Retro-bit's Sega controllers

[Gara]

I received my Castle order. Wonderful packaging. The 2 Saturn controllers in this order have improved dpads. I can feel the correct travel distance and click of down movement unlike that first one I got off Amazon.

http://imgur.com/a/sX2VmoY

I opened one of them up but I can't tell what's different. It's a pretty good controller when you get a proper one. The plastic on the black model feels more durable over the smoke model. Nothing conclusive, just the way the buttons and controller feel in my hands.

[Gara]

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

The broken one is the Saturn plug version. I'd assume the part in question is universally used in both the USB and Saturn versions. Their statement doesn't seem to contradict that. I've tried emailing them questions about their decisions and material replication but they don't respond.

I hope Raygan doesn't mind if I quote his words. He is the kind fellow sharing his tale of woe about the broken dpad.

I got a replacement sent from Retrobit, and while it's yet to fail it looks like the part is exactly the same. They're using hard brittle plastic for the cross piece behind the d-pad. There's no telling if they'll last, really.

That said I've been playing with the replacement for about a week and no problems yet, so it's still possible the one that failed was a fluke.

Ideal I think would be to buy a broken original controller and swap its d-pad into the retrobit. In all other ways I think the Retrobit is superior.


On reddit they claimed that a "small number" of controlers had a "materials issue" that they had corrected. That might be the case, but I'm not able to tell a difference between the material in the one that broke and the replacement they sent. I took both apart to compare.I'm not a plastics scientist though so what do I know

[bigbadboaz]

so now that multiple buyers have reviewed on Amazon, two of six reviews (black version) cite the exact same D-pad breakage. Meanwhile five-star reviews of the Genesis pads continue to pile up. Could RB really have gotten essentially the same design that right on one controller but that wrong on the other..?

Everything I've read indicates they took materials quality seriously with this product. Yet somehow they failed to realize the one piece that really needed to be sturdy was the one seeing serious mechanical action.

I guess I got lucky not being able to purchase right away. Sorry to you others, and thanks, for being beta testers. I'm still interested in acquiring a Smoke USB pad, but for now we definitely need to see if what they're claiming about "correcting a defect" is in fact true. By that time, should be able to take advantage of Black Friday pricing anyway.

[BazookaBen]

Yeah, I'm going to need more communication from Retro-bit on when and how they're going to be fixing this. Their reputation has been dicey up until this point, and they should have used this opportunity, with an official endorsement from Sega, to improve it.

[bigbadboaz]

It really does seem like they tried. Again, though, total head-scratcher on choosing bad plastic for the D-Pad actuator.

[Konsolkongen]

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.

Thank you for letting us know. I contacted them about my D-pad issues and even made them aware of this thread. They have now forwarded my information to their european partners so they can ship me a replacement D-pad actuator

[Retro-Bit]

Hello everyone, we have definitely identified this issue and it happened during production of the first batch of controllers. We apologize for the inconvenience and are undoubtingly ensuring the further quality of our products for you guys. We will offer replacement parts or replace the affected controllers. Just e-mail us about your issue along with your proof of purchase to info@retro-bit.com. Please feel free to tag us on social or Reddit with any questions or concerns as well. Thanks!

[bigbadboaz]

That's cool - hope it's actually better.

This is complete deja vu from the early days of Mad Catz. Anyone around for the launch of the original PlayStation? They came out with a controller that was a dead ringer for the stock one, except it had a Saturn-style D-Pad which they proudly advertised as their "floating D-Pad". I was over the moon for these things, they were the same price as stock but played better than anything else. Until the D-Pads broke. They, too, had weak actuators which quickly broke apart. And Mad Catz, too, sent out replacement actuators - which were the exact same piece and simply broke after another ten hours of play.

And so began their legendary reputation for quality.

[donluca]

So, just to make 100% sure...

Only the Saturn pad is affected from the Dpad problem?

And I've seen mentioned a couple of times in this thread a price of $15, but I thought it was $20?

I'm about to click "buy" on that sweet blue transparent Mega Drive controller and wanted to make sure I don't get one with issues. If there's a new revision coming out with the dpad fixed I'll gladly wait.

[Konsolkongen]

I have no problem with my USB MD controllers D-pad. I have also ordered the regular Mega Drive controllers (both colors), but CDON has yet to ship them :/

[Gara]

So, just to make 100% sure...

Only the Saturn pad is affected from the Dpad problem?

And I've seen mentioned a couple of times in this thread a price of $15, but I thought it was $20?

I'm about to click "buy" on that sweet blue transparent Mega Drive controller and wanted to make sure I don't get one with issues. If there's a posting.php?mode=quote&f=6&p=1363913new revision coming out with the dpad fixed I'll gladly wait.

The Genesis controller is $15. The Saturn goes for about $20. It has been as low as about $16-17 through ToyWiz with a coupon. Here in the US I think the prices on Castle and ToyWiz have had some adjusting based on popularity the past few weeks. Their quality is very much in line with the pricing. I wonder how much the retailers profit margin is.

I haven't heard any issues with the Genesis controllers. I haven't played with mine yet. Let us know how it works out

edit: I opened up my blue one. It's pretty nice. Initial impression is that the dpad feels tight and responsive. The blue looks very attractive. I wish the shoulder buttons on the Saturn had the same satisfying click as the mode select button on this one.

[BrianC]

Yeah, I opted for the Genesis PC controller since I liked the blue Genesis controller. The L and R buttons feel right on the PC controller. Makes me wonder why they went with more mushy buttons on the saturn controller. I also prefer the original 6 button Genesis controller over the original JP Saturn pad, though I like both quite a bit.

[donluca]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm getting one asap!

[FinalBaton]

$15 is pretty cheap for what looks like a very decent (new)Genesis controller. definitely gonna grab a few after reading the impressions in here. I mean it's so cheap

[KaizaCorp]

I ordered a Genesis one from CastleMania, still waiting on the shipment email though.

[FinalBaton]

Ordered 2 from Castlemania just now, can't wait to try 'em out. I needed a couple extra controllers for 4-player NHL '94 anyway

[donluca]

Again, just to make 100% sure... is this the real thing? https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B07H3Q2CFS

The packaging seems different from what I've seen elsewhere, but maybe that's due to different region?

For the US market they went with the Genesis artwork and here in Europe with the Mega Drive one?

[Retro-Bit]

Again, just to make 100% sure... is this the real thing? https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B07H3Q2CFS

The packaging seems different from what I've seen elsewhere, but maybe that's due to different region?

For the US market they went with the Genesis artwork and here in Europe with the Mega Drive one?

Yep. NA packaging is red for Genesis and white for Saturn. EU packaging is black for Mega Drive and black/blue for Saturn. Just like the originals.

NA: http://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration
EU: http://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration-eu/

[PixelDharma]

Still out here waiting for the wireless versions. Really hoping it matches/exceeds the other options on the market like Joyzz and 8bitdo's Genesis-style wireless pad.

[bigbadboaz]

These just launched and like most products took longer to launch than expected. I wouldn't hold your breath on the wireless.

I would also venture to say that with the quality control issues we are documenting here out of the gate, the m30 is probably going to be a better bet anyway, at least until RB gets out one round of fucked-up product. Again, this is assuming they're actually going to institute fixes, which I'd say is 50/50 at best.

[bigbadboaz]

Sorry for replying to myself, but posting prompted me to go over to Castlemania. I noticed that the lone Saturn pad review is gone.. it had cited the broken D-pad we're all talking about (and strangely enough also awarded 4 stars). Are Castlemania covering (up) for Retro-Bit!? From the outside there's no other reason why they'd take down a very detailed, well-written review that even awarded a quantified good score.

I dunno, it reeks of fishiness and thought I'd point it out. Taking down one bad comment on a niche site sure isn't going to stop the multiples popping up on Amazon.

[PixelDharma]

These just launched and like most products took longer to launch than expected. I wouldn't hold your breath on the wireless.

I can hold my breath for years at a time. As long as that doesn't mean "cancelled"

I really just want to see a head to head comparison of all the wireless Sega options one day before I buy any of them. All things being equal I'd love the officially licensed/styled version of the pad from RetroBit... but we'll see if it is truly the equal.

[xxx128]

Is there a release date for the dual analog saturn pads yet?

[donluca]

Yep. NA packaging is red for Genesis and white for Saturn. EU packaging is black for Mega Drive and black/blue for Saturn. Just like the originals.

NA: http://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration
EU: http://retro-bit.com/sega-collaboration-eu/

Nice, thanks for clarifying that up!

And nice touch to give each region their own artwork

[Bassa-Bassa]

Hello everyone, we have definitely identified this issue and it happened during production of the first batch of controllers. We apologize for the inconvenience and are undoubtingly ensuring the further quality of our products for you guys. We will offer replacement parts or replace the affected controllers. Just e-mail us about your issue along with your proof of purchase to info@retro-bit.com. Please feel free to tag us on social or Reddit with any questions or concerns as well. Thanks!

Hello,

How could one know if his RetroBit Saturn controller for the Saturn console belongs to that flawed first batch and therefore needs to ask for a replacement? (I mean, aside of spending +1 week with it in order to see if it gets broken.)

[Retro-Bit]

Still out here waiting for the wireless versions. Really hoping it matches/exceeds the other options on the market like Joyzz and 8bitdo's Genesis-style wireless pad.

Of course, we're working on the 2.4 GHz wireless and Bluetooth versions of the SEGA controllers. We should have more news on them in the coming months.

Sorry for replying to myself, but posting prompted me to go over to Castlemania. I noticed that the lone Saturn pad review is gone.. it had cited the broken D-pad we're all talking about (and strangely enough also awarded 4 stars). Are Castlemania covering (up) for Retro-Bit!? From the outside there's no other reason why they'd take down a very detailed, well-written review that even awarded a quantified good score.

I dunno, it reeks of fishiness and thought I'd point it out. Taking down one bad comment on a niche site sure isn't going to stop the multiples popping up on Amazon.

We do not force review takedowns nor do we pay for reviews. Ryan at Castlemania is a great friend of ours (he's a one-man show, amazing) but we would never ask him to remove any bad reviews (same for Amazon or any partners of ours). While he is an online store, he is also a passionate gamer as well and gives us great feedback on products. We've learned from our past mistakes and take our work seriously.

Is there a release date for the dual analog saturn pads yet?

We don't have a date nailed down, just yet. We hope to have news to announce on it later this year.

Nice, thanks for clarifying that up!

And nice touch to give each region their own artwork

Of course! We're glad the way it turned out and it's great to hear people love it as well.

Hello,

How could one know if his RetroBit Saturn controller for the Saturn console belongs to that flawed first batch and therefore needs to ask for a replacement? (I mean, aside of spending +1 week with it in order to see if it gets broken.)

It is difficult to tell without opening up the controller and testing the specific part. We do not recommend opening up your controllers as you could also damage other parts. However, we are honoring any DPad or flawed performance issues with replacements. If you feel it is dropping inputs or isn't responsive, please e-mail us your issue at info@retro-bit.com.

[bigbadboaz]

We do not force review takedowns nor do we pay for reviews.

Fair enough. It's good to see you on here responding in such detail.

Are you able to elaborate on exactly what happened in this first batch of Saturn pads? It's hard to imagine how a different type of plastic than spec would end up in production pieces, especially only in certain units..?

[Retro-Bit]

We do not force review takedowns nor do we pay for reviews.

Fair enough. It's good to see you on here responding in such detail.

Are you able to elaborate on exactly what happened in this first batch of Saturn pads? It's hard to imagine how a different type of plastic than spec would end up in production pieces, especially only in certain units..?

Mistakes happen sometimes. I'm unsure what you would want to be elaborated on as there isn't a larger narrative that we're aware of.

[bobrocks95]

We do not force review takedowns nor do we pay for reviews.

Fair enough. It's good to see you on here responding in such detail.

Are you able to elaborate on exactly what happened in this first batch of Saturn pads? It's hard to imagine how a different type of plastic than spec would end up in production pieces, especially only in certain units..?

Mistakes happen sometimes. I'm unsure what you would want to be elaborated on as there isn't a larger narrative that we're aware of.

I guess a more clear question, if you're able to answer it, would be:

Was the wrong type of plastic used in the initial batch and it will be changed going forward, or was there simply a manufacturing flaw that caused the plastic to be more brittle than intended?

[Retro-Bit]

I guess a more clear question, if you're able to answer it, would be:

Was the wrong type of plastic used in the initial batch and it will be changed going forward, or was there simply a manufacturing flaw that caused the plastic to be more brittle than intended?

I gotcha. There was a flaw in the mixture during the making of a small batch of actuators that found their way into some of the Saturn pads. Plastic is created in batches for parts using a very specific amount of chemicals and materials depending on its usage. We weren't aware of a flaw existing at all until we heard about it on social media. Going forward, we have ensured that this won't happen again.