PSA: 8bitdo SNES Retro Receivers do not work with Multitap

Just wanted to get this information out there, since I've been going back and forth with the 8bitdo support, in hopes that other customers don't make the mistake I did and buy 4 of these receivers expecting to play multitap games on the SNES.

I play Super Bomberman with a few buddies frequently, so when I first found out about the 8bitdo wireless controllers and receivers support for the original SNES console, I was excited to finally have a clean no-wires solution to our multiplayer nights.

Reading the official product page, 8bitdo stated that the SNES retro receiver is "Compatible with two-four Retro Receivers for multiplayer player games".



But after buying 4 controllers + receivers and trying it out on my multitap, I was having problems getting slots 3 - 5 to properly work with the Retro Receivers:



I contacted 8bitdo's support, and I had about 20 emails back and forth of trying to get information on why this isn't working.

After a couple back and forth emails, and my mentioning that I'm using the Bomberman Multitap that was shipped as an officially licensed product, they said:

We did not test the multitap.

Probably not support.

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Huh? How did you not test the only way of getting compatibility with 2-4 receivers??

Then they said:

"The development team has recently focused on new products."

"This product does support multiple devices.

But the one you're talking about is a third-party device

Development is a very difficult and lengthy process.

We have told you patiently that we have fed back to the development team, but their current focus is on other products.

Please understand the results of our work and labor."

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...and brushed me off. So I made that video above, sent it to them, and asked them to get an official word from their develoipment team.

This was the response:




So there you have it.

The product page says it's compatible with 2-4 players, but it's a bold-faced lie.

I hope people don't end up wasting money like I did, hoping for 4-player wireless gaming on the SNES.

"We have told you patiently that we have fed back to the development team, but their current focus is on other products."

Well that's catty.

Yeah. And it’s not like I was pestering them every day. Weeks would go by without an update or a simple response.

I didn’t even mention the message they sent me claiming the multiplayer compatibility was meant for the Ntmini, and linked me analogue’s webpage. That’s right. Ntmini, not even the SuperNT. That’s when I knew I was dealing with a PR shill and asked him to direct my messages to the actual development team.

Yeah...as a whole I've really not been impressed with 8bitdo products...constant product revisions/discontinuation and hardware differences, random interference issues, support that can't do anything more than read me their manual back to me. It's just exhausting. When it works and you don't have issues it's great, but if you have any, I wouldn't expect a resolution to surface.

That's why I was first in line to buy krikkz' overpriced wireless Genesis pad on release, and aside from the one slight dpad misalignment (which actually didn't even bother me), he immediately fixed it. I was going to try to give 8bitdo another chance with the Mega-SG pad they're releasing in tandem with the console...that was until krikkz put his pad on sale, then I immediately cancelled my 8bitdo order and bought another one of his. They're that rock solid. A wireless controller I don't have to constantly fret about working right.

Simple product in theory, though I've found it very hard to find good ones in practice.

I do want one of 8BitDo's tiny controllers for my iPad. But if I do buy one, I'll know what to expect.

fakeXsound said:

I do want one of 8BitDo's tiny controllers for my iPad. But if I do buy one, I'll know what to expect.

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To be fair, my complaints are specifically around their retro adapters to their consoles. I've never tried over the bluetooth connections to say a tablet, computer or switch. That might work better than through their console based retro adapters.

sparksterz said:

To be fair, my complaints are specifically around their retro adapters to their consoles. I've never tried over the bluetooth connections to say a tablet, computer or switch. That might work better than through their console based retro adapters.

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Still, that attitude is a turn-off.

That is pretty shit and by the looks the Dev team knew about the lack of 5V current when using a multitap as the receivers likely draw more than a standard wired controller.

Now let's put that shitty experience behind us and think about a solution to your bomberman nights. If you open the multitap and disconnect the 5V line between it and the SNES and instead wire up a 5V AC adapter to power it independently you could work around it.

they said it could work with 4 players. They didn't say it would work with all multitaps, and that part is fair. You are using a 3rd party device.
You should ask them if there is any known multitap that allows 4 player to work instead of insisting on making it work with your specific model.

NeoSneth said:

You are using a 3rd party device.

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This can be said of anyone who has ever used any multitap for SNES... There are about 20 multitaps. They should clarify which ones are supported and which ones aren't, or, at the very least, say which ones they've tested.

fakeXsound said:

This can be said of anyone who has ever used any multitap for SNES... There are about 20 multitaps. They should clarify which ones are supported and which ones aren't, or, at the very least, say which ones they've tested.

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^Exactly this.

There are no 1st party multitaps as far as I know. The bomberman ones were the most popular. They should have specified what multitap to use when claiming multiplayer support, but I asked the question twice and they dodged it.

It probably means that they thought it would work but didn't actually test it.