Want an FPGA console to run your N64 cartridges from back in the day? Well, the recently-released Analogue 3D should have you covered. If your retro gaming obsession can wait a little longer, though, there’s another option in the horizon in the form of the ModRetro M64, which promises similar 4K quality, lower latency, and a more affordable price tag.
To the unfamiliar, ModRetro is Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey’s retro gaming outfit and the M64 is their FPGA console for playing N64 titles. Like the Analogue 3D, it can take original cartridges and play them natively, even upscaling the visuals so they look good on a modern 4K TV. Unlike it, the console uses open source hardware and software, complete with support for other console cores, potentially allowing you to mod it as an all-in-one system for handling different kinds of retro consoles.
The ModRetro M64 has a design inspired by the original N64, coming with a gently-curved top panel, top-mounted cartridge slot, and a quartet of controller ports out front where you can plug in original gamepads. It comes in a translucent housing that lets you gets a good peek at the hardware inside, making for quite the fun-looking device. According to the outfit, it’s going to use an FPGA core developed by the same person who made the highly advanced MiSTer N64 core. While there are no exact details yet, they’re supposedly pairing it with a more powerful chip than the DE-10 Nano used on the MiSTer FPGA, so expect smooth performance for the entirety of the N64 lineup. Based on the pictures, it uses an AMD Atrix FPGA, though we don’t know the exact model.
According to Luckey, the console has a latency that’s 1:1 with the original system, so the whole thing feels like playing on the N64. Except… you know… with 4K visuals. It also boasts support for legacy video formats, so you can plug it into older TVs if you want to have the full retro experience.
The ModRetro M64 comes with a trident-shaped controller that stays faithful to the original N64 gamepads. That means, you get a D-pad on the left, an analog stick and a big red button in the middle, and a host of action buttons on the right side. Oh yeah, the controller is decked in the same translucent shell as the console, so the whole thing looks pretty cool. No word, by the way, on the exact OS it will be using, but it’s worth nothing the console comes with a menu dial on the front right corner, so there appears to be some navigation involved in the software they’ll eventually be using.
According to Luckey, they will also have a library of games, which consists not just of reissues, but also some new games and some unreleased games for the platform. Details are scant for now, but we guess ModRetro plans to sell cartridges, along with the console and controller. Suffice to say, it sounds like a great time to be an N64 gamer.
