Take a breath, everyone - the N64 is officially 30 years old today. Yes, my favourite console released in Japan on June 23rd, 1996. It's three decades old, which means that I was 6 when it came out. I'm going to brush past the fact that I'm old now and concentrate on an announcement that 8BitDo have made to celebrate Ninty's iconic console's landmark birthday.
8BitDo pride themselves on making amazing controllers and keyboards. Brandon has been using their NES-inspired keyboard for years now, and I write every article with my Sega Saturn 30th Anniversary Mechanical Keyboard. We all know how good the Ultimate 2 Controllers are too - and now the N64 is getting a matching set in Water Blue, complete with coloured buttons that channel the button-mashing skills we picked up playing Mario Party and Super Smash Bros into our work.
Users on the Chinese Portal IT Tome have discovered the Water Blue keyboard and PC controller based on the iconic coloured shells that the N64 released in back in 1999. Rather than go into all of the ins and outs of how good these keyboards are here, I'll let you read my review on the Sega Saturn-inspired keyboard to get my full lowdown. Like the other keyboards, the N64-inspired design is set to come with Super Buttons that can be programmed to instantly pull off certain commands.
One thing I will talk about, however, is the use of coloured buttons. Yellow arrow buttons that mimic the N64 controllers C-buttons, a red CTRL key paying homage to the Start button, and A and B buttons in blue and green. For someone like me who grew up with the N64, this keyboard is awesome even before the fact that you realise it lights up when in use!
It doesn't seem too long ago that I reviewed the 8BitDo N40 Ultimate 2 Controller either, complete with three shoulder buttons, extra back triggers, TMR sticks, and much more. Again, check out my review of the controller to get a feel of what the Water Blue 8BitDo controller will be like.
So, let's talk price. The 30th Anniversary keyboard is available to pre-order on Amazon for £84.99, it's showing on Amazon UK, and is soon to drop on the Amazon US. The wireless controller is available to pre-order on both, starting at $54.99 on Amazon US and £49.99 on Amazon UK.
Where it gets confusing is that I am reading different release dates for the console and controller in different locations. In the US, the keyboard is not yet in stock, and the controller will ship in "1 - 2 days". Whereas the UK 8BitDo store states the keyboard will ship on 25th September and the controller on 28th August... maybe there's a mixup, but as of now that's what I am reading!
