I've had enough hours to process this, and in all honesty, i'm just... completely indifferent to it.
I've come to dislike Analogue. After the runaway success of the Analogue NT, they've based their console releases and marketing on FOMO, their products aren't readily available if you're not fast enough, and they're starting to take advantage of scalpers in the most pure Nvidia fashion. They're even dishonest in their marketing claims, because they sell their consoles as only being compatible with real carts while, on the other side, they release unofficial jailbreak methods and firmware that allow rom loading.
And then, there's the controller.
When i read the news, what made me happy was, precisely, the controller designed and developed by 8bitdo. If there's something i love about them is that they've mastered the art of modernizing retro controllers while keeping them, well... retro. From the SN30 pro to the recent Neo Geo wireless, they've made me look forward to anything they release for retro games or based on retro consoles. The M30 is a masterclass on modernized retro design.
And then you fiddle a little with the contrast and colors on that new N64 controller, and it's this:
Literally a 8bitdo Ultimate Controller with the N64 layout slapped on the right side. This, Fami, is 8bitdo missing the fucking point, and Analogue going along with it.
Look, there's no way i don't know what people thinks about the original trident design, people has been memeing about it for years, but here's the thing:
There are games designed around this thing:
Yes, meme about it however you want, the reality is that most FPS in its library have control schemes designed to use the left style handling, that most 3D games have some traversing related mechanic mapped on the Z button, wich on these bastardised controllers is usually awkwardly designed, that the console has 2D games that
actually use the D-Pad, and that the D-Pad itself is surprisingly good - and chunky.
And what does 8bitdo, the company that designed the amazing M30, do? Just slap the button layout on their Ultimate Controller and call it a day.
And Analogue, a company that prouds itself in delivering the most authentic experience possible through their FPGA consoles, took it for their FPGA N64.
Ridiculous.
And well, after reviewing my feelings while i was writing this i realized i'm not indifferent to this reveal. I'm pissed. I'm fucking pissed. The N64 was the console that took me through my teenhood, and when it finally gets some love from not one, but two retro focused designers and manufacturers, one of them suddendly decides that my memories aren't worth shit, and you know what makes this worse? That even if they didn't want to go with the original design, there were still a couple of memorable controllers they could have taken as their baseline:
The N64 Makopad
And Hori's Mini Pad
Wich, by the way, was Retro-bit inspiration for their Tribute64, a flawed but ultimately great controller
But nope, 8bitdo had to take my memories, crumple them, throw them into the bin, drench them with alcohol and throw a match inside.
Rant over, i guess.
You can always buy a USB adapter. Apparently, the 8bitdo BT Adapter 2 is fully compatible, though you need to set up a profile with the ultimate software, and i didn't manage to get that to work. Admittedly, i only did some quick testing.