The Raspberry Pi Pico is the heart of potentially the smallest emulation platform. Twitter user bobricious has created a system that run Commodore 64, Atari 800, and ZX Spectrum games with a VGA output.
With just a 133 MHz dual-core RP2040 processor, the sub-£5 board can be attached to a custom PCB. It’s an SBC which hosts a controller, a built-in LCD display, and a socket for the Pico.
#mcume #raspberrypico #rp2040 #ZXSpectrum emulation pic.twitter.com/nWNeP0tmt1
— bobricius (@bobricius) September 15, 2021
This in turn relies on the MCUME project by Jean-Marc Harvengt. Multi CompUter Machine Emulator is a software layer that enables emulation on RP2040 microcontrollers. The result is a lightweight, compact gaming experience. VGA might be an odd choice, but it is at least more authentic than HDMI and doesn’t have the conversion overhead.
(Via Tom’s Hardware. Image credit: Bobricious Twitter feed)
Gaming since 1984, retro gaming since 2004. Contributes to Linux Format magazine and MakeUseOf.com.