The ideal modern-retro video game console My goal is to build a video game console for (my) kids. I want to teach them programming in a fun way: fun for them… and also fun for me. The video-game console features are:
Modern components, with a retro “spirit”. Easy to program, a must. Chosen: Python, in particular CircuitPython Gamepad support: Multiple gamepads at the same time (multiplayer is a must). Chosen: Bluepad32 firmware since it supports all modern Bluetooth gamepads ( see my previous post) “Retro” sound: Chosen: SN76489 (more info down below) “Retro” screen: Chosen: 64x32 LED matrix. Let’s see what we can do in this extremely low-resolution screen. A powerful enough micro-controller: Chosen: Matrix Portal M4, mostly for convenience since it comes with an ARM Cortex M4, ESP32, “expansion port” + header to connect to the matrix LED. It already supports CircuitPython. As a bonus it has an accelerometer. Portability: It should be portable, no need to use an external power supply. In other words, I’m building a Nintendo Switch killer. What will happen next is that Nintendo will run out of business. If this happens, my 7-year-old kid will kill me, since his dream is to be a video game designer at Nintendo… so probably I shouldn’t be that aggressive in my marketing campaign.
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