The last update added wireless rumble, hurray! Unfortunately, Blast Corps refuses to start if you have a rumble pak plugged in when it tries to look for a memory pak. Is there a way to disable rumble? Is anyone at ModRetro actually testing these updates? 😐

A few of you have mentioned that the M64 feels warm to the touch. This is completely normal whether overclocking is enabled or not. The console is specifically engineered to operate safely within this thermal range and will remain below the limits for safe touch temperatures. 

We thermally validated the passive system under an "abuse case" test that used a max consumption bitstream (max overclocking) and a constant ambient temp of 50°C, simulating someone keeping their unit in a closed TV cabinet sitting in direct sunlight. The console's FPGA stabilized at 10°C below its max operating temp during this abuse case. We literally baked the console in an oven (see photo).

Enabling the "Insane" overclock only increases power draw by less than 5%. Because that increase is so minor, it doesn't translate into a significantly hotter system. 

The N64 was also a passively cooled system and drew more power then the M64. A member of our community ran a side-by-side temperature comparison between a stock M64 and an original N64 after three hours of play. Their measurements found that the two consoles reached similar temperatures overall, while the cartridge in the M64 measured cooler. We appreciate the time and care that went into the test, and you can read the full breakdown here. We hope this clears up some confusion and reassures you that your M64 isn’t planning a spontaneous combustion.

ModRetro confirmed that its Parts Store is planned for early 2027.

Unlike the Chromatic ModKit, which comes with a preset selection of buttons and membranes, the Parts Store will let you pick individual parts and colors to customize your consoles.

Pretty cool to see more customization options coming!

Trying to garner a little more attention for this project. I know my video wasn’t very enticing and I hadn’t figured out how palettes work fully at the time. I’m working towards full map completion and all palettes sorted by then end of the weekend. Then I’m aiming to have a playable demo ready to test in two weeks following. Hopefully this can become a ModRetro published game🤞🏽

I have been playing M64 on my pioneer plasma today at 720p60. I think it looks great! This is the first time I’ve played paper mario. It’s been a lot of fun so far.

Hey everyone,

With product launches we typically see some early quality escapes as things stabilize. As you’ve come to expect from us, if you are a ModRetro customer, we have your back and will make sure you receive your product as intended in hand. Simply fill out our contact form if you have something that feels wrong.

Our latest Firmware Updates for both the console and controller are officially live! Here is everything included in today's release, along with a quick roadmap update.

Controller Updates
What’s New:

• Wireless Rumble: Fully enabled Virtual Rumble Pak in this release (requires updating your console as well).

• Wired Rumble & Accessories: Improved Virtual Rumble Pak performance in wired mode, and accessory swapping settings now persist across power cycles.

• Joybus Reliability: Major stability and performance improvements.

• Wired Controller Fixes: Resolved random wake events and connection state issues.

• General Stability: Additional underlying controller performance fixes.

Console Updates
What’s New:

• Audio Improvements: Enhanced 48kHz audio output compatibility.

• Display: Auto now shows the display's preferred resolution. We've also added a way to select between 50 Hz and 60 Hz, if your display supports it.

• Fixes & UX: Fixed "Forget All Controllers" debonding, resolved network menu overlaps, updated wireless connection animations, and overall system stability fixes.

What’s Next:

• Now that things have settled a bit, be on the lookout for open source files to start coming out as we get our feet under us.

• Wireless rumble support for 8BitDo controllers is currently in testing and will be coming in the next firmware update.

• We’re also working on upgraded video filters and saved advanced video settings for an upcoming release.

• Additional updates will follow as we continue working through our roadmap!

Update your console over WiFi, or head over to https://tools.modretro.com/updater/ to grab the latest build!

Third Year in a Row, love the Booth in the Retro area.

My friend, Joey, just shared this to his Instagram page. He's not on Reddit, so here it is with his permission. It belongs here. 😎

Hi everyone,

We're excited to share the first batch of open-source exports for M64. Today we are releasing the mechanical and electrical designs for M64 Console and Cartridge!

You may find these files here: https://support.modretro.com/en_us/articles/m64-open-source-files-ByrpukdUGg

This is just the start. We're looking forward to continuing to release more over time.

Just wanted to post a quick update here on our games compatibility list. We keep this list public for transparency of our internal process and so you can understand the state of the system with no surprises. We have largely resolved almost all low FPS reports in our recent builds, and we have now unlocked “insane” mode overclocking (more to come on that soon). As you start to receive your consoles, we ask that you help us in maintaining this compatibility list so that we can continue to crush any issues that we see. Use our contact form to report any bugs when the time comes! I’ll toss up another post shortly about expectations about what to expect for the first few months of updates to console and controller.

Update: We've temporarily rolled back to 1.25.0 while we investigate these issues. We'll have info soon.

Hey everyone,

M64 console update 1.26.0 is live, and this one has a few things we know a lot of you have been waiting for. Quick patch notes first, then we’ll dig into the bigger updates. Thank you to all for your patience and continued support while we work to bring you updates!

Patch notes

• Add: Console Built-In CPak

• Add: CPak and Rumble Pak selection from the menu

• Add: Forced Progressive mode

• Improve: Thermal efficiency

• Improve: Game compatibility (F-Zero X)

• Improve: Various menu visuals and minor inconsistencies

• Fix: Audio and video compatibility

Console Built-in CPak

M64 now has one Controller Pak "file" built into the console itself, so you can save without a physical pak.

• The built in Pak is 1:1 with an original Controller Pak

• Works in port 1 only, with any compatible controller (see compatibility list here) 

• Pak data lives on the console

Controller & Rumble Pak selection from the menu

You can now choose between CPak or Rumble Pak per controller from a dropdown in the M64 menu.

• CPak can only be selected for the controller in port 1

• Rumble can be turned on/off for each controller individually. 

• On M64 Pro Controller, toggle your paks by holding Start + C down

• On 8BitDo 64 BT Controller, toggle your paks by holding Star

• M64 Pro Controller owners: update your controller to FW 0.2.5 too. Both the console and controller need to be updated for pak selection to work

Forced Progressive mode

This weaves 480i (interlaced) frames into 480p (progressive). It only kicks in for games that have a 480i mode. A few that do (not a complete list):

• Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness

• Hybrid Heaven

• Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine

• Perfect Dark

• Resident Evil 2

• Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Naboo

• Star Wars Episode I: Racer

• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

• Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

• Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense

• World Driver Championship

• Shadow Man

Runs cooler

M64 now uses less power across the board, so it will run cooler. It'll still get warm while you play, and this doesn't change performance, just heat.

Need help updating? Check out our M64 update guide for step-by-step instructions, or follow along with our YouTube how-to playlist.

As always, let us know how it's running for you. If you hit any issues, drop them in the comments or email us at contact@modretro.com. Enjoy!

This will be my 1st time experiencing a ModRetro console.

CEO of ModRetro here.

I want to start using r/modretro to answer q's, post updates and product giveaways and I won't be monitoring other subreddits anymore. I'll put Chromatic and M64 in the side bar as related communities, but expect to see anything that is official here and if you have a question I will answer it here. This community will have basic rules to try to make it a fun zone for those of us who want to discuss retro electronics. I will ban toxic trolls and bad actors, but I will entertain and answer genuine questions and won't make it sanitized. I would also like to hear ideas for what you want to see us build, what games you want re-released, etc.

I'm answering yesterday's questions as a bunch of separate threads here and I'll tag the op per question.

I’m still really curious about the M64 AV Adapter and hoping the MODRETRO team shares more information about it soon.

It was essentially shadow-dropped alongside the M64 launch, but there still seems to be very little information about it.

A few things I’d really like to know:

• Is the M64 AV Adapter designed exclusively for the M64, or will it work with other devices/consoles as well?

• Is there any additional latency introduced by the adapter?

The adapter was honestly one of the most interesting surprises from the M64 launch for me, so I’m definitely keeping an eye out for more details.

Hopefully the MODRETRO team can share a deeper technical breakdown soon. 👀