8Bitdo dongle lets you use DualSense and other modern pads on a real PS1

GamesRadar+ hardware editor Phil Hayton reports that the 8Bitdo Bluetooth Retro Receiver for PS1 lets you use a DualSense — and other modern controllers — wirelessly with an original PS1 console.

Hayton notes the dongle isn’t limited to Sony’s latest pad: it also supports the DualShock 4 and even Xbox controllers, and it works with the PS2 as well, offering a wireless option across two generations of Sony hardware.

He shares a practical example: a friend who picked up a PSOne (the smaller, “soap”-shaped model) for around $15 found it hard to locate a reliable original controller and would have preferred to use a wireless pad instead — the 8Bitdo receiver would have avoided that “janky old hardware shopping.”

Hayton says original gamepads are part of the authentic experience and recommends trying them, but for everyday comfort he often reaches for the 8Bitdo receiver. The main downside he flags is practical: a DualSense must be kept charged from a separate USB power source when used with an old PS1.

As a PSA, Hayton emphasizes that you can use your modern controller with a real PS1 rather than wrestling with ageing pads; he adds that other modern options like the 8BitDo Pro 3 work nicely, and 8Bitdo also offers solutions for other retro systems such as the N64.

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