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8BitDo, the company behind a long list of smart wireless and retro video game controllers, is making a mouse. This one is inspired by the original Nintendo Entertainment System, featuring a d-pad and two NES gamepad-style buttons for something that looks aesthetically tremendous and not terribly uncomfortable to use.
It’s also a decade-old design that’s finally becoming reality.
Daniel Jansson, who describes himself as an interaction designer and tinkerer, originally designed the NES-inspired mouse in 2008. He called his computer mouse “so retro thumbs spontaneously dislocated upon touching it, callouses developed on the hands of even the most devoted console gamers.”
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Jansson said of the project: “The final mouse breathes the language of 1980s Nintendo, albeit with some provisions for roundness to create a not entirely displeasing ergonomic experience. The right and left click buttons are the same as the NES gamepad as well as the directional pad which is located on the side for scrolling, much like the scroll wheel on many current mouses.”
Jansson’s original design was merely a foam model, but his idea has been refined and produced as the 8BitDo N30 Wireless Mouse, which costs $24.99, and is available to order from 8BitDo’s website. The 2.4 GHz wireless mouse contains a 3D touch panel for scrolling, two rubber buttons, and a d-pad for navigating websites.
More details on the mouse are available at 8BitDo’s website.
