I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?

HenrikoMagnifico

Hello!

I'm a huge fan of Retropie and have been using it for many months now. It simply works great and is very easy for beginners to get started with! And now, after some inspiration from videos I've watched on YouTube, I have decided to make my own portable little gaming system using my Raspberry Pi 3 and Retropie. This will be my first every project like this, but I know some of the basics (I need a TFT screen, buttons, a case for the Pi, a battery, various wires and a solder iron). However, I don't know any of the specifics. That's why I'm asking for advice here!

I suspect there may be some here who have done a similar project to this before. So I'd love to get some answers regarding for example what screen I should get (size, power usage, type etc), what kind of battery, if there are any cases (or 3D models that can be 3D-printed) that can be purchased, if there are any caveats I need to know and so on.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

-Henrik

herman27d

You could look into a Gameboy zero kit. I guess it really depends on the form factor you want, how much money you want to spend, and what games you want to play on it.

You can always mod a PSP 2000 or 3000, but you won't have the same build process and satisfaction of completing it.

ballboff

@herman27d said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

You could look into a Gameboy zero kit. I guess it really depends on the form factor you want, how much money you want to spend, and what games you want to play on it.

You can always mod a PSP 2000 or 3000, but you won't have the same build process and satisfaction of completing it.

totally agree. I don't think you can go wrong with the kits. They seem a bit pricey, but if you price up all the components you couldn't do it any cheaper. the Pi-grrl and the gameboy pi zero kits even have some custom built pcb's that have been made to meet the huge demand. There is a board which has the gameboy controls on it that just connects straight to your pi for example. There's all the stuff that you sometimes forget about like the speakers and the wires and all the buttons etc, they are all in the kit and they are all cut to the perfect size.

space cadet

Maybe look for a broken nintendo advance or basic gameboy and mod away!

HenrikoMagnifico

@ballboff said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@herman27d said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

You could look into a Gameboy zero kit. I guess it really depends on the form factor you want, how much money you want to spend, and what games you want to play on it.

You can always mod a PSP 2000 or 3000, but you won't have the same build process and satisfaction of completing it.

totally agree. I don't think you can go wrong with the kits. They seem a bit pricey, but if you price up all the components you couldn't do it any cheaper. the Pi-grrl and the gameboy pi zero kits even have some custom built pcb's that have been made to meet the huge demand. There is a board which has the gameboy controls on it that just connects straight to your pi for example. There's all the stuff that you sometimes forget about like the speakers and the wires and all the buttons etc, they are all in the kit and they are all cut to the perfect size.

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into that then :)

Also, does it support the Raspberry Pi 3?

ballboff

@henrikomagnifico said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@ballboff said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@herman27d said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

You could look into a Gameboy zero kit. I guess it really depends on the form factor you want, how much money you want to spend, and what games you want to play on it.

You can always mod a PSP 2000 or 3000, but you won't have the same build process and satisfaction of completing it.

totally agree. I don't think you can go wrong with the kits. They seem a bit pricey, but if you price up all the components you couldn't do it any cheaper. the Pi-grrl and the gameboy pi zero kits even have some custom built pcb's that have been made to meet the huge demand. There is a board which has the gameboy controls on it that just connects straight to your pi for example. There's all the stuff that you sometimes forget about like the speakers and the wires and all the buttons etc, they are all in the kit and they are all cut to the perfect size.

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into that then :)

Also, does it support the Raspberry Pi 3?

the pi3 limits your options for a mobile device, due to the form factor. The ethernet and hdmi sockets take up quite a bit of space in terms of thickness. On the pi zero the screen is hard-soldered onto the pi itself instead of using a socket, and the same with the audio as well I believe.

You're also looking at the usb sockets. The Pi Zero has 1 socket I think for micro usb connection and then you'd attach a usb hub, but the pi 3 has several full-sized usb connections.

HenrikoMagnifico

@ballboff said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@henrikomagnifico said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@ballboff said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@herman27d said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

You could look into a Gameboy zero kit. I guess it really depends on the form factor you want, how much money you want to spend, and what games you want to play on it.

You can always mod a PSP 2000 or 3000, but you won't have the same build process and satisfaction of completing it.

totally agree. I don't think you can go wrong with the kits. They seem a bit pricey, but if you price up all the components you couldn't do it any cheaper. the Pi-grrl and the gameboy pi zero kits even have some custom built pcb's that have been made to meet the huge demand. There is a board which has the gameboy controls on it that just connects straight to your pi for example. There's all the stuff that you sometimes forget about like the speakers and the wires and all the buttons etc, they are all in the kit and they are all cut to the perfect size.

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into that then :)

Also, does it support the Raspberry Pi 3?

the pi3 limits your options for a mobile device, due to the form factor. The ethernet and hdmi sockets take up quite a bit of space in terms of thickness. On the pi zero the screen is hard-soldered onto the pi itself instead of using a socket, and the same with the audio as well I believe.

You're also looking at the usb sockets. The Pi Zero has 1 socket I think for micro usb connection and then you'd attach a usb hub, but the pi 3 has several full-sized usb connections.

I see! But it would still technically work? I will be making my own case for the system, and I don't mind if it's a bit bulkier than with a Raspberry Pi Zero.

ballboff

@henrikomagnifico yeah of course it would work. You just have to make sure you use the right kit for your build. The original DMG Gameboy was quite bulky, so that has appealed a lot to some. Gives you a lot more internal space... Have a look at this... http://www.8bcraft.com/shop/retrostone/

herb_fargus

@ballboff I'd have to say I'm disappointed he defaulted to allwinner rubbish chips over the pi.

ballboff

@herb_fargus said in I'd like to build my own portable gaming system w/ a Raspberry Pi 3. Where do I start?:

@ballboff I'd have to say I'm disappointed he defaulted to allwinner rubbish chips over the pi.

Yeah that is a real shame. His raspiboy kits are still for sale though and they use the pi zero. There are probably hundreds of other options available too, I've seen people using original gameboy DMG shells for this kind of thing.

Morph-X

I have a Freeplay Zero kit waiting anxiously to be put together. In my opinion a fantastic concept! Based on the Game Boy Advance, which has an amazing form factor, ergonomically way better than the DMG-01 if you ask me. You can find loads of GBA shells and you only need to cut away a little bit of plastic on the inside. The Freeplay Zero itself is a really nicely designed PCB to be soldered to a Raspi Zero W, but now they also have developed a kit for the CM3, so a bit more powerful, also a bit more expensive.

freeplaytech.com