Anand D
Author
This is a pocket-sized retro gaming console built by HVT Lab. It's powered by an ESP32-S3 N16R8 microcontroller and plays classic games from legendary systems like Nintendo, Game Boy, and Sega. It uses a 2.4-inch IPS display, and he made the entire body of the console from 2 mm brass wire, demonstrating a unique blend of DIY electronics and metal craftsmanship. He took measurements of the display and other parts onto paper and then bent the 2mm brass wire as per the drawing, cut it, and soldered the joints.
He used 4mm tactile buttons to control the games and mounted them on a 2mm clear acrylic sheet for support. Then, he provided a built-in slim speaker and used the onboard microSD card slot of the ESP32-S3 for game storage. To keep the device portable, he used a rechargeable battery setup powered by three 3.7V cells connected in parallel and a dedicated Type-C charging module as well. All of these parts were connected using 1mm brass wire; no wires or jumper cables were used at all.
The full circuit diagram, firmware and some sample games for testing it out are provided for free to everyone by the maker. Users can save their progress, adjust volume levels, customize display effects, etc., as seen in old-school video games. This project serves as an excellent guide for makers looking to combine classic gaming nostalgia with modern microcontroller technology, providing a complete demonstration for those interested in building their own version of this handheld gaming console. If you plan to build a gaming console with all the components assembled onto a PCB, here is our tutorial on a DIY Retro Gaming Console using ESP32. Also, here is our Arduino-based Game Console with 10 Retro Games if you wish to build one using an Arduino UNO R4.
