's by Hyperkin. Never mind.

@holygeez03 This was something I discovered fairly recently, certainly long after I had stopped playing GoldenEye. It was buried in the controller setup, and since most of my playtime was multiplayer, I never found it. I also never realised the 64 character cheat was characters based on the development team.

Speaking of N64 cheats, I also recently discovered the Turok all weapons cheat (nthgthdgdcrtdtrk) stands for "On The Eighth Day God Created Turok"... but with all the vowels removed, and a "Y"! I still had full recall of the code without knowing the phrase, but thought it was cool. No idea what happened to the "Y" either, by the way.

There are a few other N64 games that utilised the 2 controller single player setup, that I've only stumbled across long after playing... Star Wars Episode 1 Racer had a cheat code that allowed you to play with 2 controllers (to manage the throttle's separately), and Perfect Dark had the setup (makes sense as it was essentially GoldenEye's spiritual successor).

@nocdaes
Cheat codes that involved the dev team were somewhat common back in the day... the first instance I recall is NBA Jam, along with Bill Clinton.

Cheat codes including phrases with missing letters or initials were also somewhat common... my first recollection is Doom II... very good memories of the Doom and Turok cheat codes.

A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y!