If you think about it, adding two extra buttons to a keyboard, a peripheral that already has dozens of keys built into it, is ridiculous. Why add further buttons when so many modern keyboards already allow you to customize their existing keys to do exactly what you want? Are you really that attached to your dusty old Pause Key Pause That you’re not ready to reassign it?
And yet, the appearance alone of the 8BitDo’s dual super buttons offers half the answer. The peripheral buttons are giant, red, and look like you should shout “fire the torpedoes” with every press. Even if you don’t use them right away, they have a fun and playful design that makes you want to experiment and look for one. You buy a functional and discreet device like the Stream Deck because you have a use for it. You buy the Dual Super Buttons because you want to find one use.
Dual Super Buttons aren’t something you should buy on their own; The two-button peripheral comes in the box with 8BitDo’s $99.99 retro-style wireless mechanical keyboard that went on sale last month. Although the company doesn’t dare utter the word “Nintendo” in any of its promotional materials, the entire package is an obvious ode to the NES. The buttons are labeled “A” and “B” in reference to the iconic controller, and the rest of the keyboard is designed to emulate the look of the console. There is even a red one”family”which looks like the Japanese Famicom; The images you are seeing on this page are from the Western-style “N Edition.”
The dual super buttons are wired and connect to the keyboard via a single 3.5mm jack between them. While this is far from a proprietary connector (both Microsoft and Sony accessibility controllers use 3.5mm jacks to connect additional input devices, for example), the lack of a more standard USB connector means that most will connect these buttons to their PCs through the keyboard. rather than being a stand-alone accessory. This is a peripheral for a peripheral, you understand?
There are four 3.5mm jacks in total on the back of the keyboard, meaning you can technically add up to three additional $19.99 dual super button accessories for a total of eight programmable external buttons. And there are a couple of different ways to program them. The easiest way is to quickly press the star button at the top of the keyboard, after which you hold down a multi-button shortcut and press the button you want to link it to. Or you can go deeper with 8BitDo app for Windows only, which allows you to record and edit macros so that buttons run when pressed. Between these two methods, you have many options, whether it’s controlling music or turning the microphone and camera on and off during video calls.
There’s nothing here that you can’t functionally do with any amount of tech/best-macro-pad-keyboard-gaming-streaming”>macro pads that are already on the market. But while devices like Elgato’s Stream Deck or Loupedeck are packed with useful screens and buttons, 8BitDo’s approach prioritizes simplicity and a fun design over flexibility and screens. Yes, this much more limited device won’t suit everyone’s needs. But it’s also a design that will never overwhelm you with options.
In the center of each button is a Gateron Green mechanical keyboard switch. It’s clicky and looks nothing like the membrane buttons on the original NES controller, but I personally like its sturdy feel. However, if that’s not to your liking, the switch can be hot-swapped. Simply remove the top of the button, use a standard switch puller (sold separately) to remove the Gateron Green, and replace it with another Cherry MX compatible switch.
I’m not going to claim that these are the sturdiest buttons you’ve ever felt under your fingers. The overall case is solid, with an appropriately sticky base that prevents the smartphone-sized peripheral from sliding around the desk. But each button has a slight wobble that makes me hesitate to hit them with my full fist; a single finger should be enough. These are actually large circular keyboard keys.
So why does a keyboard full of buttons need a peripheral with more buttons? Because buttons are fun. And the big red buttons designed to look like half an NES controller are even more fun. especially when they’re so satisfyingly integrated with the overall look of the keyboard, which also includes nice touches like a retro-themed volume dial.
Buttons catch our attention. There’s a reason why Netflix reportedly pays millions to include its dedicated button on TV remotes and why Samsung was determined to make the Bixby button a thing for so long. But while the Netflix button encourages you to subscribe to watch a season of Strange things and the Samsung button may ask you to accidentally activate your voice assistant, a programmable button serves to spark your imagination.
Many keyboards already allow you to reprogram their buttons creatively. Big brands like Razer, Privateerand Logitechnot to mention the numerous keyboard enthusiasts running QMK firmware, already offer different levels of support for remapping and macros. But you’d be forgiven for never delving too deeply into these features because they rarely come to the fore.
But putting programmable buttons front and center, like 8BitDo does with its huge NES buttons, makes them hard to ignore. I found myself wanting to find a use for the glorious clickable buttons, wanting to have an excuse to keep them on my desktop. They became a big red invitation to experiment.
Photography by Jon Porter / The Verge
