The RetroPie acts more as an appliance than a computer. If you make a mistake and screw something up with the Pi’s software or configuration, you can just copy a fresh image to the SD card and start again.

You install the OS by downloading and copying a disk image to the SD card from a “normal” computer, then plugging it into the Raspberry Pi. It runs Linux (and a number of other things). The base model is $35, but for any model you’ll need to bring your own TV, keyboard, mouse, and SD Card. To give kids (and adults) an inexpensive computer that plugs into a TV and acts as a platform for experimenting with hardware and software. A group from Cambridge invented the Raspberry Pi to fill this gap.

Computers and computer-like devices (phones, tablets) are expensive, exceptionally complex, and offer no easy way to wire up extra buttons, lights, dials, or mini displays. Back then, computers were smaller, more simple, and usually had “expansion ports” specifically designed for this sort of thing. People my age got their start in computers and electronics by experimenting with such machines. A team in the UK designed them, partly inspired by the BBC Micro, a hackable and affordable computer from 1981. The system is based around the Raspberry Pi, an inexpensive and small single-board computer. Play all of the games! RetroPie with controllers There are disk images of each and every cartridge, with a built-in menu to choose which one to play. There are no cartridges, only files on disk. A RetroPie is a small - smaller than a pack of cigarettes, smaller than a game controller - gaming system that emulates all of the classic consoles. A few weeks ago I put together a RetroPie.

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