8BitDo 64 2.4G – a wireless N64 controller for your old Nintendo 64

Plenty of Nintendo 64s still work fine. The controllers are another story. Decades of Mario Party turned a lot of those analog sticks into something like stirring a bowl of sand. And the cable is just short enough that you end up on the floor two feet from the TV. Like it’s 1997.

The 8BitDo 64 2.4G fixes both. It’s a wireless N64 controller that works on an original Nintendo 64: you plug the little 2.4G receiver into a controller port and play Mario Kart 64 from the couch. With a stick that won’t wear out.

At about 40 bucks, that’s an easy yes for anyone with an N64 in a closet.

What is the 8BitDo 64 2.4G?

8BitDo is the Chinese accessory maker that has been building retro-style controllers for years. Its 8BitDo 64 Bluetooth controller came out in 2025 as the official partner pad for the Analogue 3D, a modern N64 console. The 2.4G Edition, which started shipping in the US in March 2026, is the version for the original hardware.

It ships in Classic Grey with the colored buttons you remember: blue A, green B, yellow C-buttons and a red Start. The shape is not the famous three-pronged trident. It’s a modern two-handled pad with the analog stick on the left, where your thumb wants it.

How does it work?

The box has the controller, the 2.4G adapter and a USB cable. 8BitDo says to update the firmware first with its Ultimate Software V2 app on iOS or Android. After that you plug the adapter into your N64 and play. It also works wirelessly on an Analogue 3D, and wired over USB on Windows.

According to the maker it has:

• A Hall effect analog stick with a wear-resistant metal ring, built to resist drift
• The original stick gate and a concave rubber stick cap
• L, R and Z buttons, a classic D-pad, a mode switch and turbo
• A memory function: saves are stored on the receiver, like a built-in Controller Pak, and you can export them with 8BitDo’s software
• Rumble, but only on the Analogue 3D (and only in games that support it)

The good and the not-so-good

What I like:

• No more cable. That alone is worth it if your N64 lives under a TV.
• The Hall effect stick. Damien McFerran at Time Extension points out it avoids the wear that killed so many original N64 sticks.
• It feels like Nintendo made it. Ollie Reynolds at Nintendo Life reviewed the Bluetooth version with the same shell, praised the excellent build and called the D-pad fantastic. He gave it 8 out of 10.
• The memory function means you don’t need to hunt down an old Controller Pak.

What could be better:

• No trident. If you want the original three-pronged feel, this isn’t it, and not every N64 fan likes the change.
• Reynolds found the stick a little too sensitive compared to Nintendo’s original.
• Both shoulder buttons are labeled Z, which Reynolds found confusing at first.
• No rumble on a real N64, according to 8BitDo’s own spec list.

Who is the 8BitDo 64 2.4G for?

Anyone with a working Nintendo 64 and worn-out controllers. Couch players who are done sitting cross-legged on the carpet. And Analogue 3D owners who want one pad that also works on the original console.

Skip it if you play N64 games on a Switch: get the Bluetooth version of the 8BitDo 64 instead, because Switch isn’t on the 2.4G model’s compatibility list. And if you already love your PS5 or Xbox pad, 8BitDo also sells a separate Retro Receiver for N64 that lets those controllers talk to the old console.

8BitDo’s wireless arcade stick for Switch is another favorite here. And the Game & Watch: Legend of Zelda is a little time machine too.

Where can I buy the 8BitDo 64 2.4G?

8BitDo sells it on Amazon and in its own eShop. At the time of writing (October 2026) it’s about 40 bucks on Amazon US.

GoldenEye from the couch. Finally.