Retro Fighters have just opened pre-orders on their Brawler64 Wireless Edition controller for the Nintendo 64. The price is $40 plus shipping and it is due to ship early January. CastleMania Games is also offering pre-orders as well for the same price:
Brawler64 Wireless Grey
Brawler64 Wireless Green
Brawler64 Wireless Blue
Brawler64 Wireless Smoke
Brawler64 Wireless Red
Interestingly, the memory paks plug into the receivers instead of the controller itself. This is presumably to prevent the need for data transfer, as the controller will only need to send the buttons pressed to the console. Unfortunately, that means rumble and transfer paks are not compatible. Also, it appears the controllers use 2.4GHz RF and not bluetooth, which is good news for people looking for a low-lag solution and bad news for people hoping to sync it with a PC. Unfortunately, no official lag tests results were posted.
Overall, it looks to just be a wireless version of the previous Brawler64 controller, however Retro Fighters claims it’s been tweaked a bit:
The Brawler64 Wireless Edition still has the same great shape and ergonomic design you know and love. Aside from the technological advancements, we’ve made some subtle changes to improve your gameplay. After much feedback from the retro gaming community, we’ve upgraded the feel of “Z” triggers to have a more “digital” press versus an “analog” pull.
Here’s the full list of spec’s they’re advertising, with the colors shown below:
- Compatible with Nintendo 64
- Next Generation N64 Controller
- 2.4 Ghz Wireless Technology
- Wireless range of over 30 feet
- Ergonomic and comfortable design
- Updated “Z” digital triggers
- Battery life of 10+ hours
- Ultra-fast turbo function
- Compatible with memory paks
- Responsive analog stick
- Rechargeable Li-Polymer battery
- Includes USB-C charging cable
- Color-matched dongles
