Although the Retro Gaming Pi Kit comes with a USB controller, this wasn’t ideal for the arcade cabinet. The hunt was on for a set of USB arcade buttons and joystick as this will still work with the the Raspberry Pi and a quick search on eBay revealed a set for the nice price of £10.
The milling out of the holes for the buttons was easy to do though the next step of crimping the connectors was a struggle with the type of pliers used. Still, the button wires fed nicely into the USB board which was hot glued to the underside of the MDF panel. If you’re having trouble with the wiring then check out this helpful USB Arcade Controller Wiring Guide.
I’ve learnt the hard way that it’s good practice to test as much as you can during any build and after connecting up the new controller panel, it all worked first time. Playing the classics with a controller is one thing but replaying them how they were originally intended, with a joystick and buttons really transforms your gaming experience.
