i'm afraid I cant find much on how to output to this from python. Im no coder, it needs to be call-able from python once Ive done with my process.

thanks for info!.. do you have any more?

Other options please! what other options do I have to get my character input into ES and retroarch please?

I placed my pi in an old SNES case. I wanted to get it as close to a real SNES as possible, so I've wired the original power and reset switches to the GPIO along with a small fan and thermostat which I've set to kick on if things get too hot. With the solution in this post I've also wired an LED to the GPIO. I currently have the LED hooked to the TX pin, but that was because it was supposed to kick on and off without any extra code. Since I had to use the solution in this post I suppose I may free up the serial port for some future enhancements.

Currently I am using CanaKit 5V 2.5a power supply which you can pick up for fairly cheap on Amazon. You would be hard pressed to push the pi beyond 2.5a.