An adapter that would allow modern Bluetooth controllers to be used with original Saturn hardware is a step closer to reality after its creator announced the hardware design is finalized.
Humble Bazooka tweeted a photo Friday of the Saturn BT, proclaiming it the final form that he hopes to sell in late July.
The Saturn BT will be available for North Americans at Ohio-based Stone Age Gamer for US$39.99.
For those in Europe, the Saturn BT will be sold by the UK-based 8bitmods for £39.98 (€39.98).
Customers can sign up at those pages to be notified when the adapter is in stock.
The Saturn BT is inserted into a Saturn’s controller port and can pair with a variety of Bluetooth devices, including PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X, Switch JoyCons and 8BitDo (Bluetooth only) controllers.
It’s made possible by using the BlueRetro platform coded by Jacques Gagnon, aka Darthcloud. A portion of each sale is donated to Gagnon to further support the platform.
Since the Saturn BT is compatible with BlueRetro, users can go to https://blueretro.io/ to configure the device.
The adapter’s product page lists the following features:
- Use various Bluetooth devices with your Sega Saturn
- Mouse and Keyboard support
- Analog mode for games like Nights Into Dreams
- Can act as a Multitap
- Assign Turbo to any button with varying speeds
- Very low latency, comparable to “2.4Ghz” devices (varies based on controller being used)
- Remap any button
- User updatable via web browser
- Injection molded shell
The device’s official name was announced a little more than a month ago when Humble Bazooka said in a tweet that samples of the adapter’s smoky semi-transparent injection-molded shells were in hand. At the time, he expected to release it in late June, but that timetable has moved back by a month.
This isn’t the first Bluetooth adapter that Humble Bazooka has made for a retro console. He’s also made dongles for the Atari Jaguar, TurboGrafix-16, PC Engine, Neo Geo and 3DO, all of which are sold at Stone Age Gamer and 8bitmods.
He told Shiro on our Discord server that the Saturn BT is the first adapter he’s made a shell for using injection molding, which is higher quality than 3D printing techniques like fused filament fabrication, resin or selective laser sintering.
“So you can see there’s a bit of a quality jump going from these to the injection molds,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming and a lot of work but I think the injection mold was worth it.”
Humble Bazooka has been working on the Saturn BT since early February. The four-month development time has been longer than his other adapters because of the injection-molding technique.
“Lots of back and forth with the company doing it,” he said. “I’m also new to injection mold design and there’s a whole other set of guidelines, rules, tolerances.”
He said he chose injection molding despite its higher cost because he thinks there’s a larger demand for a Saturn Bluetooth adapter than other consoles — so it’s up to Saturn fans to prove him right when it goes on sale next month.
“In a way it’s an experiment to see if this is a viable solution,” Humble Bazooka said.
Financial considerations were a part of why he chose to make a Saturn adapter — but not the only one.
“But also because I love the Saturn and I wanted [a Bluetooth adaptor for it] myself. Most of the stuff I make, a big part of it is the love I have for that console. I would say that the Saturn and PS1 generation is probably my favorite. I was there for it all and it was at the time of my life when I could actually enjoy them.”
— Humble Bazooka
Humble Bazooka is also working with GamingNJncos on a Bluetooth adapter that connects to original Saturn 3D analog controllers, enabling them to be used with other devices like a PC, which Shiro last reported on in September. While that adapter isn’t planned for retail yet, its designs are available on Github.
[Edit: June 9] SaturnDave got a review unit of the Saturn BT this week and posted a couple videos today on the Shiro YouTube account to show off some initial impressions. Check ’em out:
Danthrax is a contributor to the Shiro Media Group, writing stories for the website when Saturn news breaks. While he was a Sega Genesis kid in the ’90s, he didn’t get a Saturn until 2018. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the console’s library as well as the fan translation and homebrew scene. He contributed heavily to the Bulk Slash and Stellar Assault SS fan localizations, and has helped as an editor on several other Saturn and Dreamcast fan projects such as Cotton 2, Rainbow Cotton and Sakura Wars Columns 2.
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