Sega Saturn Black USB Wired Arcade Pad Controller [Retro-Bit]

The d-pads will quit working after a week and on the second one I bought it wouldn't go left anymore. Also these pads have some of firmware issues because one will work on my ps3 but not on my ps3 in the other room. Also I find it ridiculous that you have to hold up and start to enable the actual dpad on certain machinery. Huge letdown when I had my buddies over to play SF and these things crap the bed. Avoid.

I've owned imitation controllers before, and while they were fine, this one really has that quality touch to it. The buttons click in a way where it doesn't feel cheap, and the weight of the controller feels right unlike some imitation ones where it feels super light like a cheap toy.If you're going to play Sega games, then this should be your first choice.

Met my needs and demands at five stars-excellent rating controller is very reliable and works well it provides an excellent gaming experience

Works great with Mednafen emulator. Controller was exactly what I wanted.

Really solid controller. I was hesitant to get it at first because I saw a lot of the first shipment was faulty, but everyone said they got replacements with no hassle and mine was fine.D-pad is nice feeling and the buttons too, my only real complaint is the shoulder buttons feel extremely soft and light and have almost no click to them. They work fine, but just feel very faint. And the only other minor hitch is that if for some reason you hold the start button for 5 seconds or more it does a wonky thing for me in Windows 10 and resets the controller and makes my system think I've plugged in an Xbox pad with different buttons... Normally this isn't an issue though, just happens a few odd times when I'm trying to do some weird secret codes in some games that involve holding start+other buttons... gotta make sure to not hold too long.Nice long cord and works perfectly on my pc with every emulator and game I've tried. If you liked the style of Sega's old 6 button pads then you should appreciate this.

The biggest reason people have clamored for a solid Saturn controller for modern gaming is the d-pad. Retro-bit actually nailed it on the feel here. Sadly, the right side of the d-pad stopped working for me after about a month of moderate use. You can feel the membrane underneath the pad itself has broken and no longer registers the input. This is extremely important for a controller, and especially one that appeals so much to fighting gamers. Sadly, it's indicative of sub-standard materials. I'm hoping they correct this moving forward, because the controller has a solid feel, legit Sega license, and the buttons are good. I do wish the shoulder buttons had the microswitches of the original, but I understand the concession.My advice is to wait on this one and see if they're correcting this mistake. The portion of this small review base that has complained about this issue means failure of the d-pad is near certain. I'm currently awaiting response from retro-bit regarding them making good on their 60 day warranty.Update: Further research has shown retrobit is aware of the issue and has stated they have since corrected it. Also, for most, the issue isn't the rubber membrane itself. It's the cross shaped pivoting plastic piece responsible for pushing the membrane into the pcb that breaks. I still think it's best to wait here. I'll provide an update of the new controller and the warranty process if/when Retrobit provides a replacement.Update #2: We are nearing a week since I emailed them regarding replacing the controller. I have yet to receive a response.

Bought this one to play all my arcade style games on pc and Super Retrocade. I clocked in a lot of hours between me and my friends and it held up nicely. The controller feels exactly like my official Saturn controller I have on my original console system. I see a few reviews with dpad issues, I read about this and seems a very small initial batch had bad actuators but retro bits took care of them right away with a replacement. Good to hear that the controller is also backed by a company that stands by their products too.I also got another official version and it’s doing great. I can’t define which is which since I have one original Saturn pad but you can tell by the engraving on the back. Other than that it really is that identical! Good job!

I bought two of these at the same time, one black and one clear (smoke grey with colored buttons), which have been like night and day. The black one had a mushy d-pad that didn't feel centered, and the buttons were sticky; it did not feel good to use so I tossed it in a draw and forgot about it. I then tried the clear one, and it's become my go-to USB controller. The d-pad was exactly like I remember it, the buttons felt perfect, and it's just a joy to use.The cord is sturdy, well-shrouded (no lag or interference), and is an impressive 10 ft long, so I can play on my couch with several feet of cord to spare. The d-pad is exactly like the old Saturn controllers, it's slightly raised compared to my original Saturn controller but still feels fine. The 6 buttons and shoulder buttons are a bit stiff, but are very responsive and will probably "feel" more normal as I break it in. It works flawlessly on my PC using RetroArch, is plug-and-play with Genesis Minis from all regions, and (after going through button config for each system) I use it daily on my Retro Freak. It does most of the heavy lifting out of all my retro controllers, thanks to the great d-pad and that long cord.This is easily a 5-star product... if you get one of the good ones, and since my results are 50/50 here I feel like I need to dock my rating accordingly. That said I would not hesitate to recommend this product on the condition that if it doesn't feel fine from the get-go to immediately return it.

I’ve had a few quality control issues with 2 of the official USB Sega Saturn Pads. The first one literally had half of the logo missing, and the L and R buttons felt like mushy 3rd party Saturn controllers from 1995, as opposed to the nice mouse click like response of the official Sega Saturn S Pads. I purchased another USB Saturn Pad in a store shortly after returning the first one, generally assuming that the first one was just bad luck. Within 4 days, it wasn’t possible to move right with the D pad. This was with exceptionally light use, largely due to working regularly as a DJ, which didn’t give me much free time. All of my classic original, official Sega game pads still work perfectly, as well as all my of my other game system pads, both official, and 3rd party.When the replacement USB Sega Saturn Pad arrived from Amazon, it was a very different experience than my initial first impressions. This gamepad felt like it was from a newer production line. The L and R shoulder buttons had satisfying mouse like clicks, the D pad felt precise, and it felt like the quality of the plastic was less brittle, and more in line with the original pad. That one is still in use, and it’s had a lot of gaming sessions because of the lockdowns we all experienced. After transferring my Saturn discs to my PC to play via the Saturn emulator, the USB pad has been used to play through Burning Rangers, Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon Zwei, Nights Into Dreams, Sega Rally, Sonic Jam, Quake, Virtua Fighter 1, Virtua Fighter Remix, Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter Kids, Dead or Alive, Bulk Slash, half of the English fan translated RPG epic, Grandia, Last Bronx, and the list goes on.Playing these classic games with a fully functional replica of the original Saturn Pad felt like a truly special experience. Despite the razor sharp 4K TV emulation experience, it still felt like being a kid in the mid 90s again. There’s something truly nostalgic about the approach Sega took with the fantastic Japanese Saturn Pad, which would later replace the uncomfortable US Sega Saturn Pad. The Sega Saturn controller was an evolution of the 6 Button Genesis Pad. As great as that pad was, it was actually too small. The newly named Saturn S Pad, had a larger form factor, with a slightly convex area in the back, that was more comfortable to hold than the Sega 6 Button Pad. The D pad had more padding underneath it, which made it easier to roll in a quarter circle motion to pull of fireballs in Street Fighter games. This makes sense given that Sega designed the Genesis 6 Button Pad closely with Capcom, to release it in tandem with their first Street Fighter port for the Genesis, Street Fighter II Championship Edition. Given the importance of Street Fighter 2, it was vital for Sega to deliver a top tier gamepad that would allow it to be played properly, since the original 3 button Genesis pad simply wouldn’t cut it.So with that in mind, the Japanese Sega Saturn Pad, and the US Saturn S Pad felt sublime. It’s why having not one, but two poor experiences with the first batch of USB Saturn Pads felt disheartening as a long term Sega fan. If for any reason the D Pad feels weak, and you’ll be able to feel this if even lightly rolling the D pad produces a click like sound. That means that the plastic that sits above the rolling mechanism is brittle. If you feel mushy L and R buttons, that’s also not a good sign, because they should emit a satisfying click sound. Both of my Japanese Saturn Pads from 1995, as well as my 1996 Saturn S pads, still have the L and R click, and a rugged, top quality plastic molding for the D pad. If the wire is lose in the reinforced USB end of the cable on the RetroBit Sega Saturn Pad, that’s also not normal. The first one I received had all of those issues, as well as the half logo printed issue. The one from the store had all of these issues, minus the logo printing error. With that one, the right direction on the D pad didn’t work either.I’m going to say this, the one that works feels like an amazing piece of gaming history. Playing older Saturn Games with it via emulation feels great. Playing through Streets of Rage 4 with it? That was literally the best way to play through it, and a surreal dream given that my Dad who passed away from cancer, gave me each of Streets of Rage game, as they came out, as gifts for my birthday.