A Bluetooth Speaker Built for Retro Gamers

Bluetooth speakers come in handy when you want to bring music to any space — from the kitchen to the garage to the backyard — wirelessly. But the speakers themselves tend to be pretty bland. They are typically little black bricks that focus purely on function. But when you bring a device into your home, you want it to blend in with your decor, rather than just being a plain, utilitarian gadget.

Fortunately, 8BitDo gets this, at least if you happen to be a retro gamer. They have just released a Bluetooth speaker called the Retro Cube 2 Speaker – N Edition. The “N” presumably stands for the name of an unmentionable company that is known for vigorously protecting its trademarks, given the obvious NES-inspired design of the speaker.

The stereo speakers of the Retro Cube 2 are red circles resembling the buttons of an NES gamepad. On top of the cube, there is a D-pad that is used to adjust the volume level, pause music, or play the next track. The onboard 2,000mAh battery allows for about 30 hours of use before 3–5 hours of charging on the included dock are required.

In addition to supporting Bluetooth 5.3, the speaker also supports 2.4G wireless and wired USB connections, with the latter two options introducing almost no lag. The device can also be switched between Music and Gaming modes to give you the best experience, whether you are rocking out or playing a vintage game.

While the Retro Cube 2 has some nice specs, it is mostly about the style. But with a price tag around $50, many retro gamers will find it to be a worthwhile purchase all the same.