A slice of Raspberry Pi: how to build your own retro games machine

With a £34 mini computer and an emulator, gaming’s entire back catalogue opens up to you to play. But there are important points to consider – not least questions of legality

In the past, whenever I have written enthusiastically about a modern retro console such as the Nintendo Classic Mini: SNES or the Analogue Duo, there have been a smattering of comments below the article asking why people don’t just buy a Raspberry Pi mini computer, download an emulator and play all the games they like for virtually nothing. My answer has usually been ease of use and accessibility. When you buy a mini console, you’re getting a plug-and-play product without any complicated set-up or potential compatibility issues. Simple.

But recently I bought a Raspberry Pi for an article on the beautiful PiDP-10 machine, so I thought I might as well check out its retro gaming credentials. Here is what I found.