Playing retro games is easy on a Raspberry Pi - and that pocket-sized computer is pretty good at it too! All you need is a little help to connect buttons and a joystick up and you can custom design your own arcade console, desktop or stand-up machine, even just a simple controller box. It makes for a fun weekend project that will last all year.
This Adafruit Arcade Bonnet is designed to make small emulator projects a little easier to build. Here's what you can look forward to!
If you don't need an amplified speaker output, analog-joystick input or minimal pin usage, check out the Adafruit plain-jane Retrogame tutorial which just plugs all the buttons and joysticks right into the Pi directly.
This item as sold as a mini-kit, with a Bonnet and headers that need to be soldered in to attach it to a Raspberry Pi! It only takes a few minutes but soldering iron and solder are required.
It also does not come with any of the extras, so you can choose which buttons/joysticks/speaker you want! Here is a list of the items you can use:
To connect them, you may want some 20 x 12" Female jumper wires.
Note: Raspberry Pi, arcade buttons, joysticks, speaker, display, and quick-connect wires are NOT included, and must be purchased separately.
Once you've picked out all your buttons and joysticks and stuff, check out the Getting-started guide to help you get going!