Tag Archives: MAME

Xtension Gameplay Arcade Cabinets Are Perfect for Raspberry Pi Systems

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I love playing classic arcade games. In fact, I love them so much, I spent several thousand dollars having a custom-built arcade cabinet put together. But you don’t have to spend nearly that much to have a professional looking cabinet these days, thanks to folks like Rec Room Masters and systems like their Xtension Gameplay cabinets.

The cabinets come in kit form, and make it easy for you to put together a great looking, full-size arcade system that won’t break the bank. The base 24″ system starts at $499.99, while the 32″ version starts at $749.99. They come with two-player Suizo-Happ arcade controls and everything you need to build a system – other than the computer, the display, and speakers. Thanks to bargain priced monitors and Raspberry Pi systems, you can add those things for under $250, and complete your arcade system for less than $1000. Rec Room Masters provides instructions not just for building the cabinet kit, but for adding on and setting up a Raspberry Pi arcade system.

If you want to splurge, they also offer an upgraded cabinet called the “Emulator Edition” which adds a real arcade trackball, and 10 buttons for controlling on-screen menus.

Rec Room Masters makes a number of other arcade cabinet designs, including cocktail style, sit-down, and virtual pinball machines. For more information on these and other arcade cabinets, head on over to their website.

These Briefcase Arcade Machines Let You Tote a Personal Arcade Everywhere

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For those of you who have been following Technabob over the years, you know I love classic arcade games. I’ve even go so far as to have a custom-fabricated “Basement Invaders” arcade machine built for my man cave. But as awesome as that is, sometimes it would be nice to play the classics on the road. Fortunately, thanks to Jason Fernandez and his JFCADE arcade briefcases, it’s totally possible.

Jason takes old-school hard-sided briefcases, and kits them out with a full arcade emulator system. Each one is powered by a Raspberry Pi 3B processor and has a built-in arcade joystick (with a removable handle for travel), arcade quality backlit buttons, and an LCD screen built into the lid. There are also speakers inside, as well as a rechargeable battery pack, so you can really play anywhere without wires.

Since each system is made from a recycled briefcase, complete with dents, dings, and scratches, they’re all one-of-a-kind and have unique character. I know I’d love to have one of these, so I can get my Donkey Kong on before sitting down to work for the day. I also like the idea of showing up to a business meeting with one of these, and setting up at the end of the conference table to play some Dig-Dug or Bubble Bobble.

If you like these as much as I do, you can buy your very own over at JFCADE’s Etsy shop for $1300.

More Awesome Stuff for You to Click On:

These Raspberry Pi Cases Make Tiny Retro Computers
These Wall-Mounted Arcade Cabinets Save Quarters and Space
Lose Some Quarters Between the Cushions of This Arcade Sofa
This Mid-Century Modern Arcade Cabinet is Living Room Friendly
This Keychain-Sized Game Boy Emulator Actually Works

Introducing the world’s smallest way to play ‘Donkey Kong’

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Once upon a time, video games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were the absolute height of entertainment technology, imperfect pixels packed into six-foot-tall cabinets in arcades and pizza shops around the world. Now, those same games run on a machine t...

8bitdo Wooden Desktop Arcade is Retro Sexy

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8bitdo has been making some cool gamer focused products for a long time now. For this year’s Gamescom, the company showed off its latest product, and it is a very cool retro gaming system indeed. The device is called the 8bitdo Desktop Arcade and it looks like a fancy retro arcade system for an executive’s desk.

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The compact arcade machine is housed in a curved wooden case that features a small screen, joystick, and six buttons. None of those buttons are labeled so presumably you can program them to be whatever you want them to be.

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We have no idea how much the arcade will cost or even if you will be able to buy it, though its makers mention on their Facebook page: “It is only a prototype. We will let everyone know when details are finalised,” so perhaps that gives us hope that it will go into production at some point.

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I would totally play me some Galaga or Pac-man on this game console. But I get too into fighting arcade games, and would end up tossing this little device right off the desk if I tried playing Street Fighter on it.

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[via Facebook]

Raspberry Pi Game Boy Case Mod Has microSD Card Slot in Cartridge: Game Boy Zero

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Another day, another Raspberry Pi retro emulator in a Game Boy case. But Redditor wermy426’s Game Boy Zero deserves its own post because it has a couple of neat features. The main one is that he loads software on the Pi by inserting a cartridge, just as you would load a game on a normal Game Boy. Wermy426 soldered an SD card reader to the cartridge, then connected the cartridge reader to the Pi’s SD card pads.

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While the Frankensteined gadget looks like a mishmash of wires, tape and hot glue inside, wermy426 managed to make it clean and practical on the outside. For instance, the Li-ion battery, the USB hub and the display controls are accessible via the battery compartment. Wermy426 also added small L and R buttons where a pair of screws on the back used to be.

Here’s his build log:

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Check out the description on wermy426’s video for more on the parts that he used.

[via Reddit via Engadget]

Raspberry Pi Zero Game Boy Case Mod: Maker Man Zero

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We’ve seen the Raspberry Pi 2 stuffed inside the case of the original Game Boy to make a retro handheld gaming sytem. Redditor bentika did the same but with the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero. The tiny board made the project cheaper, but no less complex.

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Bentika used a 3.5″ 320×240 LCD, which is why he had to cut out the case’s classic gray display frame. He positioned the Pi’s microSD card slot where the contrast wheel used to be, the microUSB port in the space for the original charging port and the USB port in the space external connector.

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All of the buttons work, including the power switch, and bentika also added four additional buttons at the back. He installed a 2500mAh battery that lasts up to 3h per charge. Here’s a comprehensive demo of the awesome gaming machine.

Here’s his build log:

Raspberry Pi Zero Gameboy Casemod.

Head to Reddit for bentika’s parts list. I look forward to the day that the Raspberry Pi 30 will let you play everything from Pong to Crysis 30 on the go.

Polycade Wall-mounted Arcade Machine: Worth a Thousand Games

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I’ve seen arcade machines in all sorts of sizes and forms, but the Polycade is the first wall-mounted one I’ve seen. It has enough room for two player controls, a separate 4-way joystick and two buttons for classic systems and a 28″ LED TV. But because it’s wall-mounted it’s only a third of the size of standard arcade machines.

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The Polycade was designed by Tyler and Dylan Bushnell – sons of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell – along with their friend Charles Carden. The cabinet is 30″ wide, 52″ tall and sticks out 17″ off the wall. Like many modern arcade machines, it’s powered by the Raspberry Pi and runs RetroPie, so you can play games not just with MAME but from other classic systems as well. It comes in white, black, red, blue, brown or orange, and you can also have vinyl graphics applied to the cabinet.

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The Polycade crew claims that the machine’s parts are “as easy to swap out as possible… even for the non-technically inclined person”, although they didn’t go into detail about its repairability.

Pledge at least $1350 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a fully assembled Polycade as a reward. You can also pledge at least $600 to get everything but the cabinet. Check out Polycade’s Instagram page for more photos and videos of the machine.

[via Damn Geeky]

X-Arcade Lumber Jacques Arcade Machine: Donk-it-Kong

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Arcade specialist Xgaming’s latest machine will be familiar to both young and old gamers. The X-Arcade Lumber Jacques’ cabinet design and graphics are based on the 1981 Donkey Kong arcade machine, which was also used as the basis for the Fix It Felix Jr. arcade machine in Wreck-it-Ralph.

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Lumber Jacques is preconfigured and loaded with over 250 arcade classics, which include Atari 2600, SNK, Namco and Sega Genesis games. Naturally you can add more arcade games, and Xgaming’s switch box and X-adapter also lets you connect up to 3 consoles at once. The X-adapter is compatible with a variety of consoles as well as Android and jailbroken iOS devices, with support for the Xbox One and PS4 on the way.
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The machine also has a 19″ 4:3 LCD display, an Intel-powered PC with Wi-Fi connectivity, two wheels, a storage area at the base and a fully functioning coin slot, but the latter is strictly for non-commercial use.

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Xgaming is selling the Lumber Jacques for $2500 (USD); you can pay an extra $300 if you want to have custom art on it. Thankfully the machine comes with a lifetime warranty, which covers both repairs and complete replacement if necessary.

Pascali Raspberry Pi Portable Retro Console: Ghosts of Consoles Past

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We’ve featured several DIY classic console emulators based on the Raspberry Pi. If you’d rather buy than build one, keep an eye on Rose Colored Gaming’s Facebook page. The console modding shop will soon release a Raspberry Pi handheld system, with a case based on the original Game Boy.

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Speaking with commenters, Rose Colored Gaming says the Pascal will have a colored screen and will have optional customization options, including different case colors and laser etching.

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Rose Colored Gaming is shooting for a late February release, with the base price between $200 to $300 (USD). Keep an eye on its website or Facebook page for updates.

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[via GoNintendo]