What you need to build your own retro arcade cabinet

There are few things cooler to add to a gaming space than a retro arcade cabinet. But should you buy one or build one. What you need to build your own retro arcade cabinet.

Gaming What you need to build your own retro arcade cabinet There’s a lot to consider, but we’ll walk you through it. The better place to start is to determine what you want the thing to play. If it’s a cabinet for Pac-Man, Galaga and other early arcade games, it can have a much simpler control panel than one would expect to have for Street Fighter, four-player beat-’em-ups or Golden Tee.

Some fighting games require six action buttons for each player, while other arcade games rely on a trackball, spinner or other special control. Player numbers are also a factor, especially if a neat two-player panel begins to turn into a four-player panel. Mocking up the controls on cardboard before drilling into wood is a cheap safeguard.

A popular Raspberry Pi cabinet build shared on Maker Forums was similar, with the layout of the control panel tested out before the final material was used. From there, there are three general paths for the cabinet itself: Make one out of plywood or MDF, purchase a flat-pack cabinet or repurpose an existing cabinet.