Modder makes portable arcade dreams come true

A modder has created a line of full-sized portable arcade cabinets built from custom Raspberry Pi 4-powered laptops.

Kian Ryan, a modder and Raspberry Pi enthusiast, created a range of personalized arcade machines which not only allows you to play your favorite retro games, but is also easily portable.

The portable arcade cabinets are powered by custom-built Raspberry Pi laptops. These custom laptops consist of a mix of Cooler Master GA241 gaming monitors connected to Raspberry Pi 4s running the open-source emulator, RetroArch.

For the arcade buttons, Ryan purchased modified Sanwa JLF arcade sticks with Link EX Groove Quick Release and a total of 10 buttons. All electronics were then packaged into hand-crafted foldable cases.

The bulk of the project, the cabinet itself, was designed by Ryan in Fusion360. Pieces of the cabinet were then cut out of MDF sheets and painted to look more authentic.

As first reported Tom’s gearWhat made the end result truly portable was that these hand-built Pi-powered laptops could be easily slid in and out of the MDF-based arcade cabinet.

Instead of trying to make room to transport an army of massive, full-sized arcade machines, Kian Ryan’s custom-built cabinets could be disassembled and flat-packed to be taken to and from events and conventions.

Although portable arcade machines were pretty impressive, they received some minor improvements after their first big event. Ryan added a trackball, as well as an extra set of buttons for 2 player action.

If you want to take a closer look at these nostalgic cabinets, they will be appearing at Discworld International Convention 2024.

However, you will need an additional ticket not only for the event, but also for Birmingham in the UK, where they will be on display, featuring the classic Discworld point-and-click adventure games.