8BitDo has announced that they’ve finally gotten around to creating a wireless Bluetooth receiver for PS1 and PS2. The timing couldn’t be better since I just bought a PSone the other week.
Previously, 8BitDo released wireless adapters for SNES, NES, and Genesis consoles. These allow you to connect any 8BitDo controller, as well as many different modern ones, to a classic console. I personally have ones for my SNES and Genesis, which I use for my SF30 Pro and M30 controllers. My dog hates cords, for some reason, and won’t cross the living room if one is on the floor, so this sort of thing is just convenient for him.
8BitDo doesn’t currently have a controller that strictly emulates the look and feel of an original DualShock, but the Pro 2 controller comes pretty close. If that’s still too far off, you can connect a DualShock 4 or Dualsense. DualShock 4 sounds like the obvious choice for me, but they also list the Wii U Pro controller as compatible, which I’m a fan of. However, this also means I can use my arcade stick for some Bloody Roar.
Some people are wondering about how it will work with games that use the PS2’s pressure-sensitive buttons, but the press information I’ve read doesn’t really address this. My guess is that it won’t. This might cause some issues for some games like 2000’s The Bouncer. However, I usually forget this feature even exists until I run up against it.
Hopefully, now that the PS1 is out of the way, 8BitDo will be quick to bring about adapters for the N64, Sega Saturn, and Turbografx-16.
It appears that the 8BitDo retro receiver for PS1 and PS2 is available right now from their website for $24.99 USD.
