The Analogue 3D brings the N64 into the 4K era.
Analogue, the folks behind the ever-so-lovely Pocket handheld, are now turning their attention to the console market with a new, modern take on Nintendo's 3D home console from the 90s — the Nintendo 64.
This upcoming 'Analogue 3D' console, thanks to FPGA emulation, will allow you to revisit all of your old N64 cartridges and play them on a modern TV, over HMDI in glorious 4K. There's no ROMs here, just real carts, played on modern hardware.
In addition to this 4K image boost, the sleek new console will also mimic CRT TVs with scanlines, that CRT glow, along with the unique warmth and texture only found on those old bulky televisions.
The new console, priced at $250 bucks, is region free too — so it should play any N64 game — and talking of games, Super Mario 64 is pretty much my favourite game of all time, so to have a modern way to play my original cartridge is a real sweet option to have.
According to Analogue CEO Christopher Taber, creating this updated take on the Nintendo 64 is a project that's taken around four years to make a reality. Speaking to Gizmodo, Taber shared that the Analogue 3D "was one of its most expensive and complicated devices to produce".
There's no controller in the box, but Analogue has buddied up with 8BitDo to create a $40 N64-friendly controller — and it looks pretty nice! Of course, if you'd rather stick with the original three-pronged waggly-stick pad, then they will work too. There's four controller ports, just like on the original machine — meaning you can gather some buddies around to play multiplayer classics such as Super Smash Bros., some Bomberman, GoldenEye 007 (that one ain't aged too well if I'm being honest), or Mario Kart 64. It's 1996 all over again.
Preorders for the Analogue 3D start on Monday, October 21 directly on Analogue's website.
