8Bitdo M30 Bluetooth Controller for Switch, PC, macOS and Android with Sega Genesis & Mega Drive Style

Great quality and I like the 8Bitdo products but I was mislead by the word windows so I assumed it would work for microsoft and the xbox but it does not. But is a good product.

Controller is comfortable and works well. The multiple connection modes are counter-intuitive, as is the face button mapping.

Good controller now that I figured out how to get it to work. Was about to return it too. But after reading a review about how to change the dpad from analog to digital it made a big difference. Also I changed the button format as well. Also got to make it work on PC. Theres no noticable lag. Hopefully this controller keeps up. Movement is so smooth on SF3, Alpha 2 and SF 2 for the Switch. Tekken 7 on the PC played well too.

Kinda hard to use with games that require to press button combinations, because of the mismatching button sizes. From the rest, it connects very easily, comes with USB cable for charging, overall its a solid controller.

Overall a good controller with fair button resistance and good response time and battery life. However the D-pad lacks a central pin leading to mispresses with the directional pad. An unfortunate oversight that prevents this from being a very good controller.

I grew up with a Genesis and the original 3 button controller (which was good but a little large) and later the 6-button controller (which in my opinion was the best controller ever, at least for 2d games.) We have a Nintendo Switch and Ive been excited to get the Genesis Classics games and play with this controller. So far, Ive used this controller exclusively on the Switch with some Genesis Classics games (Streets of Rage 2, Golden Axe, Shining Force, Sonic) and MarioKart. I have not tried it with PC or other systems. Overall, its a great controller.. but I would buy it for use with the Switch. First, the hardware is top notch. The original Genesis 6 button controller was excellent – good layout, d-pad, feel and size, etc, but this controller tops it in almost every way. The size is just right, the buttons all feel good, and the D-pad is great for fast twitch games like Streets of Rage. I have not noticed any significant lag - all very responsive. Add in being wireless, L and R triggers, and you’ve got a great product, especially for the $30 price. However, on the Switch, the button layout is just wrong with no way to fix it. It uses a layout more similar to the switch controller, instead of the Genesis controller layout it is trying to replicate. The primary buttons on the M30 that should be used on most games are A, B, C. Instead, A, B, and X are being used, where X is A, A is B, and B is C. (it’s more like a Nintendo layout with buttons in a near diamond, not a Genesis layout with straight in a line buttons.) Essentially, Im looking for the same button layout as on the Genesis but there is no way to get that. The button switching mentioned in other reviews does not solve this problem, it just swaps A/B or X/Y, etc. The C button on the M30 is not used in any configuration I can find on the Switch. Because of that, this controller has no real advantages over buying the Switch Pro controller, which can then also be used effectively for 3-d games like Splatoon 2, etc. If this product had a mode you could flip between on the switch to get the right button layout, or perhaps an option to map buttons anywhere you like, Id give it five stars.. but without it, I plan to return it. Its a good product but doesnt recreate the Genesis controller experience correctly when used with the Switch. Ive contacted 8bitdo support about this, and they said they have forwarded the request to their engineering team, so Ill update this review if it gets fixed. Also, FWIW, I found an article online that mentioned using the – key to put the controller in 3 button mode, but that doesn’t work either because in the Genesis classics game, “-“ is the key to exit the game you are playing and go back to the emulator front end to pick another game. Even if it did work, that is really a mode to fix compatibility with games that couldnt handle six button controllers, as opposed to a way to re-map buttons.

After messing around with mine for about an hour, quality has gone up from the original 8bitdo F30 and SF30 controllers quite a bit. The D-Pad feels much less mushy than the SF30, and while the buttons could be tighter, they werent that tight on original Genesis/MD controllers either. Good for fighting games. 4 instead of 5 stars as theres no label on the controller itself on which button triggers which input, like there was on the SF30. Theres also no diagram in the manual to which buttons do different things. Both of these things keep it from being maybe the best retro travel controller out there.

I love this controller! Its like the Saturn model 2 pad with much better L and R buttons. The Dpad is might be my favorite on any controller ever, and the face buttons have a quick reset time. The feel of this controller is fantastic the finish of the plastic on the shell and the dpad make this product seem very premium. The USB-C port is appreciated as someone that usually plays wired. There are a couple things 8BitDo can do on a second revision to make this perfect. 1 - when pressed hard the dpad makes a loud creaking noise, this is an easy fix by placing a buffer between the top and bottom pieces of the dpad.(thanks Reddit user Styl0s) 2 - the button mapping for x input mode is strange I would love to be able to customize it. Please make a wired version 8BitDo!

The headline says it all. If youre someone who prefers playing games with a D-Pad instead of a control stick, this controller has the best D-Pad of 8Bitdos entire product line in my opinion. Its very comfortable to use for extended play sessions and an absolute joy to hold.