diff --git a/hw/m68k/virt.c b/hw/m68k/virt.c
index e7dc188855..2e49e262ee 100644
--- a/hw/m68k/virt.c
+++ b/hw/m68k/virt.c
@@ -201,11 +201,8 @@ static void virt_init(MachineState *machine)
     sysbus_connect_irq(sysbus, 0, PIC_GPIO(VIRT_GF_TTY_IRQ_BASE));
 
     /* virt controller */
-    dev = qdev_new(TYPE_VIRT_CTRL);
-    sysbus = SYS_BUS_DEVICE(dev);
-    sysbus_realize_and_unref(sysbus, &error_fatal);
-    sysbus_mmio_map(sysbus, 0, VIRT_CTRL_MMIO_BASE);
-    sysbus_connect_irq(sysbus, 0, PIC_GPIO(VIRT_CTRL_IRQ_BASE));
+    dev = sysbus_create_simple(TYPE_VIRT_CTRL, VIRT_CTRL_MMIO_BASE,
+                               PIC_GPIO(VIRT_CTRL_IRQ_BASE));
 
     /* virtio-mmio */
     io_base = VIRT_VIRTIO_MMIO_BASE;