8Bitdo M30 2.4G Wireless Gamepad for the Original for Sega Mega Drive/Genesis - Black (Electronic Games)

Have used this on my Megadrive 2 to spare the original wired controllers from wear and tear. Had previously bought a wired controller but the directional button broke after two weeks, so was wary of buying another. The instructions are quite poor and leave things out. For instance, pressing the start button on the controller turns it on. Pressing and holding the start button (for around 3 secs) turns it off. Very useful to know! The controller itself is excellent though and is very responsive with no lag in my experience. It feels more robust than the controller I bought previously but intend to revisit this review in a few weeks once I've played more with it. It is easy to pair and should not need to be paired again once set up. Simply turn on the Megadrive with the receiver installed and press the start button on the controller. I like that you can switch between 3-button and 6-button modes as I found some games more challenging in 6-button mode. That may just be me though. I also like that you have two buttons on the front of the controller which can be used as a C button (right) and Z button (left). I've found these useful. Charge is lasting a long time so far and very happy with it.

THIS IS A FANTASTIC CONTROLLER. FULL STOP. I noticed a few low star reviews relate to 2019/2020. In 2025, this is now a go-to must controller. Excellent wi-fi, next to zero lag, built in rechargeable battery that last for ages. Solid, easy to remove cable if used. Superb thumb control sensitivity. More than enough configurable buttons. I've used controllers for decades, and this one is a solid safe bet. Love the auto fire option.

I only received this controller today so this is a bit of a first impressions review. The D-pad and buttons look and feel like they were taken straight from an original 6-button controller. The controller itself feels very slightly heavier than the original 6-button and the weighting is more centred as there's no cord coming out from the back, it's not a bad thing it's just different. Other than that though it feels very much like using the old official sega 6-button controller. Setting up was very quick and easy, it worked fine only seconds after being plugged in and I've not seen any drop outs after a few hours of gameplay. When plugged in via USB windows 10 recognised it as a game controller straight away, I've not tested it much in windows though. I haven't had it long enough to know what the battery life is like, so if it's not great I might be back to revise my review. It feels solid and the build quality seems to be good, at least on the one I've received. The only tiny gripe I have is that if you shake it the buttons do rattle a tiny bit but it's no worse than the official controller. So far though it seems to be the perfect wireless replacement for 6-button controllers, I actually think I prefer it to the official 6-button controllers. I might be back to amend my review if anything comes up.

Build quality is stunning, the buttons and dpad are very responsive and the pad is really comfortable in hand. This pad is a must for Mega Drive owners, I have been using this pad now for a number of weeks and have had no issues, has a strong wireless signal with no interruptions and I have experienced zero lag, a great price and highly recommended

This wireless gamepad for my Sega Megadrive version 1 is very much plug-and-play. It literally took me a lot longer to unpackage the controller, receiver and charging USB cable than it did to pair with my system and begin gaming. The gamepad isn’t heavy, it’s actually quite light and is ergonomic. It fits into the hands nicely. With up to 35 hours on a 90 minute charge, it’ll keep me gaming for a good amount of time. I much prefer a wireless option for a gamepad as wires can limit the distance you can have between the console, and when it comes toto using my 42 inch TV, you don’t want to be sitting too close to the screen. There appears to be zero lag between the time you press a button and the in-game action. First game I tested it with was Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition, and all six buttons work seamlessly and are responsive. If there’s latency, the human eye can’t detect it. Switching the gamepad on and off is simple. This gamepad isn’t perfect, I’d have preferred more resistance on the D-Pad. I’m giving the product 4 stars !

Works great on megadrive and switch. Small feels well built I would recommend .

My original controllers suffered from wear and tear being nearly 30 years old. So I saw this on video review and then searched Amazon. Easy to set up and ideal to use. Comfortable hold, responsive and wireless! So nice sitting back on my sofa and enjoying my retro games without the nuisance of wires. The controller is USB charged and lasts a good few hours. So good I then bought one for my SNES too

Very disappointing. Constantly loses connection to the receiver and will sometimes take minutes before the connection is stable enough to use, and then it’ll drop again. Fails entirely on its selling point. Utterly unusable. I have several 8bitdo controllers which are fantastic. This one feels good in the hand, and on the rare occasion when it does connect, works well with no noticeable input lag. Unless there’s a firmware update, or a new revision released that fixes this connectivity/sync issue, then it’s impossible for me to recommend this controller. Returning mine for a refund. EDIT: I’ve halted the return for now. 8bitdo are sending me a replacement receiver (from China) which they claim has fixed the connectivity issue, so this must have been a known issue for them to have already revised the receiver to address the fault. Will comment again once I’ve received and tested the replacement part. I advise anyone else with a defective unit to reach out to them directly on their support email address: [email protected] UPDATE: 8bitdo have sent me beta firmware (2.0) for both the controller and the receiver, stating the firmware has resolved the issue. I’ve installed the firmware for the controller easily, however I’ll need to buy a specific screwdriver to open up the receiver as the USB port is hidden inside. I believe it’s a torx T4 size bit. Bit of a design oversight to have it inaccessible. UPDATE 2: To open the receiver, a torx T4 or T5 will fit the screws. Firmware was easy enough to install (drag and drop), and I’m pleased to say firmware 2.0 has indeed fixed the connectivity issue and from a small amount of testing I’ve done, works as it should originally have worked. One small issue I’ve noticed with the new firmware is the blue light on the controller won’t stay solid for long even though the connection is stable. As it’s a beta firmware, I can’t complain as I expect this to be addressed when it’s finalised and released through 8bitdo’s support webpage. It’s still difficult for me to recommend this controller if it’s shipped with defective firmware and the only way to update it is to contact 8bitdo directly (and conquering a language barrier with them). Plus the issue of having to buy a specific, non-standard screw bit to be able to install on the receiver. I believe once the issues have been rectified this will be a good controller out of the box, but at the moment, it’s possible you’ll receive a dud and be very disappointed like I was.

Seen some mixed reviews on this on various media platforms but I can tell you as a die hard MegaDrive/Saturn d-pad fan(only the PS Vita rivals it) this one works as intended. Some say it didn't work as good as they thought it might and some say it worked perfectly. One I really trust mentioned that all directions can be pressed at once if pushing down on the middle of the pad. I did not experience this(yet anyway) and what else I can say is this: Upon delivery I immediately got my copy of Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition, plugged it in and completed a run through with Ryu and the pad did not miss a beat(and I'm a bit rusty on this game). Fireball, Dragon Punch, Rising Dragon Punch ;-) all worked no misses. I was sat maybe 2.5 meters from the MegaDrive and had no dropouts. The inherent lag from WiFi is as good/bad as any modern pad and is to be expected. A younger me would probably tell the difference between its input speed and an original wired one but I haven't noticed it yet. Streets of Rage 2 will test that but I haven't got to it yet. I would say if your original pad is on the way out or worn out this is a worthy replacement.

本機（2.4G版）を買うべきユーザーは、「メガドライブ実機に無線で接続したい人」に限られます。 PCやニンテンドーSwitchに接続して使用したい方には、「8BitDo M30」の「Bluetooth対応版」をお勧めします。 何故かと言うと、Bluetooth対応版の方が無線環境に幅広く適応している他、 ネットを通じたファームウェア更新や、十字ボタン入力方式の変更など、機能性が明らかに上位互換だからです。 ストアの表記も不親切で、本機とBluetooth対応版の違いを説明しないばかりか、 レシーバーの接続端子（メガドライブ専用）も映さないのは、誤解を誘っているようにしか感じられない。 そもそも同じ「8BitDo M30」なのに、何故ページを分けているのでしょうか？ 類似の製品に誘導もせず、機能が格段に劣る本機の方がBluetooth対応版より高額なのも納得いかない。 有線接続なら使えるのでコントローラー自体にあまり不満はありませんが、本機の売り方には不満を感じます。

Gran opción para usar con tu Génesis original o con el Mega SG... el lag que podría presentar es muy bajo y nada perceptible. Es muy cómodo y el precio es bastante bueno. Lo único que podría ser malo es que solo se sincroniza con su receptor ya que no es Bluetooth.

Für mich derzeit wohl der beste Controller von 8bitdo. Ich habe diverse SNES Style Pads von denen, die auch sehr gelungen sind. Aber als großer Fan der Sega 6-Button Pads kann ich dieses hier nur empfehlen. Die Vearbeitung ist super. Das D-Pad und die Buttons erreichen fast 100% Qualität des Originals von Sega. Die neue Form ist gegenüber der bekannten Bumerang Pads von Sega etwas gewöhnungsbedürftig, aber definitv kein Nachteil. Nett auch, das man das Autofeuer auf beliebige Buttons mappen kann. Zu den Verbindungsproblemen: Getestet habe habe ich auf einem Mega Drive 1 PAL, per Adapter am Amiga 1200 (um volle CD32 Controller Belegung zu haben) und per USB Mega Drive Adapter am PC für Emulatoren. Bei letzterem kann ich kurze Abbrüche zum Receiver bestätigen. Das mag am langen USB Kabel+Adapter liegen, und das die 2.4g Version letztlich nicht offiziell dafür ausgelegt ist. Aber das bekommt man in den Griff, wenn der Receiver etwas in Richtung des Pads zeigt. Dann bleibt er auch per PC Emulation 100% stabil. Gesamt bin ich sehr zufrieden damit. Dieser Sega Klon bleibt nur sehr knapp hinter dem besten Klon, dem Joyzz Pad von Krikzz, zurück. Der hat aber auch seinen stolzen Preis und längere Batterielaufzeiten. 4.5/5 würde ich diesem Pad schon geben. Besonders für diesen Preis. Mal sehen, ob der Langzeittest das bestätigen kann.

Works great overall but for some obscure reason, it doesn’t work on the menu of the game Aladdin and I need to switch controllers with an official one to get the game to work.