It’s been quite a long time since I’ve covered anything from Rocker Gaming, but him and I met up and talked about some of his newest products. I’m excited to share his other future endeavors (we have to wait!), but today I’m going to start with the ultra useful ‘N64 Trophy Controller Stand’!
Description:
“This is a custom N64 controller stand designed from the ground up to display and store your controller.”
Features:
- It uses the memory/rumble slot to support the controller and display it.
- It has a built in cable management system to keep the cable nice a tidy.
- A plug receptacle which is bi-directional allowing the plug to be plugged into either the front or back of the stand.
- An optional insert that sits in the center of the stand which allows easy storage for your memory card, rumble pack or other accessories.
(Please note this is optional any only available in black or grey).”
Demonstration:
Pros:
- Color Options. So let’s start with the fact that this is a 3D printed product. Not everything that Rocker Gaming sells is printed on a 3D printer, but the ones that are happen to be solid and sturdy. And due to them being 3D printed, you have color options that you can choose from. Let it be known that there are two color options that can be added on that come with extra features, more on that later. The colors you have to choose from definitely don’t have anything to do with color options of controllers unless you own some expensive color variant console. The color options that exist are black, grey, orange, red, green, and white. Of those colors black and grey have extra features, and the other colors are there just for holding up your controller. Grey matches the typical N64 console out there and black is neutral enough so it just looks like your controller is floating.
- Modular. Alright, now let’s get into the topic I just alluded to, which is that there are two color inserts that have extra abilities (if you want). If you choose either color, there is an option afforded to you in which you can add in for $5 more. Rocker Gaming will add in a piece that you can slide into the center of the base. The piece allows you to hold your memory and rumble paks. It’s modular, as I am hinting at, so you can also forego it altogether if you don’t have any paks or don’t need the piece. Furthermore, you can mix and match your stand color with the modular insert.
Another way that the stand is modular is by virtue of how you wrap and contain the cable. Rocker Gaming affords you a couple of different options by way of making the plug port double sided. What I mean is that you wrap the cord around the base, once you have wrapped all of the cord, you have to put the end of the cord somewhere. You have the ability to tuck and plug it in underneath the back of the controller stand. This one is more intuitive and likely what most people will attempt first. But if your cord is modified in someway, or you don’t want to worry about putting stress on anything, you can plug it in in the front, under the controller. My video up above shows all of this, if you haven’t watched it already.
- Storage. Now let’s delve into the modular piece a bit more in terms of it’s purpose. This optional piece’s purpose is solely to store memory paks and/or rumble paks. In my video up above, you’ll see how this can be used. This product made me realize that I don’t own actually own any rumble paks. I know it’s because I hate the fact that they don’t have a memory card built in, so what’s the point, but I should probably own one for posterity’s sake. Anywho, you can store up to two paks in it, and you can mix and match. You may be wondering why you would need this optional piece, and that’s because of how the controller attaches to the top, more on that soon. But you will need the slot on the back of your controller empty for using the stand. So you simply can slide your pak out of the controller, put it in the base, and then attach the controller. This keeps everything nice, tidy, and organized.
- 3rd Party? You got a 3rd party controller that you use for your Nintendo 64? Well I’m willing to bet that you’re covered with this controller stand. Now don’t take my word for it, but as long as your controller is average controller size and has a slot on the back for pak accessories, then you should be covered. In the videos up above, you can see what I mean by this. I’ve included Rocker Gaming’s video of the stand connecting to a controller as well as my video showing three different controllers. The main controller, a Retro-Bit Tribute64, and a Retro Fighters Brawler64. This should definitely then work with the original Hori Commander and Hori Mini controllers as well as the wireless Retro-Bit Tribute64. But I can’t really confirm any other controllers, so your mileage may vary.
- Balanced. I can’t speak highly about how well this works to keep your controller level and it has a nice strength to it without needing counterweights in the base. The controller itself connects on the back via the pak port. I’m not sure what the technical name of it is, but “pak port” will do nicely for the purposes of this review. When you connect it, then you clip the cord to the stand on the back and then it allows you to wrap and plug it like we discussed before. What I love the most is that this stand is wide, but not terribly big. It’s just enough to keep the center of gravity down the middle so that it doesn’t tip forward. I’m guessing that the angle and length of the arm of the stand also has something to do with it. I don’t have a scale anymore, or I would weigh it and see if the stand and controller are mutual weights. Either way, don’t think that your controller will topple forward or fall over. And if you’re wondering if it’s because the cord is added weight to the bottom, the answer is no. Even before you wrap it, it can balance the controller just fine, so the added weight isn’t required, it’s just an added benefit.
- Affordable. This and many of Rocker Gaming’s products are valued very intelligently. They’re super affordable and you get a great product out of the deal. I’ve reviewed just some of their other products before (Cell phone rumble for Gamecube, N64 & Gamecube Jewel Replacements) and I have to say that even if they wanted more money for them, they could surely set a higher price. These are products that others have equivalents to and charge more you more for them than Rocker Gaming would and he escalates to have more features or are built better. He also has products that are entirely one of a kind that you can’t find anywhere else. So with this product, he keeps it at a $16 price point, it’s only if you want to have the pak storage that it becomes $21. The only thing I would love is a discount if you buy four at once. And I only say this because the Nintendo 64 can have up to four controllers and some of us want to utilize a stand for all of the controllers we bought for our N64.
Cons:
- Feature Set. The only downside I found is with the extra features being limited to grey and black. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there is a valid reason for it. I’m sure grey and black are inexpensive, so he can use more filament and thus have more available to print the slots for memory and rumble paks. That keeps the cost down to only $5 of cost for those features. The other colors look great and all, but without those extra features, it may not be what you want.
I suppose it isn’t a big ordeal since you can just set your pak in the middle of the colored stand. Maybe he could make a version of the stand where you leave your rumble pak in and the whole pak (with controller attached) slides right into the slot of the stand. But it still wouldn’t do anything for those people who only use a memory pak. I suppose there isn’t one easy solution, other than to supply the modular piece in all colors. But then, could he keep the cost as affordable as it is?
Overall Thoughts:
Honestly, I was already gushing over this when he handed it to me when we met. You could tell how it was solving a problem that I didn’t know that I had. A solution for someone who likes to be both organized and show off their collection. As an aside, if you happen to have the Nintendo Switch Online version of the Nintendo 64 controller (and a 3D printer), I have found a person who has uploaded a small stand with less features to it that has one that you can print. Just look up Kytor on Printables and you’ll find it. For everyone else who just wants to buy this grand stand from Rocker Gaming, I put his links below!
Links: