We’re big fans of 8BitDo’s vintage-inspired keyboard and mouse, which brings classic gaming and computing aesthetics to your everyday PC peripherals. Only problem is, they didn’t make a full-size keyboard, leaving the number pad faithful to use an out-of-theme accessory on their desk. That changes with the 8BitDo Retro 18 Mechanical Numpad.
Just like their retro-style keyboards, the numpad is made to resemble the colors and styling of vintage devices, namely the NES, the Famicom, the Commodore 64, and the IBM Model M. Whether you’re a retro gaming fan, a vintage computing nerd, or just someone who appreciates PC peripherals with a bit more flair than usual, this numpad should make an excellent addition to your existing 8BitDo setup.
The 8BitDo Retro 18 Mechanical Numpad is a wireless number pad peripheral that you simply pair with your PC using either Bluetooth or a 2.4G dongle. As such, it gets all the standard numpad keys, namely all the numerals, basic math symbols, period, Enter, and Clear, allowing you to use it to type endless rows and columns on spreadsheets, accounting software, and whatever other applications you type a lot of numbers on. It’s, basically, like every other number pad, albeit with a styling reminiscent of a retro gadget from the early days of digital tech to stroke those flames of nostalgia that burns in us all.
Except, it’s got a few other things apart from those keys. There is, for instance, a LED display strip, as well as a row of controls on top. The top-right button labeled CAL, basically, activates the calculator mode, which lets you use the number pad as a basic digital calculator, with everything you type being displayed on the integrated LED strip. That’s right, you can relive your childhood days of typing “80085” on a calculator over and over .
The 8BitDo Retro 18 Mechanical Numpad also has a button with a calculator icon, which, when pressed, automatically launches the calculator app on your PC. We don’t know if it’s programmable, but we hope it is because we probably know a few folks who would rather have their favorite spreadsheet or accounting software launch with a press of that key. There’s also a Wi-Fi button (we’re not sure what it does) and a knob that lets you choose how you want to connect to the PC (Bluetooth, 2.4GHz, or USB). Sadly, there’s no option to just plug it into the 8BitDo keyboard. which would probably have made things a lot simpler.
This is a mechanical number pad, by the way, which uses Kailh Box White V2 Switches with a hot-swappable PCB and n-key rollover support. Other features include a 1000mAh battery (rated at 160 hours of wireless use), a magnetic compartment for the 2.4GHz dongle, Windows support (10 and up), and Android support (9 and up). It comes in four variants: N Edition (NES colors), Fami Edition (Nintendo Famicom colors), C64 Edition (Commodore 64 colors), and M Edition (boring IBM Model M colors).
The 8BitDo Retro 18 Mechanical Numpad comes out on July 15th. It’s now available for preorder.
- Inspired by the classics. Compatible with Windows and Android.
