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Retro gaming lovers will probably know 8BitDo, a company that sells an articulated catalog of controllers that reproduce more or less faithful layouts and characteristics of those of historic consoles. These devices are equipped with wireless connectivity, which can be the ideal complement to a modern platform dedicated to retro gaming, specially configured with Raspberry, or an old PC that comes back to life.
But what’s better than the original Super Nintendo, NES and Megadrive gamepad? 8BitDo tries to give a new youth to the historic controllers, announcing the availability of a particular kit: it is generically identified as 8BitDo DIY, where the acronym DIY (Do It Yourself) anticipates that you will have to roll up your sleeves to complete the change that actually adds a Bluetooth module to the NES, SNES and Mega Drive controllers.
In practice, the controller must be dismantled and the original PCB replaced with the one supplied by 8BitDo. In addition to the Bluetooth module, it also integrates the battery that will power it and a 3.5mm connector through which it will be possible to perform the recharging operations. The company emphasizes that the operation does not require any type of welding and provides the necessary tools to complete the modification in the kit. In the video below you can evaluate how simple the operation is – specifically, for the Mega Drive controller.
Last important detail on the price: the amount required for the individual kits is tangentially lower than that required by modern copies of the controllers – decent copies, we mean: $20. The kits are already available for purchase through the official 8BitDo store, but they should not be long in coming to the main online stores – remember that 8BitDo products, for example, are easily available on Amazon as well.
