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Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

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24 alternatives to A retro video game console I've been working on in my free time

Software and hardware projects for fun from a guy who loves retro computing

A retro video game console project launched in 2019. The device is designed for people interested in classic gaming experiences. Built as a personal side project, it aims to recreate the functionality and feel of… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. A retro video game console I've been working on in my free time launched in 2019; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1

    Adventures in hardware hacking, low-level software, FPGAs, and more!

    2019 · craigjb.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Finally got my hobby OS up and running on real hardware. I love the old IBM thinkpads, so thought it was the perfect machine to get it working on. Been working on it for quite some time now, but this has been a big milestone!

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3
    Atari Box▲176

    Atari's new mysterious gaming console (?)

    2017 · freespins.com.co · its alternatives →

  4. 4
    Raspi Boy▲107

    Build your own retro handheld game console

    2016 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    A plug and play mini retro gaming console & media player

    2016 · indiegogo.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Arduino compatible retro console for gamers

    2017 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Open Source Retro Gaming & STEM Portable Console

    2017 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8GB

    Hey HN, Over the past ~1.5 years, I built an open-source FPGA retro emulation handheld that can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. To my knowledge, there isn't an existing open-source FPGA emulator that can play physical cartridges like this. One of my main goals was to do all of the pieces myself, and be able to understand every component of it, so I designed my own PCB, wrote the firmware, wrote a Game Boy and Game Boy Advance emulator for the FPGA (using the Chisel HDL), and designed a 3D-printed case. I detailed the design and development process in the…

    2025 · eli.lipsitz.net · its alternatives →

  9. 9IM

    Hi, As a 8-bit C64 game coder in eaarly 90ties and currently mostly FE-focused dev, decided to give a go to a simple retro game archive. This is purely fun project - so i decided to post it to HN, mayne it'll resonate :)

    2023 · polishpixels.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Retro RPG Game Maker. Contribute to ericoporto/fgmk development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    The golden age of 16-bit gaming returns

    2017 · nintendo.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    A mix of retro, pixels and Micromachines on steroids

    2016 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13AR

    Learn to code by building retro arcade games.

    2022 · akedo.app · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    A monthly subscription box of retro video games

    2017 · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    A while back I wrote a CHIP-8 emulator (which is considered the Hello, World! of emulators and is more accurately a virtual machine since historically CHIP-8 was an interpreted language running on top of the COSMAC VIP to make game programming easier). But a few months ago I got really interested in embedded software, so decided it would be neat to port my emulator to a STM32 MCU and design a console around it as a learning experience, since CHIP-8 never existed as a physical system. I didn't know much about embedded software when I began, and even less about electronics, but I managed to…

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    A vintage, 80s-inspired iPhone

    2015 · colorware.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Showcase pixel art and old school video game graphics

    2016 · ledseq.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    CHIP-8 console on FPGA. Contribute to pwmarcz/fpga-chip8 development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    AtariVCS▲272

    Reinventing the way you game. Again.

    2018 · atari.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    Bring back the 80s with this image creator

    2016 · photofunia.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Nostalgist.js is a JavaScript library that allows you to run emulators of retro consoles within web browsers.

    2023 · nostalgist.js.org · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    Stylish and nostalgic graphics for design projects

    2022 · retro.wannathis.one · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Redesign handheld retro game console

    2021 · kickstarter.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    The classic retro game recreated using Pygame and python.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →