Analogue 3D Finally Ships: Pre-Order Customers Get Their FPGA N64 Consoles This Month

After months of delays, Analogue’s $250 Analogue 3D console is at last heading out to early adopters. Pre-order individuals received direct word from Analogue that shipments start on November 18, and every single pre-order will be fulfilled before December 1. If you need to change your shipping info or want to cancel, you have until November 16—no exceptions.

This is massive for retro gaming fans. The Analogue 3D is not your average N64 clone. It’s an ambitious, painstakingly designed device aimed directly at those who want the real feel of original hardware, but adapted for our current living rooms.

Why Analogue 3D Is Such a Big Deal

Let’s break down what sets this machine apart. Analogue 3D runs on FPGA technology, not software emulation, so it’s built to recreate the original N64 hardware at a circuit level. That means ultra-accurate gameplay, just as you remember it, but with all the modern trimmings. It plugs right into today’s HDTVs and delivers your physical N64 cartridges in full 4K resolution.

It isn’t just compatible with your old North American games, either. Analogue says the console works with every original N64 game ever made, from any region. Pop in Japanese, European, or North American carts: they should all run. The device features four controller ports styled after the originals, ready for those rowdy rounds of Mario Kart with friends. When pre-orders went live last year, it blew past expectations and sold out fast, all at a $250 price point.

The road to release hasn’t been smooth. First revealed in 2023 with a 2024 launch promise, Analogue ended up missing its original target. The plan then shifted to a July 2025 window, followed by not one but two more public delays. Impatient fans watched their calendars as expectations moved from Q1 to Q3, and then to this fall.

The Technical Philosophy Behind Analogue 3D

Inside this machine is a philosophy: fidelity isn’t just about graphics, it’s about capturing the context in which games were meant to be played. Analogue CEO Christopher Taber is outspoken about the importance of getting early 3D right. He told Paste magazine in 2023: “This generation of videogames is where its context starts to really become important. All of the video game systems designed within this era were made to be played on a CRT.” That’s a big deal, scaling N64-era assets up to 4K and modern displays is no simple task.

Taber gets specific about where older emulation, like Nintendo’s own Switch Online service, falls short. “N64 games have mixed asset resolutions, amongst many other things. Scaling early 3D games for modern televisions is radically more complicated than 2D games.” The Analogue 3D’s FPGA plus 4K approach is their answer. According to Taber: “It gives you 100 percent control over everything, in every detail. Analogue 3D performs like a masterful f*cking orchestra, a symphony, because, again, everything is designed from scratch, in house, with complete control over every dynamic. Therefore, every nuance is able to be calibrated to an unprecedented degree. To me, it’s either this, or buy a f*cking original N64 and a CRT. End of story.”

That uncompromising standard is a big reason why the device has been delayed so many times; perfection takes time, especially when you’re aiming for “unprecedented control” over every pixel and frame of an early 3D classic.

If you managed to snag a pre-order, don’t forget: final cutoff for changes is November 16. Analogue promises all orders will be out the door before the month wraps up. For anyone who missed it this round, you’ll want to keep an eye on future restocks, this release is setting a new gold standard for N64 on modern displays.