Missed out on the NES Mini? That's OK, Our RetroPie Gaming Kit is better

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Nintendo released their Retro Gaming console earlier this year. It was such a massive hit that it sold out almost instantaneously. Their console was the Nintendo Classic Mini, a shrunk down version of the old NES console that comes with 30 NES Games including all the crowd favorites such as Mario World, etc. It plugs into any TV via HDMI, making any HDTV around the house the perfect screen for your retro gaming fun.

The NES Classic comes with:

  • Console
  • 1 NES Controller (fitted with proprietary connection that only works on a NES Classic)
  • HDMI Cable
  • USB Power Cable (No USB-AC Adapter included, however, it is required to use the console)
  • 30 Installed Games

It's a pretty sweet deal for the average consumer if you pick it up with a few more accessories. It retails in Australia for $99.00 inc. GST. Throw in a USB-AC Adapter ($15.00 if you're lucky) and an extra controller ($25.00 if you can find one), and you've got yourself a brilliant setup for around $135.00.

We could do it better, though...

On the other hand, we've got a different style of Retro Gaming Console. It's called the Retro Pi Gaming Kit, loaded with twice the value of the Classic Mini. Not to mention, we have it in stock for THIS Christmas. The RetroPi system uses our favorite Single Board Computer; the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, as the 'console.' A 16gb micro-SD Card pre-loaded with all the software you need to have a Retro Console in your living room comes ready to plug n play too. The Pi will output audio/video to any HDMI capable screen and has the capability of playing ANY game (Called ROMs in the Emulator world).

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AVQVmsFOclM

RetroArch is the backbone of this console; it's a collection of Emulators that runs on a Linux operating system. The software is completely free and shareable too! The included emulators are as below:

  • PlayStation 1 (emulator: PCSX ReARMed)
  • Super Nintendo (emulator: SNES9x Next)
  • Nintendo Entertainment System (emulator: FCEUmm / NEStopia)
  • GameBoy / GameBoy Color (emulator: Gambatte)
  • GameBoy Advance (emulator: VBA Next)
  • Arcade (emulator: Final Burn Alpha)
  • Neo Geo Pocket Color (emulator: Mednafen NGP)
  • Virtual Boy (emulator: Mednafen VB)
  • Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
  • Sega Master System/Sega Game Gear (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
  • Sega CD / Mega CD (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
  • PC Engine / PC Engine CD (emulator: Mednafen PCE Fast)
  • WonderSwan Color / Crystal (emulator: Mednafen Wonderswan)
  • Cave Story (game engine: NX Engine)
  • Doom 1 / Doom 2 / Ultimate Doom / Final Doom (game engine: prBoom)

That's right, all of those emulators on one retro console. If you aren't sure what the Raspberry Pi is, check out our guide on it. There are a ton more peripherals than the NES Classic has to offer. Hardware and operating system aside, let's be frank. Games are what is important. The 16gb of storage available to you with the Retro Pi kit is chopped up into two parts. 2gb required for the operating system and the rest is available for Game files and save games. That's 14gb of space. Now to put that into perspective for our purposes: The max storage space a SNES ROM (for example) can use 4MB, and the entire library of SNES games ever released in the US is around 750 games (or 3000MB). That means that you could have every SNES game released, installed on our RetroPi console, and still have around 11GB for other consoles. That is purely ridiculous.

The Retro Pi Kit comes in 3 different kits, all of them with the same capabilities, the only thing that changes is the controllers included.
NES Retro Pi Gaming Kit - This is the NES Kit that closely matches the NES Classic. Except you get two controllers, the USB to AC adapter is included too. Pick one up for $139.00.
SNES Retro Pi Gaming Kit - This is the SNES-styled kit that comes with 2 SNES Controllers instead.
SNES (Wireless Controller) Retro Pi Gaming Kit- This kit has everything you need, but upgrades you to two premium quality 8BitDo SNES Wireless Controllers.

Need Help?

We don't just stock and sell these awesome kits either, we use them right here at Core. We've written a full compendium of guides for the Kit and controllers too:


This blog can also be viewed here