2.4G on Controllers for your Vintage Consoles 2020 Edition

Trinity

In 2019, 8BitDo released a unique product, the M30 2.4G.  This product was notable in that it was shaped like a Sega Genesis 6-button controller, used a wireless non-Bluetooth 2.4GHz protocol and came with a 9-pin dongle that worked on original consoles and cost only $25 to buy.  While not the first wireless controller for the Sega Genesis, it was the first from a noted controller manufacturer.  Now 8BitDo has released new controllers with the same price tag and functionality, the N30 2.4G and the SN30 2.4G.  I bought a pair the day before the launched and have had some time to play with them.  I'd like to share my thoughts on them in this blog entry.  (All photos used in this review hereafter courtesy of Amazon and 8BitDo.)

8bitdo N30

8BitDo is a Hong Kong company which has become well-known for its line of well-made Bluetooth controllers.  Their 8BitDo SN30 Pro and Pro+ are some of the best options for a Switch and they have even partnered with Microsoft  to bring an Xbox-styled controller for mobile gaming.  My first encounter with their products was with the NES30 controller which was included with the original Analogue Nt Mini.  The controller definitely felt well-made but the D-pad diagonals were too easy to activate.  This can be extremely annoying in games like Contra where Down means survival and Down + Right equals death.  I tried masking the sides of the contacts off with tape but it never felt even.  Using three hole punch stiffeners around the button contacts improved the controller a great deal and they were much easier to apply in an even fashion.

8BitDo M.30 2.4g

The next 8BitDo product I bought was the "M30 2.4G for SEGA Genesis & Mega Drive".  They also sell a "M30 2.4G for SEGA Genesis Mini & Mega Drive Mini" which comes with a USB dongle rather than a 9-pin dongle but uses the same controller.  The M30 was a better product than the NES30, the diagonals felt right and the latency was much better than Bluetooth.  8BitDo's Bluetooth dongles tend to give about 16ms of latency while the 2.4G adapter dongles give from 2ms-6ms of latency.  This controller works extremely well with the Analogue Mega Sg, it's home button will bring up the menu on that console.  It has L and R shoulder buttons which replicate the press of the Z and C, respectively on Sega consoles but behave independently via wired USB.  It can switch into the 3-button mode by holding down the Select/Mode button for three seconds.  You can hold down a button and the Star button to make that button turbo.  It can work as a generic USB controller when plugged into a PC or a Switch using the miniUSB to USB Type-A cable it comes with.  The battery life lasts a long time, I've rarely had to consciously charge mine.  The initial reviews of the pad were a bit mixed because of connectivity issues, but a firmware update fixed those.  Unfortunately you need a T6 security bit or screwdriver to update the receiver's firmware.

The M30 2.4G was released on February 28, 2019.  While this was good for Genesis owners, what about NES and SNES owners?  Where they to be left forever tethered to their consoles?  Well, on July 15, 2020, 8BitDo released their long-awaited N30 2.4G and SN30 2.4G controllers.  Purchasers of the Analogue Nt Mini Noir will also have an N30 2.4G included in their package.

The biggest question that people have asked is "are the diagonals fixed?"  This plagued not only the NES30 but also the original SNES30, which was their first bluetooth controller that was made to resemble a SNES controller.  8BitDo has discontinued these controllers and barely acknowledges it ever made them, almost certainly because they resembled the original NES and SNES controllers too much and Nintendo probably made threats of trademark and trade dress infringement.

The good news is that 8bitDo has improved the diagonals significantly, and they did this by changing the shape of the carbon contacts on the controller PCB.  8BitDo controllers with "basketball style" D-pad contacts will have loose diagonals.  8BitDo controllers with "semi-circle style" D-pads will have tight diagonals.  The N30 and SN30 have "semi-circle style" D-pad contacts.  The M30 has pads with a unqiue shape that looks like two tuning forks being placed against each other with one half of each fork enclosed within the other fork.  I have never read complaints about the diagonals on the M30, but the M30 has a more circular D-pad like original Genesis controllers so the diagonals should be a little looser than the NES and SNES pads.  From here I will talk about the N30 and SN30 controllers separately.

8BitDo SN30 2.4G

The SN30 resembles a SNES controller as exact as 8BitDo can these days.  It has the same number of buttons as a SNES controller and follows the mold established by the SN30 GP Bluetooth controllers and "SN30 2.4G and SF30 2.4G for SNES and SFC Classic Edition" controllers.  Only the Start and Select are positioned differently from a SNES controller.  This controller has no home button, so you will need the usual combination to bring up the Analogue Super Nt's menu. There is an SF30 version with Super Famicom-style button colors and shapes.  It does not have any way to set turbo on the buttons unfortunately.

8BitDo N30 2.4G

The N30 is slightly more unusual.  It has a few more differences to a standard NES-001 controller, it has a small home button and turbo B and A buttons.  It follows the "N30 2.4G for NES Classic Edition" and the N30 Bluetooth controller.  Unlike the N30 Bluetooth controller and the NES30 controller, it does not have shoulder buttons.  8BitDo also included turbo B and A buttons with its wireless gamepads for the TurboGrafx-16 Mini consoles and its PC Engine and CoreGrafx counterparts, even though the original TurboGrafx-16 and CoreGrafx controllers came with adjustable switches for the turbo.  I believe the turbo switch to be superior to the dedicated turbo buttons because their placement makes it odd when you want to use turbo for B and not for A.  However, it is not a total loss since if you want to use turbo while being stationary, the placement of the turbo button is good enough and it saves wear on your regular button.

The home button on the N30 corresponds to pressing Down and Select, so if you wish to use this to bring up the menu of your Nt Mini or EverDrive N8, make sure you set the appropriate button combination for those devices.  I wish the home button was in between the Start and Select buttons on the N30 as it is on the Turbo controllers, but it manages its function well enough.  The wireless dongle will work in an original NES or AV Famicom.

For either the SN30 or the N30, holding down the Start button turns the controller off and holding down the Select button while the controller is on puts it into pairing mode.  Just hold it close to the receiver and wait for the lights to stop flashing.  A SN30 will pair with an N30, but you will be limited to eight buttons, the N30 receiver will not transmit more.  I do not know if the N30 or SN30 2.4G Gamepads for the NES and SNES will pair with an 8BitDo USB dongle, but 8BitDo does not sell those dongles separately. 

Compared to an original controller, the N30 is essentially identical and size and just a tiny bit heavier than the original.  The SN30 is a bit flatter on the back than an original SNES controller and weighs noticeably more than the original.  The membrane is appropriately snappy on the N30 and SN30, but the button travel distance is greater than their original counterparts. 

Both the N30 and SN30 wireless dongles do not have screws holding them in, they use internal plastic clips and removing those clips will likely mar or break the enclosure.  I had no connectivity issues and found that the controllers pair instantly to their receivers after the Start button is pressed.  The buttons have a nice responsive feel to them, the build quality is excellent.  They work as wired controllers with their included lengthy, high quality microUSB to USB Type-A cables.  I have found 8BitDo's microUSB connectors, both at the cable and controller ends, to be rather durable compared to other cables.  The wireless receivers fit a tad more snugly than original Nintendo connectors, but they fit and make solid contact.  The battery life on the N30 and SN30 is not quite as long as the M30 because they come with 180 mAh instead of 480 mAh rechargeable batteries and 8BitDo estimates 18 hours versus 35 hours between charges.  The battery life is much better than the old NES30 pad.

There is another high-quality option for a wireless NES controller (and it is not the NES Satellite).  The RetroUSB Wireless Gamepad does not use Bluetooth, has a long battery life, low latency and separate turbo settings.  It uses micro switches for the D-Pad and action buttons, so it will have a different feel from a normal NES pad and these switches require significantly more force to actuate than the rubber membrane domes of a normal gamepad.  The controller also costs $65, almost 3x the price of the N30.  The batwing design is an issue of personal taste, I do not own the RetroUSB pad so I cannot comment on it.  There is a 3-D printed enclosure available to purchase which gives the controller a traditional NES pad shape.  The N30 will transmit over a greater distance than the RetroUSB, but at some point things start to become ridiculous and both controllers can transmit that far.

The Genesis also has a high quality non-Bluetooth 2.4GHz wireless option, the Joyzz from Krikzz.  This is a 6-button pad without shoulder or extra buttons, but has lower latency than the M30 on average.  It also works on the Master System and has a controller mode that works with Master System games that do not tolerate even a 3-button Genesis pad.  However, while it looks like a conventional gamepad and uses membranes unlike the RetroUSB Wireless Gamepad, it shares the price of that device, $65.

Another decent option for Genesis and Sega Saturn appear to be the Retro-bit wireless 2.4G Arcade Pads.  They are essentially the same pads (including shoulder buttons but somewhat different in shape) except one comes with a Genesis receiver and the other comes with a Saturn receiver, but for $34.99 each both come with a USB receiver.  So there is a lot of value here because they can work on consoles both old and new.  I am not a huge fan of Retro-bit and do not own these controllers but they carry the official Sega branding for what its worth and they get good reviews.

For some inexplicable reason, there is no other non-Bluetooth wireless SNES controller available for retro systems.  I tried using my M30 with MiSTer and the SNAC, but the button layout of a Genesis controller just did not feel right to me when it came to the SNES core outside of 1 on 1 fighting games.  Now I have an option to use a high quality SNES controller with MiSTer along with a Genesis and NES controller, so I will be getting more use out of MiSTer now.

I am not a big fan of Bluetooth, in fact I would go so far as to say for retro systems there is no place for Bluetooth.  Bluetooth is not a protocol designed for minimum lag, the protocol sends many more bytes over the air and requires faster MCUs to decode it to keep up with the simple multiplexers and shift registers of old controllers.  Bluetooth latency is all over the map, but it tends to be higher than dedicated custom wireless protocols.  Also, Bluetooth receivers consume more power than barebones wireless receivers tend to consume.  Your Bluetooth dongle may be sucking up 50-60mA whereas your wireless dongle is only sipping 0-15mA.

So in conclusion, do I recommend these 8BitDo controllers?  I would to anyone looking for a quality wireless controller solution for their original systems.  Are they perfect controllers? No, they each have little flaws.  Their build quality is first-rate, most of the flaws from the old models have been fixed, they have very little lag and have a long battery life.  The price is fair (especially the M30 at $19 right now), although as we see, competition is a good thing when it comes to pricing.