Perhaps the most popular retro gaming project is the DIY Arcade Console, an all-in-one gamer’s paradise where you can recreate hundreds of vintage video games, from stand-up arcade machines, home consoles, and PC titles from the 2000s to 8-bit classics from the 1970s and ’80s.
Most manufacturers Raspberry Pi Minicomputer in action Retro Pie Emulation software. Built on top of the full Linux OS and arcade interfaces EmulationStation and RetroArch, as well as many open source emulators, RetroPie works on Pi 4 and earlier models and can recreate over 50 vintage consoles and PCs, including Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Apple, Commodore, and more. Just add a vintage controller or keyboard. Popular alternative arcade OSes include: Recal Box and its derivatives Batsera — Perfect for beginners.
(It’s worth noting that the new Pi 5 can emulate 5th and 6th generation consoles like the Wii, GBA, and Dreamcast. RetroPie hasn’t caught on yet, but you can install a different emulator; KG Orphanides wrote a great guide on that here.) Visit magpi.raspberrypi.com
Arcade games work differently than console emulation, Arcade exclusive emulator Download (MAME or FinalBurn) ROM file Choose your game and start the tutorial Retro Pie.
To make a real arcade machine, Arcade Controller Board Some examples include Pimoroni’s Picade X Hat, Adafruit’s Arcade Bonnet (both with a 3W amplifier for the speakers), PetRockBlock’s ControlBoard, and Ultimarc’s I-PAC (no amplifier). Arcade buttons and analog joystickTry Adafruit, Pimoroni, Ultimarc, The Geek Pub, or EasyGet and EG Starts from the Amazon store.
From full-sized Pi machines to tiny Arduino kits, we’ll be showcasing some of our favorite DIY arcade builds.
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