Palmer Luckey’s gaming company just dropped the M64, and honestly, I’m torn about the whole thing. The guy’s built actual VR headsets that changed gaming, sure, but he’s also neck-deep in military contracting through Anduril, which makes autonomous drones and surveillance tech for the Department of Defense. So when he teases a translucent purple Nintendo 64 clone on X with a note saying “no peeking until Christmas,” I’m simultaneously hyped about the hardware and deeply uncomfortable about where my $200 might end up. The M64 hits that exact nostalgia sweet spot with three transparent colorways (purple, green, and white) that scream late 90s Funtastic edition, complete with matching wireless trident controllers that preserve the original’s questionable three-pronged ergonomics.
The timing feels deliberate in the best possible way for ModRetro. Analogue 3D shipped to pre-order customers last month after being sold out for over six months, and here comes the M64 exactly when early adopters are posting unboxing videos and first impressions. You can sign up for the waitlist now and get priority when it goes on sale, though if the Chromatic’s instant sellout taught us anything, that waitlist notification better ping your phone fast. The price point matters because $200 puts this squarely in impulse-buy territory for people who’ve been sitting on a stack of N64 cartridges since 1998, waiting for something better than janky software emulators or hunting down original hardware with failing capacitors.
Designer: ModRetro
The console uses AMD-powered FPGA technology and features four controller ports, a power button, a menu dial, and an eject button, with both hardware and software confirmed as open-source. That menu dial is the interesting bit because it suggests actual system-level features beyond basic cartridge reading. Could be scanline filters for that authentic CRT feel, aspect ratio toggles, or even overclock options like what Analogue builds into their consoles. We don’t have concrete specs on the actual FPGA chip yet, but the AMD chip is likely much larger and faster than the one in ModRetro’s Game Boy-like Chromatic, which makes sense given the N64’s significantly more complex architecture. The Reality Coprocessor, the texture filtering system, the expansion pak doubling RAM mid-generation – all of that needs accurate recreation at the hardware level if you want GoldenEye and Rogue Squadron running without the timing glitches that still plague software emulation in 2025.
The system promises 4K graphics with classic N64 visuals, which translates to clean upscaling rather than texture packs or visual overhauls that some emulators push. FPGA consoles shine here because they maintain pixel-perfect accuracy and minimal latency while outputting through modern HDMI connections. Anyone who’s tried running Perfect Dark through RetroArch knows the N64’s quirky architecture makes software emulation perpetually finicky. Audio sync issues, texture warping that doesn’t match original hardware, input lag that throws off muscle memory from childhood speedruns – FPGA sidesteps all of that by literally rebuilding the original silicon pathways in programmable logic gates. The open-source firmware commitment matters too because it means community developers can add features, fix edge cases, and potentially expand compatibility beyond Nintendo’s official library if ModRetro’s implementation allows it.
The elephant in the room is Anduril. Luckey co-founded the military tech company that makes autonomous drones, surveillance systems, and weapons platforms with billions in government contracts. Every M64 purchase potentially funds defense projects that some buyers might find uncomfortable, and Luckey’s various companies are built to promote his excessively militaristic worldview according to critics. This isn’t tangential either – Anduril is Luckey’s primary focus, not a side investment. Whether that matters to you personally is a calculation only you can make. The Analogue 3D costs more and restocks are brutal, but your money goes to a company focused exclusively on gaming hardware preservation. Practically every tech purchase has military connections somewhere in the supply chain, but there’s a difference between incidental contracts and building autonomous weapons as your core business model. Some people won’t care. Others will wait months for Analogue restocks rather than compromise on this particular issue.
The hardware itself looks genuinely sharp though. Those transparent shells channel the atomic grape and jungle green N64 variants that defined late 90s bedroom gaming setups, and the wireless controllers solve the biggest practical problem with original hardware – constantly tripping over cables stretched across living rooms. Luckey promises the M64 will remain at $200 through Black Friday and beyond despite inflation and component shortages, which suggests they’ve locked in manufacturing costs and aren’t playing the artificial scarcity game that plagued PS5 launches. If ModRetro actually ships before Christmas and the FPGA implementation handles compatibility cleanly across the N64’s library, this becomes the accessible entry point for cartridge-based retro gaming that doesn’t require scouring eBay for working consoles or dealing with composite video on modern displays.
The post This $200 Nintendo 64 Can Play Your Old Cartridges in 4K With Zero Lag first appeared on Yanko Design.
