8Bitdo M30 2.4G Wireless Gamepad for the Original Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive - Sega Genesis,Black

If you're a retro gaming enthusiast like me, you'll appreciate the 8Bitdo M30 Wireless Gamepad. It's the perfect accessory for anyone who wants to relive the glory days of gaming on the original Sega Genesis and Sega Mega Drive consoles. First of all, let's talk about the design. The 8Bitdo M30 has a sleek and ergonomic design that feels great in your hands. The button layout is similar to the original Sega controller, which makes it easy to pick up and start playing right away. The build quality is also top-notch, with a solid and durable feel that will stand up to hours of gameplay. But what really sets this gamepad apart is the wireless functionality. The 2.4G wireless connection is incredibly reliable, with virtually no lag or interference. This means you can sit back and enjoy your favorite retro games from the comfort of your couch without having to worry about pesky cords getting in the way. The 8Bitdo M30 is also incredibly versatile. It's compatible with a wide range of devices, including PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, and even Raspberry Pi. This means you can use it to play all of your favorite retro games on a variety of platforms. Overall, I'm incredibly impressed with the 8Bitdo M30 Wireless Gamepad. It's the perfect accessory for anyone who loves retro gaming, and it brings the classic gaming experience to life in a way that's both functional and fun. So if you're looking for a high-quality wireless gamepad for your original Sega Genesis or Sega Mega Drive console, look no further than the 8Bitdo M30.

I am going to write my review at the top, but if you are looking for information about the disconnection glitch and the firmware update supplied by the manufacturer than skip down, or search for <firmware update> With that out of the way, I want to highlight how awesome the controller really is. It has a very solid design, an amazing D-Pad similar to the classic 6 button Sega controllers, and great feeling buttons. The shoulder buttons function as extra "C" and "Z" buttons, meaning your thumb never has to move across more than one button at any time. This is great for games where reaction time is important. The 2.4GHz model feels as responsive and lag free as a wired controller. Testing has shown that this model is actually more responsive than its Bluetooth counterpart. The receiver supplied with the 2.4GHz model has a smaller form factor than the Bluetooth model. This is actually very important on the Genesis which uses an array of pins for the controller connectors. Too much wiggling or force applied from the sides can cause those pins to bend and break and the likelihood and potential for damage is significantly less with the smaller and lighter receiver. I also think it looks a lot nicer. Even though it uses 2.4GHz RF, you can connect this controller to a PC via USB, and it makes an excellent controller for playing older games, or newer games like Sonic Mania, Cuphead, etc. It uses standard X-Input controls which works out great because A, B and X, Y are in the same positions on this controller as an X-Box controller. My one current complaint is that there is no "home button"; similar to the "home keys" on a computer keyboard, on the original Sega 6 button controllers there are small bumps on the B and Y buttons, so you know without looking where your thumb is. These are missing from this controller. However, I do not deduct this from the review because the shoulder buttons actually solve this issue by allowing you to keep your thumb over the four left buttons and use your index fingers for C and Z. But it would still be nice to have. The battery life is fantastic, 35 hours off of a single 1-2 hour charge. Overall, this is the best Genesis controller on the market and a crazy deal at $25. The only downside is that if yours has the original firmware you will need to update it. Below I have documented my experience as well as the fix supplied by 8Bitdo. - - - <firmware update> - - - After reaching out to 8Bitdo support (they were very fast and very helpful), I was sent an email containing Beta firmware drivers to try out. The ones that I was sent were labeled as version 2.00, along with a README that was a DOC formatted file with embedded pictures (so open this with Word or similar). I have uploaded an image of the files. IMPORTANT! The only firmware updates currently listed on their support website are for the Bluetooth version of the M30! You cannot use these for the 2.4GHz model, and you cannot use the auto-updater from their site for it either (i will talk about this more soon). You will need to get the new firmware files either from 8Bitdo support, or wait for them to be made available. So, if you are having similar issues - please email their support team! There are separate drivers for both the controller and the receiver. This is VERY important because the receiver has a Micro USB port that can only be accessed by unscrewing the shell. I have attached pictures of this to make it as clear as possible. YOU WILL NEED A SMALL STAR SCREWDRIVER TO OPEN IT! Another VERY IMPORTANT piece of info, you do not update the firmware for the 2.4GHz controllers the same way as you do with other 8Bitdo controllers and receivers. As of this review - you have to put the controller into "update mode" by holding the shoulder buttons and then start. Once in this mode you connect it to your computer with the included USB cables. The controller will show up as a very small drive, complete with a drive label (on a Windows machine). This is where you copy the controller's firmware files, "V2.00_GamePad". Make sure to securely disconnect it, and then remove the USB cable. You then can connect the receiver (a blue light indicates a connection) and copy the retro receiver firmware files to it the same way as you did the controller. Be careful, as the instructions I was sent had a typo and asked for me to copy the controller firmware over twice, first to the controllers and then again to the receivers - however for the receivers you will copy the receiver specific file, in my case the file named "V2.00_RR". After that you are all set! My controllers were dropping connections regularly after around ~1 hour of playing on the original firmware. Now I have tested them both well past that limit with 0 dropping and 0 lag. I really hope the controllers will begin shipping with an updated firmware already installed, but if you need to make the update I hope that this has been helpful.

UPDATE: So after updating the firmware to 2.0 I can honestly say everything I wrote down below about having issues is gone. Absolutely love this controller and I purchased a second one. Definitely worth getting! I'm leaving the old review for posterity sake, to show I had an issue and it was resolved quickly by the dev. I really want to sit here and write to you and tell you that I love this controller. However with good conscience I cannot. The feel of the controller is great, as someone that wasn't much of a fan of the original Genesis rounded controller as it just didn't feel right in my hands. I can say that this controller feels great in my hands. However the plastic does feel a little on the cheap side, but its sturdy enough. The buttons feel great, they've got a really good press to them, and the D-pad is responsive and accurate. Never have I felt that when I was pressing left or right would I accidentally get an up or down like has plagued the SN30. The D-pad just feels good to use. Price, well what's really to say about price. $25 for a wireless Genesis controller is absolutely killer. Simply the best and most reasonable price you'll find for a wireless genesis controller. However, the big issue I have with this controller right now is the wireless connection. When the controller works it works great, no noticeable lag that I can discern and the battery lasts a long time. However every so often the controller will de-sync from the console. Either allowing no button presses at all, or only relaying the last button press before the de-sync for a few seconds then it'll reconnect to the console. This is highly annoying when it happens. I don't think it has anything to do with the charge of the controller because my controller is fully charged, I'm guessing it might have to do with interference, but without the proper equipment to test that it's hard to be sure. There's only one other thing that I noticed, but I only noticed this once, and I'm not entirely sure it's accurate, but when I received a cell call and I was talking on the phone while playing the controls seem to have a tiny delay to them. This requires more testing, however I feel that the cell call was delaying my inputs to the console ever so slightly as button presses felt more mushy than responsive as they usually did. For these reasons I have to say I'm not in love with this controller. I wish I could give it 5 stars and a recommendation, however until these issues get fixed with either a firmware patch or a hardware replacement by 8bitdo I simply can't recommend this controller at this time. I'll be in contact with 8bitdo and we'll see how well their support is.

I picked up this controller last week, as it had just been released and I've been looking for a better solution for my Mega Drive than being stuck a foot from the screen. This connected as soon as I plugged it in, has amazing battery life (single charge so far!), and I haven't had any latency or key press issues. I'v heard that a few others have, however, a beta firmware seems to have remedied that for most (a friend also has two of these - in black). Happy retro-gaming customer! Can we have more of these for the rest of my older systems???

Il pad in sé è molto valido. Purtroppo però è specifico per il mega drive mini , per quanto riguarda la connessione bluetooth. Può essere usato anche su pc e switch, ma esclusivamente via cavo. Insomma, se cercate una esperienza senza fili su più piattaforme, meglio un altro modello di m30

Have used this on my Megadrive 2 to spare the original wired controllers from wear and tear. Had previously bought a wired controller but the directional button broke after two weeks, so was wary of buying another. The instructions are quite poor and leave things out. For instance, pressing the start button on the controller turns it on. Pressing and holding the start button (for around 3 secs) turns it off. Very useful to know! The controller itself is excellent though and is very responsive with no lag in my experience. It feels more robust than the controller I bought previously but intend to revisit this review in a few weeks once I've played more with it. It is easy to pair and should not need to be paired again once set up. Simply turn on the Megadrive with the receiver installed and press the start button on the controller. I like that you can switch between 3-button and 6-button modes as I found some games more challenging in 6-button mode. That may just be me though. I also like that you have two buttons on the front of the controller which can be used as a C button (right) and Z button (left). I've found these useful. Charge is lasting a long time so far and very happy with it.

Seen some mixed reviews on this on various media platforms but I can tell you as a die hard MegaDrive/Saturn d-pad fan(only the PS Vita rivals it) this one works as intended. Some say it didn't work as good as they thought it might and some say it worked perfectly. One I really trust mentioned that all directions can be pressed at once if pushing down on the middle of the pad. I did not experience this(yet anyway) and what else I can say is this: Upon delivery I immediately got my copy of Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition, plugged it in and completed a run through with Ryu and the pad did not miss a beat(and I'm a bit rusty on this game). Fireball, Dragon Punch, Rising Dragon Punch ;-) all worked no misses. I was sat maybe 2.5 meters from the MegaDrive and had no dropouts. The inherent lag from WiFi is as good/bad as any modern pad and is to be expected. A younger me would probably tell the difference between its input speed and an original wired one but I haven't noticed it yet. Streets of Rage 2 will test that but I haven't got to it yet. I would say if your original pad is on the way out or worn out this is a worthy replacement.

Truly just plug & play. I charged the controller, plugged in the dongle, and it worked right away without a fuss. Didn't have to sit there and try to pair it or anything Feels good, dpad is great, buttons have that fresh membrane feel. I feel like the original 3 button controller is still more comfortable to hold/use for me personally, but I have big hands. Overall still very happy with this though! Will probably order a second at some point for multiplayer games