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

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.

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.

I heard the dpad on these is exceptional, and Im playing a lot of Guilty Gear Strive. Originally i deemed the PS2 controller to be the only acceptable dpad for a game that requires lots of half and quarter circle dpad movements, as everything else seems much more finicky and inaccurate. This Dpad is better than the PS2 dpad. It just always gets the input right. Its crazy. Im not sitting here cursing out the controller. I just play better. 8bitdo is a great company and everything Ive got from them (just this and the SNES one) are exceptional.

My absolute favorite DPAD in 2020 on switch and PC. Thats in-comparison to 8BITDO SN30-pro (2nd favoite), switch pro, SNES classic, NES classic, xbox on, and ps4 dualshock. Seriously if you love the SN30/SNES d-pad, consider giving this one a shot. Easily and quickly transfers from SWITCH to PC. Switch paring (START + Y). PC Pairing (START + X) Buttons are fantastic. On switch, shoulder buttons are ZL and ZR with Z and C translating to L and R. Great for classic games like Collection of Mana or Megaman collections or something like Final Fantasy VII. Possibly awkward game depending. Does work with games like Animal Crossing, but lack of d-pad for shortcuts may be cumbersome. SN30-PRO with analog sticks is more featured - again depends on the game you wish to play. This is my go-to for 2D platform/shooters and turn based games.

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 never bother to write reviews of products, but I wanted to help get word out about this controller as theres a lot to say. First of all, I never had or played a Genesis, so this controller has zero nostalgic factor for me. Ive never even used a 6-face button configuration controller before, but I wanted something for my Switch which made playing retro and modern retro games more enjoyable. Specifically, the d-pad... as we all know, the Joy-Con doesnt have one, the Pro Controllers isnt great (plus mine had drift issues with the left stick, so I traded it anyway), and there are hundreds of third-party controllers out there with d-pads, but how does one separate the good from the bad? Enter 8BitDo. As youll see throughout the reviews posted here, the company produces some quality products. Ive had an SN30 (dog-bone style) for a while and really like it, but it is a tad cramped, the d-pad does sometimes register an up input when youre trying to hit left or right, and the face buttons are a bit on the clicky side. Nothing serious, and definitely a very good piece of hardware. But I wanted something even more from my d-pad and thats when I started researching the M30. Ive been using it now for a week, so here goes... Lets start with the main feature: the d-pad. Its amazing... it has a floating design which allows for very precise inputs and Ive had no issues with missed commands. Ive read here you can press the entire pad down, which is true and does serve a function if youve mapped it to function as a joystick, but I did not have any issues with that when using it at all. The d-pad itself is not loose or feel cheap, but it is flexible... basically a perfect balance and exactly what I wanted. The face buttons feel very nice... not as clicky as the SN30 or overly mushy; again, an excellent balance. My X button has a little wiggle to it which is only noticeable when putting the controller down -- it hasnt interfered with the use at all. Oh, and the face buttons make a lot less noise than the SN30 when pressed which is a welcome improvement. The shoulder buttons are nice and firm, easy to reach, and never register accidental inputs. The overall feel of the controller is very good... sturdy yet light, it feels a lot like the SN30 in that you can tell its solidly made. I would have loved it if the grips and back had a matte feel to them, but even as it is the controller feels great in the hand. It is also a bit beefier in size, so I dont feel cramped when using it. Id say my hands are probably average size since Im an average-height guy. As for the other buttons: the start button is prominent and centered, which is great, while the Capture, Select (Minus), and Home buttons are quite muted and out of the way. Personally, I think this is great since one of my biggest complaints about the Pro Controller was how easy it was to accidentally press Home when you meant to start Start or hit Capture when youre hunting for Select. I could see if some say these three buttons might even be a little TOO much subdued (maybe have them slightly raised?), but for me they work just fine. I will admit it takes some practice to find Select for those games that actually utilize it regularly (say, for a sub-menu), but outside of that I have no issues. Now, lets talk about that missing fifth star: this is to hopefully let the good chaps at 8BitDo know that their horrendously poor manual is hurting their product. Thank goodness for the Internet or we might never had figured out the controllers lovely built-in button re-mapping feature. Its all over the place in these reviews, so I wont bother re-posting it here, but suffice it to say it works as stated: a simple 5-second press of those key combinations and the controller re-arranges itself in the prescribed way. There is no visual confirmation of this, which would be nice, but at least the option is there. As I said, I got this for my Switch and it does work like a champ. But heres the thing: as easy as it SHOULD have been to turn it on using Y+Start to get the pre-configured Switch layout, thats not how it actually worked for me. What the manual doesnt tell you is you actually need to press Y first (and hold it) and THEN press and hold Start. If you press Start then Y or both together the controller boots in some other configuration (Android, I think? based on the way the lights react and the fact it synched with my phone!), so yeah... you guys at 8BitDo might wanna specify that because this is probably why some people are saying the thing appears to not sync at all. Hopefully this helps someone out there. Let me conclude by saying this controller is outstanding, especially considering the price point. The d-pad is a dream to use and its now my go-to even over my SN30 because I only use analogue sticks when I have to or in certain games like shooters, 1st-person POVs, shmups, etc., but Im all d-pad all the time otherwise, and this d-pad is awesome. Is it great for fighters? I wish I could say... I have a few fighters, but unfortunately I suck at them, so I really cant tell you if this controller would help in that regard. It feels to me like it does. Oh, and Ive had no lag issues with the controller running wireless. None at all. One last thing: the M30 has actually made me want to play Smash again. As fun as that game is, I hate, hate, HATE the fact you cant re-map your controller in-game to have the d-pad be your movement input. If you feel the same way, then this controller is the answer to your prayers because it works seamlessly with Smash! Just use the Minus+left command for 5 seconds to set the d-pad to input as the left joystick and youre good to go. Take that, Sakurai!!! Bottom line: this is another fantastic product from 8BitDo and theres virtually nothing to not like about the product itself. But I just cant give five stars because the lads really need to provide a serious, helpful manual with this thing, especially including the re-map and start-up instructions. Outside of that, you wont go wrong with this controller on your Switch. Now... perhaps we could discuss some button overlays for this bad boy?? UPDATE: I have experienced some significant and noticeable input lag when playing Shovel Knight Treasure Trove when using the M30, but no lag in any other game yet... and my 8BitDo SN30Pro doesnt have this issue at all in SKTT. Interesting...

Great for retro gaming and figthers. Good quality. First time ever i could do Zangief super and is in part is because of this gamepad

Ive had these controllers for a few months to see how they handle. Its a solid choice for mobile gaming and pc emulation. Pros: - solid feel - excellent battery life - works well with phone or pc emulation via bluetooth. Zero noticeable latency with HD TV. Cons: - hypersensitive when mapping/key binding. - does not work well with other non-sega emulators. That could be due to the emulators. I had difficulty using them with SNES ans NES. Not a deal breaker but it takes more time to get it to work. Super easy to use and excellent quality!

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.