Nostalgic for Atari, Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and arcade games? With RetroPie, a software that organizes all your games into one easy-to-navigate place, a Raspberry Pi, and a USB gaming controller you can be playing the classics in less than an hour.
The RetroPie software builds off of the Emulation Station front-end gaming software, which runs each separate gaming emulator, and adapts it to work on a Raspberry Pi. The software was put together by the guys at petRockBlog, and came out of the RetroPie Project, whose goal was to turn Raspberry Pi into a dedicated retro-gaming console. The software is free, but I suggest you donate if you enjoy the hard work they put into it.
Once installed, you are going to realize that RetroPie only comes with a few games, and none of them are the ones you really wanted. Your next question is probably: Where do you get those ROMs? I can’t tell you for legal reasons, but I’m sure you know how to use Google.
This is the finished system for the Raspberry Pi retro gaming console. It highlights how it can go from power-on to playing a game in under 30 seconds.
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 2025 Wraps, Focus on Using Python, Open Source and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
Each Friday is PiDay here at Adafruit! Be sure to check out our posts, tutorials and new Raspberry Pi related products. Adafruit has the largest and best selection of Raspberry Pi accessories and all the code & tutorials to get you up and running in no time!