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

This is advertised as being inspired by the Genesis 6-button controller, but it is much more similar to the Japanese Saturn controller. The d-pad looks identical to the Saturn version, and the button layout is very similar as well. The controller feels solid and well-made, like a first-party console controller. There is slight wiggle on the face buttons, but less than youd find on the original Saturn controllers. One difference from the Saturn to note is that the triggers are less clicky and feel more like a SNES or Playstation/DS# shoulder. Bluetooth reception is good, and it uses x-input on PC as advertised. Regarding x-input, the d-pad uses the left stick axes (not the hat), and, as another reviewer noted, the triggers use the z-axis. I suspect this is because x-input on a xb360/x-bone controller only has six digital buttons (aside from the start/select buttons), and those six are taken up by the face buttons here. The geometry of the controller body is slightly different than the Saturn (although I would say more similar than it is to the Genesis 6-button). One difference, which I like, is that the center of the body bulges less—on the Saturn, my thumb tends to hit the center of the controller body, and that doesnt occur with this controller. I love the size, and I think anyone who is happy with the size of a Saturn controller would be as well. Overall, Im extremely pleased with this purchase, especially at this price. This is now my favorite fighting game controller. Just like my previous purchases from 8BitDo, this is a very well made and well supported product at a very reasonable price. Thanks

I have a few 8bitdo controllers and the M30 is by far my favorite. As a huge Sega fan from back in the day, I love that the dpad mimics the one found on the Genesis 6-button pad and the button layoutmatches both that pad and the Saturn controller. This one adds extra buttons for modern gamers that also accomodate its use on the Nintendo Switch. Personally I dont use it on that platform, I use it often on a Windows 10 computer and sometimes on a couple of Raspberry Pis. This isnt a controller Id recommend for modern games since it lacks analog sticks and has a different button layout. However, if youre into playing classic games via emulation, I think this is about the best controller you can get right now. Its responsive, easy to connect, works over either a wired or bluetooth connection, and when using it wirelessly you get more than respectable battery life. If youre looking for a controller for retrogaming that is suitable for multiple older platforms, then look no further, this is the one to get.

I grew up playing fighters, and the standard control scheme was light, medium, and heavy for each attack type. For those with 6 button genesis controllers or arcade sticks, this was easy to do, but it was awkward for the SNES controller that had shoulder buttons. Most modern controllers descend from the SNES controller layout (due to the Playstation using it, as Nintendo and Sony collaborated on it), so it is less than fun when going back and revisiting fighters or classic Sega games. I got two of these to use with a Raspberry Pi running RetroPie, and it is great. For Sega games, I can play them how I always did, and for games that use the 4 button control scheme, I can play those just as well, making use of the shoulder buttons here and just A, B, X, and Y buttons. It is well constructed, connects easily, charges using USB-C, and is super comfortable. Id definitely recommend them to anyone who is interested.

i bought an 8bitdo controller a couple years ago to use on my phone with some emulators. i liked it for the most part, it was a bit small for me but the Bluetooth worked great and there was no real noticeable lag. i was in the market for another one and didnt really want to spend 50+ dollars on a second one, so i decide to try this one out. Right out of the box i liked the feel of it. nice weight and fits my hands perfectly. The Bluetooth connection is great and it doesnt cut out like some other ones Ive had and no button lag. If you are looking for a nice controller that is reasonably priced give this one a try

A great product packed into a small package. I bought this controller as my go-to for fighting games and it hasnt disappointed yet. The d-pad is exactly what I was looking for, allowing for easy quarter-circle and Z input patterns. Also allows for various input modes that can be switched between easily. Pairs well with phones, the Switch, and computers via Bluetooth and USB. Highly recommended.

I bought this controller primarily to use on my Switch, more specifically the great library of shmups it has. The dpad is second-to-none when it comes to 2D gaming. I had never been a fan of the disc-style dpad (looking at you, Xbox 360), but this one is excellent. It provides great control for even the most frantic of bullet hell games. The buttons are nice and responsive, no complaints there. The build quality is really solid and the battery holds a charge for many hours of gameplay. The controller has various input modes for the different platforms it works on. Switching between modes is easy enough. There isnt much noticeable input delay, although being a wireless controller latency is present. I havent had it impact my gameplay at all, however, and most players wont notice it. Overall I cant recommend this controller enough for anyone who plays 2D games, especially retro platformers and shmups.

First off, I want to start by saying that the 8BitDo M30 Bluetooth Gamepad feels great and performs very well. If you want a solid alternative to an actual Sega controller, and you want an excellent d-pad for fighting games and/or retro games, then consider this your go-to controller in that regard. Expect some problems along the way, though. First, I tested this game on Switch. I love the built-in menu for testing controllers on Switch, so I went that route first, due to how accurately you can assess the quality of a d-pad with that menu. Alas, none of the d-pad presses registered in the test menu, leading me to believe that the d-pad emulates the left analog stick, instead. Next, I wanted to test it with some fighting games, so I tried both Samurai Shodown and King of Fighters 2003, and the d-pad performed admirably on both tests, with any botched move commands likely the fault of myself (as Im not used to the stricter input requirements typical of SNK games). I decided to perform one final test on Switch, mostly to confirm my assumption about the d-pad emulating the left analog stick, rather than the directional buttons on other Switch controllers. I chose Tetris 99 for this task, since you control tetrominos with the directional buttons on other Switch controllers and use the left analog stick to target specific opponents. Alas, as I assumed would happen, the d-pad on the 8BitDo M30 did nothing more than target opponents, leaving me unable to control the placement or descent speed of my tetrominos. I wish 8BitDo would consider doing what Hori does with its Fighting Commander controllers by including switches that allow players to change whether the d-pad emulates an actual d-pad or the left analog stick, as I cant imagine such functionality drastically increasing the price of production. That said, given how many indie developers seem to insist on mapping character movement in 2D platformers to the left analog stick on modern controllers, I can see why 8BitDo chose to have the d-pad emulate the left analog stick if that choice had to be made. UPDATE: Apparently, you can change the d-pads function! Thanks to Anita L. (whose review appears on this page) for this info! By holding the - (Minus) button and Up, Left or Right on the d-pad for five seconds, you can change what the d-pad does. Up make the d-pad act as a d-pad, while Left and Right make the d-pad act as a left or right analog stick. This means that Tetris 99 is at least playable with this controller, even if you cant easily target opponents anymore. WHY WASNT THIS IN THE MANUAL?! People more familiar with Nintendos controller layouts should consider the fact that Segas controllers button layouts tend to clash with those of Nintendos controllers. As such, you should expect some confusion surrounding the button labels and their actual functions. For example, A and B on the 8BitDo M30 act as the respective B and A buttons on other Switch controllers, with X and Y similarly reversed. C and Z act as R and L, with L and R acting as ZL and RL. The + Start and - (Minus) buttons at least match their Switch controller counterparts, with the Star and Heart buttons acting as Capture and Home respectively. UPDATE: Similar to the above d-pad trick, you can change the functions of the A/B/X/Y buttons to match their Switch counterparts by holding the - (Minus) button and Down on the d-pad for five seconds. To change it back, just do it again. As I mentioned before, Im not so great at SNK fighting games, so I decided to test the 8BitDo M30 with Ultra Street Fighter IV on PC via Steam. I couldnt begin to imagine the difficulty Id have in getting this controller to work. For some reason, Microsoft seems to have recently implemented mouse cursor control in XInput controllers, toggled on and off by pressing the Start button on whatever XInput controller you happen to be using. I use the word implemented loosely, as I suspect that the manner in which I experienced this feature was unintended. Basically, I found that the 8BitDo M30s d-pad would occasionally move my mouse pointer around. Eventually, I came to the realization that the 8BitDo M30s Start button was toggling this feature on and off. Terrible. I seem to have found a fix for this issue. Note that Id previously made sure that the desktop controller configuration through Steam was properly dealt with, which led me to realize that this was, in fact, a Windows 10 issue. To fix this issue, try doing the following: 1) Go to Device Manager. (You can access it by right-clicking the Start menu in Windows 10 and choosing Device Manager from the context menu that appears, or by simply typing Device Manager in the Start menu and selecting it from the search results.) 2) In Device Manager, expand the Human Interface Devices section by clicking on the > symbol to the left of that section. 3) Locate a device called Bluetooth XINPUT compatible input device in the Human Interface Devices section. 4) Make sure your 8BitDo M30 is turned on and connected to your PC via Bluetooth. 5) Right-click on Bluetooth XINPUT compatible input device and choose Disable device to disable it. 6) Since the 8BitDo M30 is turned on and connected to your PC via Bluetooth, youll be prompted to restart your PC, so restart your PC as prompted. 7) Once your computer has restarted and youre logged into Windows 10, go to Device Manager again, then to the Human Interfaces Device to locate the Bluetooth XINPUT compatible input device one more time. Right-click it and choose Enable device to re-enable it. 8) Turn on your 8BitDo M30 (as it likely turned off automatically when you restarted your PC). You should notice that the Start button on your 8BitDo M30 no longer toggles mouse control on and off. Anyway... So, I tested the controller with Ultra Street Fighter IV, and it performed beautifully. Not a single botched move command. I couldnt be more pleased. Overall, I highly recommend the 8BitDo M30 for people who prefer Sega controller layouts or just want a solid controller with six action buttons on the face of the controller. Its a bit of a shame that the experience falls so short of perfection when other controllers manage to offer a more streamlined experience, but its worth the extra work, in my opinion.

Ive been using the M30 for over a year now and it is outstanding. The buttons and d-pad feel perfect out of the box - like it came broken-in from the factory. It has held up very well - there isnt a hit of slop in the controls. If you retro games - Celeste, Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and the like, this controller is the perfect complement. I bought it for gaming on my Mac. Ive found that it also works almost as well as any native controller on Switch - it cant wake up a sleeping console, but it seems to do everything else. The buttons can be remapped (x/y, a/b swap) to match the Switch layout in about 5 seconds. I cant believe a $30 controller has remapping built-in, but here we are. For its intended purpose, the M30 leaves nothing to be desired. I would have been very happy with it at twice the price.

The M30 is a retro controller inspired by the famous 6 button sega controllers if your looking for a pad to just play the Sega Classics Collection, Sonic Mania, Streets of Rage 4, Fighting games, and perhaps the Disney Classics of Aladdin and Lion King; then this will work wonders. A lot of people say its inspired by the genesis pad, but with this controller featuring L&R shoulder buttons its more akin to the Sega Saturn pads that came after it. Regardless, it works well. Its comfortable to use, easy to pair, and very responsive. The easiest way to test out how responsive the d-pad and buttons are is in the street fighter 30th collection and I have had no problems doing a shoryuken or fireball which both require half circle motions to be done pretty quickly. That being said, there are some annoying quirks to put up with when you use this pad. 1.) Theres no instructions on how to pair and repair it with your switch unless you go to the 8 bit do website. Basically, holding your start button for approximately 7 seconds will power the controller off. If your on switch, go to your systems settings and go to change grip/order; turn the controller on and press & hold start+y til the screen says its paired. The same process will have to be repeated on windows but differently. Windows/Steam will detect the start+y as a PS4 controller; thats until you turn it off and press & hold start+x which will make it read as an xbox controller using X-input. So if you buy this thing, make sure to go the 8 bit do website for pairing instructions; itll save you a headache. 2) The second problem I have is that theres no select/minus button; which means for games like the street fighter 30th collection on switch, youll need to hit the minus button on your joycon to actually start up the game & continue because the plus buttonll take ya to the emulation settings. Now on Switch, you can remap the buttons and save profile configs when you absolutely need it; but I kinda wish that 8 bit do had opted for a button on this pad called mode(to keep it in line with the Sega aesthetic here.) and have it function as select. This controller also wont wake up your switch from sleep mode so youll need another controller on hand to do that as well. Overall, it does what its meant to do. Its a perfectly functional and well made sega inspired controller; if you play a lot of 2d games; fighting games(provided they dont use more than 8 buttons and dont require select to be used.) then the $30 youll spend on this thingll pay for its self.

This is the best fighting controller I have ever found as of Sept 2022, that actually sort of fits in my pocket. The problem is the sort of. It still gets irritating when I sit down, it is just too thick. It seems like there must be the technology available to make a true mobile, high quality POCKETABLE controller. The steel series free almost did it, however the dpad on that is bad and the analog sticks are creaky. This controller even has a separate accessory that allows you to mount your phone. It almost realizes the dream of a portable gaming controller. But not quite. Highest quality dpad, on par with first party controls such as nintendo 3ds and ps vita, the gold standard. If anyone knows of a high quality, POCKETABLE controller, please reply to this review!