ModRetro’s M64 is a faithful Nintendo 64 redo console, that’ll play games in 4K
There's a new N64 console in town that'll play all of the original games and is some promising some new and unreleased titles.
ModRetro, the retro console maker has revealed its latest creation, it’s take on the classic Nintendo 64 console – complete with a slot for the original cartridges.
The M64 console and controllers are very reminiscent of the original, both with a translucent finish and a choice of three colours – green, purple, and white.
There are four ports for controllers with support for the original pads too. There’s a button for power and a dial reading “Menu”. Around the back, there’s a HDMI port, three USB-C ports, and a microSD card.
The games will be playable in 4K thanks to a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) that is able to replicate the original hardware and enable emulation. The console itself is based on AMD hardware. As well as original games, the company is also teasing new cartridge-based games are on the way too.
The ModRetro M64, which has been teased in recent weeks, will retain the early-bird price of $199 despite fears over tariffs. Those interested can sign up now.
The company – which launched the Chromatic for Game Boy and GameBoy Colour games – was founded by Palmer Luckey, who was the man behind Oculus before it sold to Meta. He’s somewhat of a controversial figure as he’s very much part of the military industrial complex too. He runs a company called Anduril Industries that has US government contracts for building drones. Down with that sort of thing.
If that’s a turnoff for you, you might want to check out the Analogue 3D, which accomplishes the same goal – the ability to play your old N64 games – without compromising yourself morally.
If you’re neutral, Luckey says his console offers: “Less latency (1:1 with the original system), open source hardware/software with support for other console cores, better compatibility, silent, support for many analog video output formats in addition to digital, $70 less.”
“It is better by every objective measure. And that is without even getting into how much better our controller is, or our library of new, re-released, and never-released N64 titles we are about to launch.”
You can sign up for the waitlist here. Or you can check out the Best Black Friday deals and nab yourself a Switch 2, which can already play some of the beat N64 games via Switch Online.
Chris Smith
