Retro-bit's Sega controllers

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bigbadboaz
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

Konsolkongen wrote:Yes, please let us know how that one turns out. I have so many Saturn controllers that I don't plan on picking up more anytime soon :)
Can't imagine it will be any different than yours, but I'm hoping for a better experience through production variance/personal preferences. We'll see eventually..
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BazookaBen
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by BazookaBen »

So I noticed lots of ebay links for these controllers. Are we sure there aren't bootlegs floating around?
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bobrocks95
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bobrocks95 »

BazookaBen wrote:So I noticed lots of ebay links for these controllers. Are we sure there aren't bootlegs floating around?
+1

Amazon cancels a bunch of orders, then suddenly they're all over ebay at market price or even lower, available to ship immediately?
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Konsolkongen »

BazookaBen wrote:So I noticed lots of ebay links for these controllers. Are we sure there aren't bootlegs floating around?
Can’t say. But CDON is listed as an official retailer on Retro-bits website. So I’m confident that mine are originals.
bigbadboaz
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

The main eBay sellers I've noticed have good reps and are all similarly located in SoCal. My hunch is that they are nearby, and have relationships with, Retro-Bit.

Oh yeah - Amazon seems to have finally gotten their stock of Saturn controllers as of today, as well.
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donluca
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by donluca »

@konsolkongen, thank you so much for the in-depth review!
It's really heartbreaking reading that the Saturn pads aren't that good, but maybe I'll give the mega drive one a go.
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Gara
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Gara »

One of my pads came in. The Saturn pad in slate gray. The d-pad doesn't feel right. It's not bad but I had such high hopes it would be an exact replica of the original Saturn pads. The face buttons are decent. The shoulder buttons are terrible. They have a very soft unsatisfying click to them. I can see why the other poster would have thought it a membrane. It's definitely a case of you get what you pay for. If they had done it right it could have easily been a $40+ controller. I'll try it for a few days and see how it works out.

Edit: It was a complete waste to pre-order these. My Amazon pre-orders were canceled and my Castle orders have yet to ship. I saw that Amazon was showing in stock. I ordered on the 15th and it arrived today the 16th.
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Konsolkongen »

Do you feel any difference between the directions like I did on mine? Would you be kind enough to take it appart and take a photo of the part that was damaged on mine?

I think it's still worth mentioning that even with these faults I genuinely believe that these are probably still the best D-pads currently on the market. It's just a shame that they don't match the originals which were even better :/
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Gara
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Gara »

http://imgur.com/a/SpUCbd8

I don't see the bend on the bottom like on yours. That little bit from the plastic mold is there though.

I'll do some more testing tonight with the directionals.

Edit: Although I don't seem to have the bend, the down directional just doesn't feel right. I get a nice deep press when I hit up. When I hit down the distance is shorter and it feels off. Almost squishy. My original Saturn pad I am comparing to has nice uniform travel on all directions. I'm not missing any inputs but I don't like the feeling of it.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by DasFool »

I ordered some of these too as i had heard good things about them. The dpad definitely feels lose on mine and not really satisfying. L and R are pretty terrible, difficult to press and difficult to tell if they've been pressed. I'd say the originals are still better.

One other thing to note is that these are the only controllers that misbehave when plugged in to my CBOX. I get random button inputs when not pressing anything so they are unusable on this.
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Domino
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Domino »

So I picked up the Genesis controllers in the Blue Transparent colors. For the most part it feels like an original six button controller from back in the day. I thought the D-Pad was elevated slightly higher than I thought, plus you can press the whole controller down like a L3/R3 button. To be honest, it doesn't affect anything and I don't notice it when playing.

Cable is 10 ft long, so maybe have too much cable feeling if playing it at your desk.

The R/L buttons on it has a click feel to it (could be loud to some). It works for something like in MAME for Pause and Credit Drop feature. Also feel good with my hands.

I actually like it. Give it a shot for $20.
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donluca
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by donluca »

Great, I'll definitely go after the mega drive one then. Wonder if these will work on a Switch as well...
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Konsolkongen »

They don’t work on the Switch.

Is it just me or is the Z-button on the MD controllers positioner too low? On my original JAP MD 6B controller the Z-button sticks out much higher. I don’t have an original EU controller to compare against.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by evil_ash_xero »

Is making a nice D Pad a lost art form or something?

I like the D Pad on the Switch Pro Controller, so I guess not completely. But the Saturn pad and the 6 Button Genesis pads were tops.

Has anyone been able to mod/tweak these things to feel properly?
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

evil_ash_xero wrote:I like the D Pad on the Switch Pro Controller
Oh the irony.
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Domino
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Domino »

bigbadboaz wrote:
evil_ash_xero wrote:I like the D Pad on the Switch Pro Controller
Oh the irony.
I don't get it. However, The Switch Pro Controller is my favorite controller from this gen of gaming.
Konsolkongen wrote:They don’t work on the Switch.

Is it just me or is the Z-button on the MD controllers positioner too low? On my original JAP MD 6B controller the Z-button sticks out much higher. I don’t have an original EU controller to compare against.
I was thinking the same, Z button is slightly lower than the X and Y buttons. However, it isn't close to a deal breaker for me and I'm happy with them still.


Now to talk about the 8BitDo M30 2.4ghz controllers. So I have two, they feel great in the hands and are nicely built. However, somewhere in my apartment I'm getting interference in the 2.4ghz range, so some of my inputs don't always work. So when I play a STG the ship will go down a second longer than I command with. This Reddit Post explains my issue perfectly with them. However, if using them as hard wired USB Controller to the computer, they are the bomb and I slightly prefer then over the Retro-Bit Six Button.

But I love STG and I need perfect controller inputs. So besides ordering the two USB controllers from Retro-bit, I put in an order today for two of the Retro-Bit Six Button controllers that's wired for the Genesis. I'll try them out over the weekend, but I expect it's going to be the same quality as my USB ones minus the L/R buttons.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by evil_ash_xero »

bigbadboaz wrote:
evil_ash_xero wrote:I like the D Pad on the Switch Pro Controller
Oh the irony.

What can I say? :lol:
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

I don't get it.
It's just that the Switch Pro has probably the most bitched about D-Pad in the last decade. A quick Google should find you plenty of posts. It sounds like there are good units and bad ones, but the bad ones throw all kinds of inaccurate inputs and are completely unusable for the exact types of games the pad sits on the freakin' controller for. Nintendo has refused to acknowledge the issue in any way, and people are astounded that they of all companies could produce such a bad design.

Overall, people seem to love the controller. But specifically to the D-Pad.. that was the last controller I expected to be singled out for praise.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by BONKERS »

I've never had issues with the D-Pad on the SPC personally. The joy-cons on the other hand good lord. Worst controllers Nintendo has ever made and i've had tons of problems with those.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

This is the problem with Nintendo always insisting on "innovating".. they're never gonna fucking change, though.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by thebigcheese »

Yeah, the d-pad on the SPC FEELS awesome, but it's impossible to play Hollow Knight on that thing. It's always triggering up or down while I'm hitting left or right, causing totally different attacks. I bought a 8bitdo controller specifically to use for that kind of game and it's been a vast improvement. I almost never accidentally hit diagonals now. Side note, the Hyperkin (I think?) NES controller has the same d-pad issues. Really annoying for Mega Man or Battle Kid.
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Gara
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Gara »

Nintendo has refused to acknowledge the issue in any way, and people are astounded that they of all companies could produce such a bad design.

Overall, people seem to love the controller. But specifically to the D-Pad.. that was the last controller I expected to be singled out for praise.
Nintendo lottery at work. In their race to keep up with demand quality has always been an issue. It goes way back. Color temperature on screens, IPS vs TN, DS hinges, etc. They tend to source their parts from multiple sources, but they don't share those details. They didn't even change the part number when IPS screens briefly creeped in.

I went out of my way to buy the Xenoblade Chronicles pink controller just to get a decent dpad. The Pro is a pretty nice controller once you have a good one. I sure wouldn't put it up there with the Saturn, but as far as modern controllers go it's not bad.
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bobrocks95
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bobrocks95 »

Gara wrote:
Nintendo has refused to acknowledge the issue in any way, and people are astounded that they of all companies could produce such a bad design.

Overall, people seem to love the controller. But specifically to the D-Pad.. that was the last controller I expected to be singled out for praise.
Nintendo lottery at work. In their race to keep up with demand quality has always been an issue. It goes way back. Color temperature on screens, IPS vs TN, DS hinges, etc. They tend to source their parts from multiple sources, but they don't share those details. They didn't even change the part number when IPS screens briefly creeped in.

I went out of my way to buy the Xenoblade Chronicles pink controller just to get a decent dpad. The Pro is a pretty nice controller once you have a good one. I sure wouldn't put it up there with the Saturn, but as far as modern controllers go it's not bad.
I was expecting nothing but problems, expecting having to open mine up and do the tape fix. I got a standard one from Amazon and it was one of the newer models where you can't press the entire D-Pad down- seems fine to me, nothing to complain about. I sat in the controller test menu for a solid 5-10 minutes trying to force a bad input and couldn't see one, so that design flaw appears to be fixed.
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BrianC
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by BrianC »

I didn't have any problems with accidental inputs on the SPC, but I did have some with the 8bitdo Analogue SN30s that came with the SNES retro receiver. Other 8bitdo controllers didn't have that issue, including the SF30 Pro and the GB style SN30 Pro.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Cannonballs »

bobrocks95 wrote:
Gara wrote:
Nintendo has refused to acknowledge the issue in any way, and people are astounded that they of all companies could produce such a bad design.

Overall, people seem to love the controller. But specifically to the D-Pad.. that was the last controller I expected to be singled out for praise.
Nintendo lottery at work. In their race to keep up with demand quality has always been an issue. It goes way back. Color temperature on screens, IPS vs TN, DS hinges, etc. They tend to source their parts from multiple sources, but they don't share those details. They didn't even change the part number when IPS screens briefly creeped in.

I went out of my way to buy the Xenoblade Chronicles pink controller just to get a decent dpad. The Pro is a pretty nice controller once you have a good one. I sure wouldn't put it up there with the Saturn, but as far as modern controllers go it's not bad.
I was expecting nothing but problems, expecting having to open mine up and do the tape fix. I got a standard one from Amazon and it was one of the newer models where you can't press the entire D-Pad down- seems fine to me, nothing to complain about. I sat in the controller test menu for a solid 5-10 minutes trying to force a bad input and couldn't see one, so that design flaw appears to be fixed.
Is there a new model/part number for these pro controllers?
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Domino
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Domino »

So I just got the Retro-Bit Genesis controllers for the action Gen/MD. Same quality as the PC Version, with the 10 ft cable. I don't like going back to wired controllers but no input delay or other weird issues with the 8BitDo. Got my full control back in STG. Highly recommend for only $15 bucks a pop. I ordered two and I might get two more just in case.
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BazookaBen
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by BazookaBen »

So the Saturn pad isn't super faithful to the original? Has anybody received a good one yet? I don't want to buy a USB Saturn pad if it has inconsistent action across the d-pad.
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Gara
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by Gara »

There is apparently a defect in the plastic on some (all?) of their initial batch of saturn dpads. Time will tell but I don't have a lot of confidence that these will have the longevity of the originals. It's a good $15 controller but the praise these things have gotten leading up to the release feels deceptive. Value is king?

"My RetroBit Saturn controller broke after just two hours of play."
https://redd.it/bdqkcx

"A comparison of the d-pad cross piece between an original and RetroBit controller"
https://redd.it/bdx12f
After you let us know, we contacted the factory immediately and did an investigation. Under the production of a small first batch of our Sega Saturn controllers, we caught an issue with a component found in the D-Pad. The incident has been addressed and the material in question was corrected along with proper measures to ensure the quality of our Saturn controllers are up to standards to withstand long-term durability.

Although this affected a small amount of controllers, if your Sega Saturn controller has issues with the D-Pad please contact [info@retro-bit.com](mailto:info@retro-bit.com) and we will provide a replacement part or controller with proof of purchase.
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by bigbadboaz »

They do seem to be responding properly, FWIW in the long run.

I would definitely like to know why they decided to alter the original design with an actual screw in the D-Pad assembly..?
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BrianC
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Re: Retro-bit's Sega controllers

Post by BrianC »

Was this defect in the initial batch of the PC USB Saturn controllers, the actual Saturn controllers, or both?
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