These days, it doesn’t take much to emulate classic video games, especially older ones from the 2D era. For something like that, even projects built around a $10 to $15 Raspbery Pi Zero single-board computer are enough to emulate consoles through the Sega 32X and SNK Neo-Geo, as well as 2D arcade games released even later. If you’re less of a tinkerer, even a cheap Amazon Fire TV Stick can run all sorts of classic games surprisingly well. For anyone inclined to play classic games via less than entirely above-board ROM image downloads, playing older games is incredibly inexpensive and pretty simple, even if you’re not a tinkerer who wants to futz around with a Raspberry Pi or comparable product.
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Of course, not everyone wants to do that. Maybe they’re hesitant to download third-party ROM dumps or dump their own classic game collection for legal and other reasons. Maybe the level of tinkering required for even sideloading apps onto a Fire TV Stick is too much. And maybe they just prefer the look, feel, and provenance of an official product. To fill this gap, various companies started selling “mini consoles,” basically ARM-based emulation systems in cases that were miniature replicas of the original console. Most prominently, Nintendo did it with the NES and Super NES, releasing the NES Classic Edition for $59.99 in November 2016 and the SNES Classic Edition for $79.99 in September 2017. Getting them now for roughly those prices is easier said than done, though.
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