Exactly one year since the announcement – in keeping with Analogue’s tradition of announcing major events on October 16 – information is emerging about the price, pre-order and shipping dates of Analogue 3D, the boutique clone maker’s version of the console with the flavor of the Nintendo 64. First, the bad news: although last year in announced a 2024 release date, Analogue fans won’t be surprised to learn that it has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2025. Good news: pre-orders start next week, October 21 at 8:00 a.m. PDT, for a reasonable price $249.99. That’s the same price as the excellent, if niche, Analogue Duo.
Of course, the biggest reveal is the console’s design, which certainly echoes the curves of the Nintendo 64, but doesn’t have any fun colors. The Analogue 3D is available in the usual white and black variants for now. What’s less perceptible, however, is what’s inside, including “the most powerful FPGA analog ever put into a product,” the Altera Cyclone 10GX with 220,000. logical elements. For those of you keeping track, that’s twice as many logical components as the reliable Cyclone V MiSTer. It features four controller ports on the front of the console for wired controllers, while supporting both Bluetooth and Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) for wireless controllers.
This includes the novel (not included) 8BitDo 64 controller, “a wireless recreation of the original N64 controller via Bluetooth in a modern form factor.” This means no weird triple grip and no loose analog stick. In fact, with the Hall sensor in the 8BitDo 64, N64 analog drift shouldn’t be a problem at all. The $39.99 controller supports D input and S input modes, which means it supports not only analog 3D, but also Nintendo Switch, Windows PCs, and Android devices.
Support for the entire range of controllers is kind of the whole thing if you want to make the best Nintendo 64 console. Analogue claims it’s 100% compatible with the entire N64 catalog, and based on its experience, it has some credibility in that claim. With much of this catalog supporting local multiplayer, Analogue calls the N64 “maybe the best multiplayer system of all time” and says multiplayer is “the heart of the experience.” (Ed. Note: To ensure a proper multiplayer experience on the N64, make sure at least one player has a controller with a broken analog stick.)
We don’t know as much about the Analogue 3D mode. For example, it includes an “evolution” of the very popular Analogue operating system, simply called 3DOS. “It’s packed with N64-specific features,” the press release reads, noting that it runs at 4K resolution. The single image shared, however, did not reveal what the N64-specific features might be. The fine print at the bottom of the announcement states that “Analogue 3D does not support OpenFPGA”, which means that Analogue 3D will not inherit the Pocket’s running capabilities dozens of additional cores for gaming consoles and arcade games. 😔
For this 4K end, Analogue promises custom CRT filters using a specially designed 4K upscaler module. I know what you’re thinking: CRT filters, really? Who cares! But this is probably the most compelling part of the package for me. Anyone who has experienced Analogue filters on a high-resolution Pocket display knows how effectively this additional resolution can simulate the unique properties of a familiar display.
Analogue says these filters are designed to “capture the warmth, depth and texture” of CRTs, including the “soft phosphor glow” and, of course, scan lines and shadow masks. If you know what is extremely impressive Retrotink 4K can handle a 240p signal with all this extra resolution, you’ve probably already noticed it. Especially when you consider the Retrotink 4K’s relatively high price of $750.
And while some people may like that the retro pixels on a 4K display are razor-sharp, only a true madman wants to see the N64’s clunky polygons without the (intentional!) softening of a CRT. It’s not just about nostalgia, but about faithfully reproducing the way game console technology and single-game assets were designed with the expectation of what kind of technology existed on the other side of the analog output. We’ll see how close Analogue will be when Analogue 3D becomes available early next year.
