Raspberry Pi for Nintendo Emulation

Lister55 on 14/11/2016 - 19:58

I was looking at the Nintendo Classic for husband (he asked for it)… but since it's so hard to get your hands on… have started thinking about getting the Raspberry Pi 3.. and installing RetroPie or some emulator… plus everyone saying you get tonnes more games etc etc.

So… my question is.. I kind of just want this to be nice and easy… and they seem to be around $70-$80-ish.. would I be better off getting one from eBay… with all the remotes, and a case etc. etc. for like $120… which is similar in price to the Classic anyway… Just don't know if the eBay prices are unreasonable.. or worth it..?

Looking at this eBay Listing in particular… 588 sold…

Just want to be making the smartest decision.. LOL..

Thanks!!

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • silverrat23 on 14/11/2016 - 20:18
    +5

    If you're cash-strapped and don't mind spending some time tinkering, buy a second-hand Wii console for $50 (or less) and install Homebrew, a software package that can run other unofficial pieces of software - including a NES emulator.

    The upside about this method is the low price and the plethora of information online regarding Homebrew and their capabilities.

    • subywagon on 14/11/2016 - 22:21
      +1

      Do this. Pretty easy, can also emulate mame and other older systems too.

  • Gronk on 14/11/2016 - 20:59
    +1

    In my opinion the ebay listing you linked is a decent price, sure you could save a few $$$ by building it yourself but if you don't know how to use Linux then you're probably going to wind up getting stuck.

    Just be aware that the ebay listing does not include games, even though they're older games they're still protected by copyright - just something to be aware of (but not alarmed).

    Finding the game ROMs themselves probably won't be all that difficult, but if there are different versions of the Nintendo emulator software out there like there are for arcade game emulators, then there'll be a bit of a process involved in getting them to work as you may need to convert the ROM you've downloaded to a version that will work with the version of emulator software you're running.

    If you're not all that confident in your abilities around computers (in particular Linux) then maybe look at the wii / homebrew option, alternatively do you have any techy friends you could call in a favour from?

  • kasp on 14/11/2016 - 21:14
    +1

    https://retropie.org.uk/

    It's pretty easy to setup your own retropie. only reason I suggest it is the controllers on that pi shop one are pretty poor quality and well I think you would be better off buying 1 good one rather than have 2 bad ones or reusing say a wired xbox remote if you have it.

    Normally I would recommend this
    http://au.element14.com/element14/kit-pi3-starter/sbc-raspbe… 85 bucks (91 after HDMI) all you need is a HDMI cable but it's not in stock until the 30th.

    So to get all the parts individually
    http://au.element14.com/raspberry-pi/cprp020-b/cable-hdmi-2m… HDMI lead $6
    http://au.element14.com/raspberry-pi/raspberry-pi3-case/encl… Case $12.50
    http://au.element14.com/raspberry-pi/rpi3-modb-16gb-noobs/sb… Raspsberry Pi 3 with 16GB SD card $65
    http://au.element14.com/stontronics/t6091dv/psu-raspberry-pi… Official power supply $14

    Total 97.50

    You can do it cheaper if you have hdmi cables and well as SD card on hand. I wouldn't recommend using a power supply you have at home because the pi's are pretty sensitive.

    having said that the Pi shop is a good price if you are happy with the controllers and has zero mucking about.

  • Diji1 on 14/11/2016 - 21:18
    -2

    Emulators are buggy missing features such as sound for some games.

    • blitz on 14/11/2016 - 22:23
      +2

      Maybe for one or two games but the vast majority run perfectly.

    • iridiumstem on 14/11/2016 - 22:44
      +1

      Isn't Nintendo Classic emulating those games as well?

  • subywagon on 14/11/2016 - 22:23
    +2

    You can also get a writable NES cartridge that you can download cart ROMS onto and play them on an original NES :P

  • Bobby123 on 14/11/2016 - 22:37
    +1

    I spent a long time looking into this myself, and ended up buying this from eBay:

    http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201657749071?_trksid=p2057872.m27…

    Yes, the individual parts are worth less than $200, but this is literally ready to play. It arrived on Friday and all I had to do was FTP some roms over into the correct folders (very easy), reboot the system and they show up in the menu ready to play.

    Contrary to what some people say, all emulation up to and including PSP is perfect. N64 isn't playable (on the 3 games I've played at least), but hey it's a tiny integrated GPU, and you'd need something discrete to play anything n64 onwards. Still need to try PSX.

    Another bonus with this is it's built in fans, off switch and wireless/rechargeable controllers (in the style of ps3 controller). I didn't want to fuss around making it myself and 32Gb is more than enough to keep you going!

    It is a little loud because of the fan (in a silent room), but other than that i'm really pleased with it. If you decide to buy and need any help with it just let me know!

  • JohnThePom on 15/11/2016 - 08:56
    +1

    Hi Lister55

    I bought my Raspberry PI from that seller and a couple of months back. I am delighted with it. It's great to re-experience so many fantastic classic SNES (and other systems) games.

    I tried emulators for SNES, Megadrive and 32X - all perfect, with none of the bugs that Diji1 stated.

    PS: I picked up the bundle with the 8BitDo bluetooth controller - which is fantastic - and has the exact feel of the classic SNES controller.
    HERE

    • misfitt1911 on 19/11/2016 - 08:20
      +1

      I hope you didn't pay AU $992.95. :)

  • Lister55 on 15/11/2016 - 09:44

    WOW! Thanks guys/gals for all your advice and help… it really is interesting to see what other people have done!! I am really torn now though… LOL…

    I already have a Wii… and it seems to make sense to look into Homebrew.. and I saw somewhere Wii64… and go down that road… the issue I have with that is that I don't want to "damage" my Wii… the kids have just turned 6 and have actually started to use it… or at least be interested in it…

    The DIY route… I would be more than capable I believe.. I mean following some instructions somewhere I could do it.. I think… But I don't know Linux… and… I don't know if I could be bothered… So.. I'm leaning towards the more…. pre-configured buying…

    Now with the buying on eBay… not sure if its worth it to spend more on the wireless controller…? Can I use a PS3 controller on it?? I know its not the classic feel… but I would have the USB controllers for that.. and I'm not really sure how much I'm going to be using it anyway… Although.. the nice wireless thing seems sooooo good… I don't know if its worth the extra money… and I would definitely need 2… so… that's going over $200 now… So maybe just the USB ones… look into using my PS3 controllers, which I think I read somewhere… OR… just, if it seems to be something we're using all the time I can just go ahead and buy the 8BitDo ones separately later… (but then… am I missing out!!?!?!?!?)

    • kasp on 15/11/2016 - 09:54
      +1

      Ok it's not really knowing linux. All the Pi Shop does is load the SDcard image of Retro Pi onto a Sdcard. The process takes about 5 mintues and is easy as. Similar to burning a CD really but you will need a way to read an SD card from your computer (SD card to USB adapters are cheap)

      Where linux knowledges comes into play is when you come into hard setups, that you are in the same boat with the Pi Shop build as well.

      However you are in luck having looked into it PS3 controllers are supported by the latest builds of RetroPie so that's awesome. Granted if you want to connect via bluetooth there will be a bit of mucking around but you can get the wireless working with a cheap Bluetooth adapter so no don't buy the wireless remotes.

      https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/Setting-up-a…

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