CEO claims Nintendo couldn’t deliver a better modern N64 than Analogue 3D
Retro console manufacturer Analogue has claimed that even Nintendo couldn’t deliver a better modern Nintendo 64 experience than its upcoming Analogue 3D game system.
Announced earlier this week, Analogue 3D is an N64-like console that plugs into modern HDTVs, accepts original N64 cartridges from all regions, with four original N64 controller ports.
Analogue CEO Christopher Taber shared more details on the console in an interview with Paste, and claimed that it would offer a far better experience than the N64 emulation on Nintendo’s Switch Online service.
“To me, it’s either this, or buy a fucking original N64 and a CRT,” he said. “End of story.”
Currently, the Analogue 3D has a broad ‘2024’ release window and no price point. However, Taber suggested that its investment into the FPGA-powered console – which he claimed has spanned over three years – wasn’t cheap, and results in “by far the most powerful and expensive” internal technology in the company’s history.
“Reimagining the N64 with 100 percent compatibility and accuracy, and what I know is necessary for it to be just like the experience we all had when we first played it in the context it was created for (CRTs, namely), is not something anyone has achieved, not even close to,” Taber said.
The CEO suggested that Nintendo couldn’t do much better on an emulation front, even if it made an “N64 Classic” mini-console in line with its previous classic systems.
“The nature of how [N64] software emulation functions with even the most powerful components – it isn’t possible,” he argued. “It will inevitably result in a subpar experience.”
Switch Online’s Expansion Pack tier launched in 2021 and was met with frustration from some players due to emulation issues and a lack of features.
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