Picade and other DIY games consoles

[Consignia]

I quite fancy a little project, and jonesing for arcades at the moment I came across the Picade:



It's basically a kit with all the parts to put together your own table top arcade unit, and fit with a Raspberry Pi to run emulation off of. It's a bit expensive for what it is, but looks pretty to put together. I've heard the parts are reasonably high quality too.

I also spotted another fun project on youtube, a Wii mod kit to turn it into a Gameboy style handheld:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LkZLFiFLd8

That looks absolutely ace, but requires a lot more skill and soldering. Something I reckon way beyond on my skills but wouldn't mind attempting someday. Also being a Wii, it plays Wii and Gamecubes perfectly without emulation, as well as being able to be stick emulators on it.

Anyone given these sort of projects a go? Pretty lo-fi but there's something about making your games console that has a certain allure to it.

[Dewt]

I know somebody who did the equivalent of the Game Boy one but put it in a GBA case. It turned out very well.

As a work team-building exercise we built an arcade cabinet out of particle board (turns out that's NOT illegal in the US) and put Retropie in it and it worked reasonably well, although is a bit janky due to being done in a day with too many cooks.

If you're somebody like me who always ended up with a gluey, ugly mess when they put Airfix models together I wouldn't bother if you want a nice end-product. Just do it for the experience. If you're good with your hands then you might actually end up making something pretty nice.

[Spiteface]

I quite fancy a little project, and jonesing for arcades at the moment I came across the Picade:



It's basically a kit with all the parts to put together your own table top arcade unit, and fit with a Raspberry Pi to run emulation off of. It's a bit expensive for what it is, but looks pretty to put together. I've heard the parts are reasonably high quality too.

I like that, and the one that is without a screen has made me consider a few times, seeing how feasible it would be to stick a raspberry pi into one of my fightsticks.

These look cool, though. Like that NeoGeo thing with less-shit controls.

Torn between getting a Pi (could get a SNES/Megadrive case for it), or one of those chinese handhelds. Or both. I don't know when I'll be back in work, could use something to keep me occupied...

[Consignia]

If you're somebody like me who always ended up with a gluey, ugly mess when they put Airfix models together I wouldn't bother if you want a nice end-product. Just do it for the experience. If you're good with your hands then you might actually end up making something pretty nice.

I'm a bit cack handed, but still a dab hand with Ikea type furniture. That's why the Picade appeals to me above something more custom. Already designed to fit together, but you get the joy of seeing it all come together. Shouldn't look too shit.

Although I love the idea of something more advanced like the G-boy. In case like that I wouldn't worry about it not looking great but just putting something together like that would be totally amazing.

[Consignia]

Just got my picade. Only put it together so far, got loads of wiring to do yet, but it was great fun to do. Looking forward to sticking she old school arcade games on it.

[Consignia]

Here's a quick demo of the beast in action.

It's nearly complete, just got sort an audio bug which means it doesn't run at 100% audio all the time. It would be alright in a loud arcade, but it's deafening at on it's own.

Had an absolute blast putting it together. I would seriously recommend people giving it a go. And with a Pi 4 in it, it's emulation power house, apparently able to take on Dreamcast games even.

[ImmaculateClump]

Ha! That's pretty cool. I like how you get a full size stick and buttons.
Shame about the glossy screen.

Kudos for the one handed street fighter skillz!

[Famous Mortimer]

Aye, it looks grand. Nice one Consignia!

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Swanktacular. We already have a Pi hooked up to the telly for emulation, so I'm not about to drop a load more money on a bunch of plywood panels, screen etc. It sure does look natty though and the form factor is making me feel all nostalgic.

I assume MAME is just like running any other emulator. Would that be right? This has left me with a hankering to play the old Data East Robocop (robotic policeman) game.

Ha! That's pretty cool. I like how you get a full size stick and buttons.
Shame about the glossy screen.

For full authenticity, the screen should be  facing up and reflected in a diagonal mirror for some reason[nb]CALLING BUZBY![/nb].

It should also have some fags stubbed out on it.