Retro-bit's Sega controllers

[splits]

I purchased two of the new Genesis 6-button wired controllers last spring, and generally found them to work great.

I also purchased one of the pink controllers last fall, and it arrived yesterday.

One of the awesome things about the Genesis controller, IMO, is that they are compatible with many Atari machines. I play a lot of 2600 and Atari 8-bit games, and find Genesis controllers to be far more comfortable than the CX40 sticks.

The two Retro-bit controllers I purchased last year work fantastic on my Atari machines.

The new pink one is completely unusable on my Ataris. Pressing "up" sends near-simultaneous "left" and "right" key D-pad presses.

I understand that they don't and will never support those systems, fine, but I can't understand what need there could have been to change the controller polling. I am very disappointed because the old ones worked so well.

This, combined with how they messed up the gravity controls in the Metal Storm re-release and refuse to acknowledge it (other than posting a "secret code" to fix it on Twitter) or respond to messages sent via their website have turned me off Retro-bit.

[Retro-Bit]

This, combined with how they messed up the gravity controls in the Metal Storm re-release and refuse to acknowledge it (other than posting a "secret code" to fix it on Twitter) or respond to messages sent via their website have turned me off Retro-bit.

Heya,

We're sorry to hear about the issues you've had. I'm unsure about the pink controller issue you're dealing with as they use the same programming and boards (albeit pink) as the original ports we received. I went ahead and let our team know about this, nonetheless.

As for Metal Storm, we agree we should have addressed it before as was our original intent. This was the version given to us and approved by Irem for the re-release. We should have put the code into the manuals and will be updating it digitally.

As for our website, straight up it isn't an ideal home for us and we're working on finalizing a new one (hopefully in the coming weeks/months). Due to the nature of our company size and resources, our current site isn't the place for us as we try to grow. If you require support, please e-mail info@retro-bit.com.

Has anyone else had as bad of luck as me with the Genesis wired controllers?

That's really odd! We haven't received any claims regarding any issues like that. If you can, please e-mail our team at info@retro-bit.com. I'm sure our QA team would like to replace those and see if they can get to the bottom of that issue.

Question: are the bluetooth controllers able to turn the Switch on via a home button or does it need to be turned on first?

They cannot wake up the Switch, unfortunately.

[BrianC]

Hi. I received a wired black US style Saturn controller and it had a sticky C button right off the bat. I have sent for a replacement with Amazon. It was ordered from Amazon directly.

The wireless 2.4G "This is Cool" skeleton style Saturn controller I received doesn't have the issue. I also emailed info@retro-bit.com about the issue in case Amazon has other wired controllers with sticky buttons. I also had a similar issue with a blue 2.4G. I emailed info@retro-bit.com about that one a week or two ago, but I haven't heard back. Not sure if anything can be done about the blue 2.4G controller since it's out of warranty, though.

I can't wait to use the 2.4G skeleton controller with the Japanese white Saturn. I like the feel of it so far.

edit: I just received the replacement controller from amazon. No issue with the C button. I also tried out the slate gray 2.4G wireless on both the Saturn and Switch and it works great.

[splits]

We're sorry to hear about the issues you've had. I'm unsure about the pink controller issue you're dealing with as they use the same programming and boards (albeit pink) as the original ports we received. I went ahead and let our team know about this, nonetheless.

As for Metal Storm, we agree we should have addressed it before as was our original intent. This was the version given to us and approved by Irem for the re-release. We should have put the code into the manuals and will be updating it digitally.

As for our website, straight up it isn't an ideal home for us and we're working on finalizing a new one (hopefully in the coming weeks/months). Due to the nature of our company size and resources, our current site isn't the place for us as we try to grow. If you require support, please e-mail info@retro-bit.com.

It's helpful at least that you acknowledged me here--that went a long way in helping me cool down. Maybe pass a note to some of your other CS people...

The controller still feels and works great on Genesis/Mega Sg, so there must be something marginal about my particular unit with regards to its select line/multiplexing behavior. It can happen. Such is the nature of ICs.

As for Metal Storm, how about having a sticker made up with the gravity code? It could be put on the manual or on the back of the cart. I've put a handwritten label on the back of mine because I tend to forget things like that.

[matt]

Picked up both the Genesis and Saturn 2.4ghz pads last week. They are great! Buttons and d-pad feel just like the originals. After updating the firmware on the dongles, they're very responsive - almost as good as a wired controller. Thanks for making an awesome product.

Any chance you'll be selling the Genesis and Saturn receivers separately? It would be nice to use both pads at the same time on one system.

[solo20]

any update on the Dual Stick Saturn controller its been a while I seen any updates on it

[Retro-Bit]

Picked up both the Genesis and Saturn 2.4ghz pads last week. They are great! Buttons and d-pad feel just like the originals. After updating the firmware on the dongles, they're very responsive - almost as good as a wired controller. Thanks for making an awesome product.

Any chance you'll be selling the Genesis and Saturn receivers separately? It would be nice to use both pads at the same time on one system.

Many thanks! Selling the 2.4 GHz receivers may be a reality down the line. Currently, they're only available with each controller.

any update on the Dual Stick Saturn controller its been a while I seen any updates on it

When we have news, we will share it everywhere.

[H6rdc0re]

When we have news, we will share it everywhere.

If you guys are doing a stick we need at least micro-switches or make it a premium stick with Sanwa parts.

[Retro-Bit]

If you guys are doing a stick we need at least micro-switches or make it a premium stick with Sanwa parts.

An arcade stick? We currently are not developing one to my knowledge.

[Vectorman0]

Has anyone had poor battery life with the 2.4GHz Saturn pads? I have been using it with the USB dongle on my PC. After leaving it plugged into USB overnight to make sure it's fully charged, I probably had a maximum of seven hours of playtime on it across a few sessions before the battery had no charge left and the controller turns off 20 seconds after turning it on. This has happened twice now. I realize the advertised 30 hours battery life may be optimistic, but this seems faulty. I am curious if this is the case with all of them or if there is a problem with my controller.

Edit: These sessions were over the course of a week or so. I assume it isn't supposed to drain that quickly while off.

[it290]

That about matches my experience with the battery. I haven't had it fully drain, but after usage roughly equivalent to yours I often find it is stuck in blinking purple 'unable to connect' mode, which Retro-Bit told me may indicate low battery.

[arovane]

That about matches my experience with the battery. I haven't had it fully drain, but after usage roughly equivalent to yours I often find it is stuck in blinking purple 'unable to connect' mode, which Retro-Bit told me may indicate low battery.

This! I find it very strange that nobody noticed that problem yet. I bought 1 Saturn and 2 Genesis wireless controllers from retro-bit, that I use in 2,4ghz with original consoles. I leave the dongle plugged all the time. If I charge the controller fully, but don't play for a week, the battery will be dead when I pick it up. Which means, the battery drains off even when not in use! And this happens with all 3 controllers.

This is NOT normal at all, and it is not like that with my 8bitdo m30 controllers which works flawlessly even if I don't use them for a month.

Any ideas?

[bigbadboaz]

I wonder if there's a bad batch out there as far as batteries go? I mean, as mentioned, there was no talk about this at all since the controllers' release, and now all of a sudden we have this small bunch of complaints.

I certainly hope this isn't the standard battery performance on these controllers. Everything else about them seems top-notch.

[Sargon]

That about matches my experience with the battery. I haven't had it fully drain, but after usage roughly equivalent to yours I often find it is stuck in blinking purple 'unable to connect' mode, which Retro-Bit told me may indicate low battery.

This! I find it very strange that nobody noticed that problem yet. I bought 1 Saturn and 2 Genesis wireless controllers from retro-bit, that I use in 2,4ghz with original consoles. I leave the dongle plugged all the time. If I charge the controller fully, but don't play for a week, the battery will be dead when I pick it up. Which means, the battery drains off even when not in use! And this happens with all 3 controllers.

This is NOT normal at all, and it is not like that with my 8bitdo m30 controllers which works flawlessly even if I don't use them for a month.

Any ideas?

I have the same issue with my Retro-Bit 2.4ghz Genesis controller batteries. They don't seem to hold a charge very long. I pretty much have to leave them plugged into the charger when not in use.

[BrianC]

I was about to say that I didn't have any trouble with the battery yet, but then the skeleton 2.4g wireless controller wouldn't turn on until I plugged it in. Odd thing is that the controller didn't act like the battery was low after this, though I still put it back on charge after testing it to see if it turns on when unplugged.

[arovane]

I think more and more people will notice this problem over time. As I said I bought 3 controllers, in different places, and all suffer from it right out of the box. The battery drains off when not in use, which means the controller has to stay plugged all the time. This is a huge malfunction and Retro-bit has to address this problem as soon as possible, as I can't see how this can only affect a small batch. Does it only drain off when used with original hardware? Or when the dongle is plugged all the time? Is there a way to avoid the battery to drain off?

[Vectorman0]

Thanks for the replies everyone. At least I now know I'm not alone with this issue. I really hope this is an isolated case of bad batteries, or there can be some kind of firmware fix, otherwise I'll be very disappointed.

[arovane]

I've send a message to their customer service, and got no reply. I guess they know about this issue and have no way to fix it apart from repairing each faulty unit. And since this issue probably exists on all units, they just ignore it.

[bigbadboaz]

Retro-Bit's rep has been very active in this thread. Can you respond on this particular issue? It's pretty pressing.

[Vectorman0]

Before we jump to conclusions, I am curious if anyone has had the opposite experience? Has anyone had 10+ hours of charge time left after one of the controllers has been unplugged and unused for a month?

[Arthrimus]

I also can report that the my 2.4Ghz Saturn pad rapidly drains it's battery when not in use. Seems like it maybe doesn't ever go into a true low power use state when not being used, so the battery gradually drains almost as fast as when you are playing with it.

[BrianC]

The Krikzz and 8bitdo wireless 2.4g controllers both have a method of forced shutdown. 8bitdo uses holding the start button down and the Joyzz uses a button combination. Maybe something like this could be added in a firmware update?

[kitty666cats]

Before we jump to conclusions, I am curious if anyone has had the opposite experience? Has anyone had 10+ hours of charge time left after one of the controllers has been unplugged and unused for a month?

I have, I have one of the coolpad style 2.4 GHz Saturn wireless pads and it holds a charge for, well... I think it was damn near 2 months between uses when I broke it out recently!

[matt]

I just used my blue Genesis pad after about a month and it still works. Dunno how many hours it has left, but the battery definitely is holding a charge.

[Bratwurst]

Before we jump to conclusions, I am curious if anyone has had the opposite experience? Has anyone had 10+ hours of charge time left after one of the controllers has been unplugged and unused for a month?

Could also temporarily remove the battery in between play sessions if that is easily done, to see if that extends the charge.

Personally if I had one of these things and suspected it wasn't going into low power mode I'd just hack in a shut off switch.

[Cannonballs]

Anyone get the pink controllers yet and use them?

[arovane]

Just tried another Saturn controller, this time a "skeleton" one bought online from another seller. Received 3 days ago, charged it completely. Played 15 min with it, and left it to rest.
Today when playing with it it worked 10 sec then the battery died. This is the 4th out of 4 that has this issue. Retro Bit, please address this problem!

[bigbadboaz]

It's amazing how many seem to be having this issue when it's also clear there are plenty of good controllers out there. Retro-Bit please jump in!!

[Johnpv]

I have a clear blue one from when they launched and its been unplugged for probably a month or two, and worked just fine now.

[kitty666cats]

Anyone get the pink controllers yet and use them?

I have one, works great! My oldddd Saturn controller had issues, but I've gotten a couple since then and they are aces! The battery life is seriously great, my wireless controller is an absolute trooper.