News Retro-bit's Officially Licenced SEGA Controllers & More Sega Style Pad Talk

[Alextended]

Retro-Bit® to Unveil First Wave of Officially Licensed SEGA Products at Gamescom 2018
Retro-bit doesn't have the good rep of other controller manufacturers like 8BitDo (which has a fair share of detractors mind) but they might be doing something pretty awesome. Their upcoming line of officially licensed SEGA controllers have wired and wireless variants that work with the original consoles or as modern USB controllers but have the exact same look and hopefully feel and quality of the original stuff. They have Genesis/Mega Drive and Saturn style controllers in the pipeline and I think I had also seen Dreamcast controllers in one image but I might be misremembering if they're not scheduled for a later wave of releases. Additionally they will also offer controllers that have SEGA's old school style and 6 face buttons but with dual analog sticks and other additions to bring them on par with any newer gamepad. Here are some new unboxing videos of the Genesis/Mega Drive and Saturn controllers in both original system and USB variants.

For now the looks are spot-on but we'll have to wait and see for some actual impressions by people who will be able to tell us how they stack up. Their pricing is going to be very competitive, between 15 and 25 dollars depending on the not-fancied-up wired model and for now an unknown ballpark for the wireless and twin stick versions. I'm already giddy with a mix of nostalgia from my childhood and hype for the quality just by seeing that black Saturn controller, never mind actually getting to hold one in my hands once they're proof tested. Either way, finally and until otherwise proven there's a promising alternative to Hori's Fighting Commander gamepads. Maybe the 6-equal-buttons of the Commander are for some better than the weirder smaller x y z of the Saturn but on the other hand, if the d-pad on these is as good as the original, for me it will be the overall better choice even before considering the much, much lower price.

It would have been sweet if for the modern layout they used the Saturn 3D Control Pad's analog stick and analog triggers but they don't seem to be doing that.

Post automatically merged: Feb 24, 2019

8BitDo is jumping on the 6 face button and SEGA-style d-pad craze (lol, as if) with their M30 controller as well for those who trust them, for ~30.
www.8bitdo.com/m30/

And here's a picture of Hori's latest Fighting Commander models that I was considering before these were announced as everyone says they're pretty great.

 

[SSPssp]

I'll get the CoolPad Saturn controller since I've always had the American Model 1 Saturn controller and want to try the Model 2 (Japanese Original) one. If its good $20 is a great price!

 

[fsdood]

I always hear how the Saturn D-pad is so good for 2D games/shmups so hopefully they don't mess that up.

 

[Tizoc]

No 3 button only MD controller? :S

 

[Alextended]

These are all available for pre-order on euro-amazon stores now. I use this site to price compare between them.
Compare prices for Retro-Bit Official SEGA across all Amazon European stores
I did the search and was ready to cave and order the Saturn USB black pad then saw they're releasing in April rather than now. Oh well.

The 8BitDo M30 is beating them to the punch with a March release but I find it quite ugly so as an impulse buy I'd have gone for the original's clones.
Compare prices for 8BitDo M30 across all Amazon European stores

Here's the latest Fighting Commander I considered for posterity.
Compare prices for Hori fighting commander Wired across all Amazon European stores

Of course 8BitDo offers other things, their pad appears to be bluetooth only but also work with many more devices out of the box, while the only bluetooth option from Retro-bit is the one that has the extras like the twin analog sticks and therefor costs more (on par with a wired Fighting Commander that doesn't have those extras). Edit: my bad, that's designated as Retro-bit's Saturn PRO controller, they have another Saturn bluetooth pad which is cheaper and likely is the same as the wired Saturn USB pad in every other way and therefor much like 8BitDo's offering. I missed it because it didn't have a picture on Amazon.

I just want a great d-pad wired 6 face button pad for Saturn, Neo Geo, CPS and other emulators or modern fighting/shmup/whatever 2D games don't need analog sticks and extra buttons. I was longing for and almost bought a Fighting Commander before but these change the landscape. I'll wait for reviews

 

[freshVeggie]

Eh, why did they make a picture of one with 2 dualsticks but don't produce them?
That one looks the coolest.

 

[Alextended]

Huh? Those are available for preorder like all the others. My mistake in the last post was thinking that's their only bluetooth gamepad when that's just their PRO bluetooth gamepad and they also have a non PRO regular bluetooth gamepad without sticks and such after all. If you're referring to what I said in the opening post, I was just saying the analog sticks & triggers don't seem to be like the old Sega Saturn 3D Control pad's. Not that they aren't gonna be made at all.

 

[Alextended]

The same channel that did the unboxing for the Retro-bit pads also got 8BitDo's M30. It mentions it comes in bluetooth and wireless 2.4GHz variants.

As always, it looks solid as a first impression but we've yet to see any actual in-depth reviews for any of this stuff.

I'm also reading the youtuber's comments on these videos and he mentions the Retro-bit stuff are really great and that the company appears to have upped its quality like 1000% as from interviews and stuff they've done they knew they'd get a lot of backlash if they botched this license. Fingers crossed until reviews...

I've edited the thread title since I guess I talked about the 8bitDo and Hori options for 6-face-button gamepads almost as much. Anyone else?

 

[Alextended]

Gameplay test of the 8BitDo M30 from that same channel.

Gameplay test of the Retro-bit SEGA Saturn controller as above.

NintendoLife reviewed the Retro-bit Mega Drive & Saturn pads:
Hardware Review: Retro-Bit's Sega Genesis And Saturn Pads (Mostly) Hit The Right Spot

First things first, the rolling D-Pad on both pads is utterly, utterly superb. It's responsive and comfortable to use and is arguably the dream interface for games like Street Fighter. Because it rolls smoothly, executing those quarter and half-circle inputs is a breeze. This is perhaps one of the hardest aspects of a controller to properly nail, and Retro-Bit has passed with flying colours.

Retro-Bit has come under fire in the past for cutting corners on some of its products, but it's clear that this collaboration with Sega is a matter of pride for the firm; both of these controllers have been designed and manufactured to the same specification as the pads on which they are based, and offer Sega fans a viable means of replacing their ageing controllers without having to pay through the nose on the secondary market. The slightly different feel to the Saturn controller's buttons – and the (hopefully) limited issue we had with the black Saturn pad's Start button – count against it, but in practice, these are a dream to use and well worth a look if your existing pads have seen better days.

Sounds like these are great quality, the d-pad at least is spot-on according to them and their reservations for other aspects are pretty damn minor so, want!

 

[SSPssp]

Sweet! Going to get one for my Saturn once it comes back into stock at Amazon!

 

[Alextended]

More Retro-bit pad testing with their own mini classic style system that comes with a bunch of popular legally licensed games.

 

[Alextended]

I preordered a Retro-bit Saturn USB pad last night from Amazon DE as I wanted some other stuff and figured I'll get them combined, it's so cheap too! I'll mostly use it with Saturn and other emulators and modern retro games, fighters etc. I hope they don't ship later than the intended date.

I just googled to find more reviews and Destructoid's came up.

Review: Retro-Bit Licensed Sega Genesis/Sega Saturn Controllers

Genesis Does You never forget your first favorite controller. Mine was a Sega Genesis controller I got from the video...

www.destructoid.com

The real king here is the d-pad. The original Japanese Saturn controller's d-pad was exceptional, and Retro-Bit's pad feels identical. Since I have several to play with, I made sure to compare them between one another. Generally speaking, I have noticed a few times small differences in quality between products of the same kind from third-party manufacturers, but here, that was absolutely not the case. They were all masterfully built, consistent, and as far as I can tell, spot-on to the original design, with a generous 10-foot-long cable to boot.

This is a little shocking to be honest because while I like Retro-Bit as a company, and have enjoyed some of its products, I didn't expect accuracy or build quality on this level. I played some of the toughest games at my disposal, some requiring frame-perfect input, and even did a speedrun of Ecco the Dolphin. And there was not a flaw to be found here. I don't know the manufacturing process behind them, but I am convinced that Retro-Bit simply got all the molds for the original design and just built them as if they were new old stock. They are that good.

Retro-Bit, simply put, has developed the only aftermarket Genesis and Saturn controllers worth buying. If you love these controllers, and if your own are worn down or if you want a good USB input option, I cannot recommend these highly enough.

If I love it then maybe when it's time to replace my DualShock4 for modern PC game use (if ever?) I'll get their own Saturn-with-analog-sticks pad, if it can work wired also, since it only costs a bit more than a Hori Fighting Commander which only has classic inputs like Retro-bit's cheap stuff.