Game Emulation Machine

My latest project is a video game emulation machine. I started with an older Shuttle small form factor PC. It has onboard video with s-video out, a 1.8Ghz CPU, and a wireless ethernet card. It’s a little older, but perfectly good for emulating old video games.

I had all of the needed hardware, but no controllers. Eventually I plan to get USB inputs for actual NES, SNES, and Genesis controllers, but for now I wanted a gamepad. The XBOX 360 controllers are somewhat expensive, but they are probably the best gamepads I’ve ever used.

Controlling a PC in the den using a keyboard and mouse is annoying, so I found a really nice system called Maximus Arcade. It gives me a gamepad-controlled GUI to select a system and game.

I configured it to start on boot, and the machine can sleep at the touch of the power button. From sleep to playing a game takes only seconds.

So for the price of two controllers, the Maximus Arcade license, and some spare hardware, I have a user friendly gaming PC that fits in with my stereo and TV. The NES, SNES, and Genesis can now stay in storage.