We’re in the midst of a retro console revolution. Between emulation handhelds pouring out of China and more affordable FPGA consoles popping up all the time, there have never been more options to choose from for playing classic games from the ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s. The Nintendo 64 is one of the platforms getting modern tributes, and the competition is heating up.
Boutique hardware maker Analogue announced its Analogue 3D back in 2023. Using FPGA technology (which replicates original hardware instead of emulating it), the company promised the “ultimate solution to play N64 today in total fucking glory” for just $250. It was scheduled to release last year but ended up being delayed until early 2025.
Earlier this week, the company delayed it again. “Analogue 3D shipping is delayed (as of March 18th, 2025) and is now shipping by July 2025,” an update to the pre-order FAQ read. “We are working hard to get your 3D order in hands asap and appreciate your patience. If you have an open preorder no action is needed.” Kotaku reached out for comment about the cause of the delay but hasn’t heard back.
The announcement came just a day after Oculus cofounder Palmer Luckey teased his own upcoming N64 console called “M64.” His retro side project, Modretro, released the $200 Chromatic Game Boy last year to rave reviews. “An arms dealer’s Game Boy is among the best ever made,” wrote The Verge, and indeed Luckey’s current company, Anduril, is a defense contractor experimenting with killer AI drone tech for the government. “You cannot ensure peace if there’s no credible threat of violence underpinning it,” he told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.
It’s unclear what his credible threat of a competitor to the Analogue 3D will yield, but if it’s coming to market later this year and will offer the same nostalgic assortment of colorful hardware shells the Chromatic did in 2024, it could be a viable alternative for fans who want to revisit their N64 collections on modern 4K displays. Especially since the Analogue 3D is still currently sold out.
Of course, even if Luckey’s M64 turns out to be as good as the Chromatic, it’ll still require buying retro gaming hardware from a guy who says stuff like, “The United States should not be the world police. We should be the world gun store.”
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