Yesterday was Pi Day, and what better way to celebrate everyone's favourite mathematical constant than by taking a look back at everyone's favourite cheap hobbyist computer, the Raspberry Pi. Since the launch of the Raspberry Pi, I've written an absurd number of guides, blogs and an already outdated book on the variety of projects you can do with it. I've learned a lot it that time.
A lot of us might prefer to use official controllers for retro games, but not everyone feels like having a ton of different controllers sitting around. Ben Heck decided to make a universal controller.
The Raspberry Pi is the cheapest and smallest way to emulate the old video games you still love to play. You have a few different ways of going about making your own retro game console, but RetroPie and Recalbox are two of the easiest to use. Let's take a look at their differences, and pick the best one for you.
Windows/Mac/Linux: The Nintendo 3DS is a great little system, but with a maximum resolution of 400 x 240, it's not exactly a looker. Citra is an emulator that's still very early in development, but features a way to upscale 3DS games to 1600 x 900.
By far, the most popular DIY project for the Raspberry Pi is to use it as a retro game console. So, with the release of the Raspberry Pi 3 a lot of people are curious how it performs in comparison to older models. Adafruit did a live stream showing just that.
If you want to play all your favourite old games on your computer, RetroArch sets up a slick, all-in-one interface for any retro game you can imagine. RetroArch is easily the most powerful, cross-platform option for doing so, but it's obnoxiously difficult to set up. Here's how to do it.
One of the first things people did with the Raspberry Pi was make emulators for all their favourite retro games. But now that 3D printing is on the up and up, we're seeing more professional-looking outer cases, too. Not only is this one fantastic, but all the information on how to make one yourself has been included.
Android: If you have an Android phone or tablet, it's easy to turn it into a portable console. Here's how to do it.
Dear Lifehacker, I want to build an emulation station for retro gaming, but there are so many options! Custom PC, Raspberry Pi, Android tablet... Which is the best? What are the pros and cons of each?
iOS/Android: Emulators on smartphones are usually only available on jailbroken or rooted devices. WebNes takes a different approach and skips the app stores in order to put a Nintendo emulator right in your mobile browser. This makes it so you can play Nintendo games on your iPhone or Android device -- no jailbreaking or rooting required.
Mac: OpenEmu is an all-in-one video game emulator where you can emulate your games, create collections and set up controllers for classic controls.
We know it's possible to power a pretty killer retro game console with a Raspberry Pi. It turns out that if you're looking for something similar on a BeagleBone it's just as easy with BeagleSNES.
If you're not in the mood to build your own emulation machine, you can still enjoy a variety of classic games using just your browser. The Historical Software Archive, part of the Internet Archive, has made available a number of older, quality titles including Karateka, Akalabeth and Choplifter.
Everybody loved the OUYA until it came out, and then they realised it didn't quite live up to its promise of becoming an inexpensive, independent gaming platform that rivals the big consoles. Regardless of what OUYA becomes, it is a great device when approached from the right mindset. Here's how I made the best of my OUYA and came to love it.
iOS: Technically, Apple doesn't allow game emulators into the App Store. However, every once in a while, an emulator sneaks in. Remote File Manager is one of those apps.
Coffee tables are often one of those overrated pieces of furniture that you think you need more than you actually do. Instead of letting yours waste space in your living room, supercharge it with a retro arcade, gadget-charging ports and more.
If you're looking to relive the nostalgic games of your childhood, there are many options available. You can hack an existing piece of hardware or even build one yourself. This weekend, put together the ultimate retro gaming system of your choice.
Wine is a great way to run your favourite Windows programs on Linux, but if you don't want to mess with a program's settings to get it just right, free app PlayOnLinux has a bunch in its database that you can install with one click.
Mac: Computer games have come a long way since the days of Doom, Zork, Tie Fighter and Castle Wolfenstein, but many of us who grew up with those games would like to replay them. Boxer is a free app that will let you play any DOS game on your Mac.
