The hardware wizards at Analogue are at it again with an FPGA Nintendo 64 clone, the Analogue 3D. After the brilliant Analogue Pocket Game Boy device, this may be the best way to play N64 games in modern times.
Releasing in 2024, the Analogue 3D will allow gamers to play the entire Nintendo 64 catalog on modern TVs with 4K output. The complete hardware clone of Nintendo’s first 3D console will be the de facto way to play original N64 cartridges.
Analogue has yet to reveal what the new console actually looks like at the time of writing. While there are some fancy photo teases of a console hidden in shadow, no full pictures of the N64 clone have been released just yet. The photos also tease an included 8BitDo controller.
As well as playing N64 cartridges, the Analogue 3D will include original display modes for all games. Furthermore, new CRT filters have been created with references to recreate specific high-end TVs and PVMs on your flatscreen HDTV.
Of course, in bringing back the Nintendo 64, the new console will also include four controller ports. After all, you can’t have four-player Goldeneye without four controllers, can you?
The features of the Analogue 3D will all be tied together with the sleek but functional AnalogueOS. Found on the Analogue Pocket handheld, the lightweight operating system adds save states, video mode options, cheats support and much more.
As an FPGA device, the Analogue 3D is much more than a simple emulation device. Instead of running games via software, the device’s internals can mimick the actual chips found in Nintendo’s classic console. This means that games have 100% compatibility without any texture issues or additional bugs; it’s a lot of work.
There’s currently no pricing options for the Analogue 3D at the time of writing. The console is also expected to have an early sign-up process to buy the machine, just like the Analogue Pocket did. We can also expect the device to be a bit on the pricey side.
You can check out the product’s official website here, if you want.