The most popular retro gaming project? Gotta be the DIY arcade console — an all-in-one gamer's paradise that can replicate hundreds of vintage video games from stand-up arcade machines, home consoles, and PC titles from the 2000s back to 8-bit classics of the 1970s and 80s.
Most makers start with a Raspberry Pi mini computer running RetroPie emulation software. Built atop a full Linux OS and arcade interfaces EmulationStation and RetroArch, plus lots of open source emulators, RetroPie runs on Pi 4 and earlier models, and can reproduce 50+ vintage consoles and PCs from Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Apple, Commodore, and many more. Just add vintage controllers or a keyboard. Popular alternative arcade OSes include Recalbox and its offshoot Batocera — good for beginners.
(Note that the new Pi 5…