@retznutz I'm very interested in this! I have likewise wanted to make a cabinet version of intellivision controls. I thought about something like the stream deck (video buttons).
I was thinking of larger controls that fit the hands rather than the thumbs; one hand for the disc (3.5" disc?) and one hand for the buttons. How about the 5" screen, vertical, with the overlay 150% larger (four fingers across)? I had in mind the side buttons could be real buttons.
Staying tuned on this!
ws