Analogue’s 4K Nintendo 64 clone slips to Q1 2025, priced at $250

Exactly one year from its announcement — in keeping with Analogue’s tradition of making major announcements on October 16 — comes news on the price, preorder and shipping dates for the Analogue 3D, the boutique clone console maker’s Nintendo 64-flavored variant. First, the bad news: while last year’s announcement committed to a 2024 release date, fans of Analogue’s products won’t be surprised to learn it’s slipped into Q1 2025. The good news: Pre-orders open next week, on October 21 at 8am PDT, for the reasonable sum of $249.99. That’s the same price as the excellent, but niche, Analogue Duo.

Of course, the big reveal is the console’s design which certainly evokes the curves of the Nintendo 64, but none of the fun colors. The Analogue 3D comes in the usual white and black variants, for now. But less visible is what’s inside, including “the most powerful FPGA Analogue has ever used in a product,” an Altera Cyclone 10GX with 220k logic elements. For those of you keeping track, that’s twice as many logic elements as the MiSTer’s dependable Cyclone V. It has four controller ports on the front of the console for wired controllers, while also supporting both Bluetooth and Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) for wireless controllers.

That includes the new (and not included) 8BitDo 64 controller, a “wireless Bluetooth recreation of the original N64 controller with a modern form factor.” That means no weird triple grip, and no loose analog stick. In fact, with a Hall Effect sensor in the 8BitDo 64, N64 analog drift shouldn’t be an issue at all. The $39.99 controller supports D-input and S-input modes, meaning it supports not only Analogue 3D, but the Nintendo Switch, Windows PCs and Android devices.

Supporting a whole bunch of controllers is kind of the whole thing, if you’re looking to make the ultimate Nintendo 64. Analogue claims 100% compatibility with the entire N64 catalog and, based on their track record, they’ve got some credibility in this claim. With much of that catalog supporting local multiplayer, Analogue calls N64 “perhaps the greatest multiplayer gaming system of all time” and says multiplayer is “the heart of the experience.” (Ed. note: For a proper N64 multiplayer experience, make sure at least one player has a controller with a busted analog stick).

There is just as much we don’t know about the Analogue 3D. For example, it comes with “an evolution” of its much-ballyhooed Analogue OS called, simple, 3DOS. “It’s filled with N64-specific features,” the press release says, and also notes that it operates at a 4K resolution. The single image that was shared didn’t reveal what any of those N64-specific features may be, however. What the fine print at the bottom of the announcement does say is that “Analogue 3D does not support OpenFPGA,” meaning the Analogue 3D will not inherit the Pocket’s ability to run dozens of additional game console and arcade cores. 😔

And on that 4K tip, Analogue is promising custom CRT filters using its purpose-built 4K upscaler. I know what you’re thinking: CRT filters, really? Who cares! But this is perhaps the most interesting part of the package for me. Anyone who has experienced Analogue’s filters on the Pocket’s high-resolution screen know how effectively that extra resolution can be at simulating the unique properties of a familiar display.

Analogue says these filters are designed to “capture the warmth, depth, and texture” of a CRT, including the “soft glow of phosphor” and of course scanlines and shadow masks. If you’re familiar with what the singularly impressive Retrotink 4K can do to a 240p signal with all that extra resolution, you’re probably already taking note. Especially when you consider the Retrotink 4K’s relatively hefty $750 price point.

And while some folks may like their retro pixels to be razor sharp on a 4K display, only a real sicko wants to see N64’s clunky polygons without the (intended!) softening of a CRT. It’s not just about nostalgia, but about faithfully recreating how a game console’s technology, and an individual game’s assets, were both designed with an expectation of what kind of technology existed on the other side of its analog output. We’ll see how close Analogue gets when the Analogue 3D starts shipping early next year.