In an age where console generations are separated by frame rates and iterative rendering advancements, it's hard to overstate how dramatic the leap from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 felt back in 1996 — going from 2D side-scrollers to 3D open worlds was truly mind-blowing, to say the least.
Well, you'll soon get a chance to relive gaming's 64-bit glory days (or experience them for the first time) thanks to the highly anticipated Analogue 3D retro console, which was fully revealed today after being announced at the start of the year.
The Analogue 3D comes to us from the makers of the hugely successful Analogue Pocket handheld, which is capable of playing every Game Boy cartridge ever released at crisp QHD resolutions.
Taking the Analogue Pocket concept to the next level, the Analogue 3D is "100% compatible with every original N64 game ever made," meaning it's region free and PAL or NTSC formatting is of no concern. So if you've been holding on to your N64 game collection, it's time to blow the dust out of those cartridges*.
Described as a "reimagining of the N64", the Analogue 3D can upscale Nintendo 64 games to 4K resolution via HDMI — or "10x the resolution of the original N64", as explained on the Analogue website.
And because it's been engineered completely on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) integrated circuit, the Analogue 3D will play your N64 cartridges natively without any emulation. As explained by Analogue, that means "no more incompatibilities found in software emulation like input lag, graphic/audio inaccuracies, timing/frame rate issues and more."
Of course, the original N64's polygon rendering relied on CRT television technology to make its textures and shading more convincing. To recreate this feeling, the Analogue 3D offers 'Original Display Modes' which are said to be "virtually indistinguishable recreations of CRT displays," only output at 4K.
The Analogue 3D offers four original-style controller ports, along with Bluetooth LE support for wireless controllers, and dual-band Wi-Fi capability.
Speaking of controllers, Analogue has collaborated with renowned third-party peripheral manufacturer 8BitDo on a new 8BitDo 64 Controller — a Bluetooth gamepad which recreates the classic D-Pad, C-buttons, A/B buttons and joystick in the exact same size and layout as the original N64 controller.
The 8BitDo 64 Controller has been modernised in two ways, though: it offers a Hall-effect joystick, meaning no possibility of stick drift, and the controller's grips are two-pronged instead of three, with the joystick now situated on the upper left side of the controller, similar to the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.
Priced at $249.99 (around £192 / AU$374), the Analogue 3D will be up for pre-order exclusively from the Analogue store from 8AM on Monday, October 21 (PDT) with a release window of Q1 2025. The console will be available in Black and White color variants.
Judging by the popularity of its Analogue Pocket handheld, which was very hard to get for years after release, you'll have to act fast if you want to secure the Analogue 3D console for yourself.
*Blowing into cartridges is not recommended, as the moisture can cause the cartridge's contact pins to corrode.
