Question on button and joystick requirements and layout

[domodan]

So, I'm a complete newb here and getting ready to build my first cabinet. I'm after the "retro" games, meaning anything up to N64 and OLDER.

If I do that, can I play all of those games with a joystick and 6 or 8 buttons? I know the N64 may have had more buttons than that...and honestly, could do without N64 games if it created more hassle than it was worth, but would prefer to go up that far. I also want it to be 4 player.

What joysticks and buttons should I be looking at, and what do I ultimately need to connect them to the Pi? I appreciate you pointing the annoying new guy in the right direction.

[MWGemini]

@domodan Many of the different emulators (called cores) included with RetroPie are based on the libretro library. Basically, that allows easier control configuration, among other things.

On my Pi3, I've got emulators going as far back as the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64, and as modern as the N64, Playstation, and Dreamcast. I play games from all of those different systems with a standard off-the-shelf XBox 360 wired controller (which I had before I bought the Pi, and use for PC gaming as well). It plugs into the Pi's USB port.

Pretty much any controller that plugs in via USB will work on the Pi, although I've personally not been able to get an XBox One controller to work.

You can remap the controls for any system, and also for any game. So for systems that had fewer buttons than my XBox360 controller, I can assign those buttons to perform whatever action I want. Here's some more info: https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/retroarch-configuration

The Pi3 also has bluetooth and wifi capabilities, so you can use wireless controllers as well (or wireless controllers that connect to a USB dongle). I think that BT connectivity is still a bit glitchy for some controllers however.

If you like the retro controller style, I know that many people like controllers made by a company called 8BitDo : http://www.8bitdo.com/.