[BETA] BlueRetro - Multiplayer Bluetooth controllers adapter for retro video game consoles

[DarthCloud]

Hi guys,

 

I want to share here a little project I've been working on for about 2 years now. BlueRetro is a universal multiplayer Bluetooth controller adapter for retro consoles.
No Atari systems supported yet but I'm working on Genesis support right now, so Atari 2600/7800 we land simultaneously. 5200 & Jaguar we come later down the line.

A cool thing with BlueRetro is that since it's multiplayer you can map multiple controller on one. This will be great for games like Raider of the Lost Ark & Robotron!

 

See main project page at hackaday.io

And github repo.

 

Quote

BlueRetro is a multiplayer Bluetooth controllers adapter for various retro game consoles. Lost or broken controllers? Reproduction too expensive? Need those rare and obscure accessories? Just use the Bluetooth devices you already got! The project is open source hardware & software under the CERN-OHL-P-2.0 & Apache-2.0 licenses respectively. It's built for the popular ESP32 chip. All processing for Bluetooth and HID input decoding is done on the first core which makes it easy for other projects to use the Bluetooth stack within their own project by using the 2nd core. Wii, Switch, PS3, PS4, Xbox One & generic HID Bluetooth devices are supported. NES, SNES, Saturn, JVS (Arcade), N64, GameCube & Dreamcast are supported with simultaneous 4+ players using a single adapter. Soon Genesis/Megadrive, PSX, PS2, Parallel (2600, SMS, NeoGeo, JAMMA), PCE, CD-i, 3DO, PC-FX...

See my roadmap for more info on upcoming features.

 

I'm currently looking for 25 Beta testers.

I will sell each DevKit 100 USD (No money taken upfront) since the low volume and external assembly will add to the cost. I will also make any cable you want for 20 USD (30 USD for those that require more work). Alternatively you can buy a cable kit for 5 USD that will only include the PCB pre-soldered with the SMD parts & the DB25 connector. (You got to source the cable & backshell yourself). I expect to ship the unit for beta around December 2020. I will send people on the list a paypal invoice once they are ready to ship.

 

You can add your name to the preorder list via this form:

https://forms.gle/TyieHLHRTFCQXz46A

 

See some background info here:
https://hackaday.io/project/170365-blueretro/log/177934-background-and-current-status

 

Let me know if you got any questions!

 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by DarthCloud

[sofakng]

This project is absolutely FANTASTIC.  I've been testing it for a while (with an ESP32 DevKitC, but now there is a PCB with everything integrated) and it works great.

 

Most bluetooth controllers are already supported (Generic bluetooth controllers, PS3/PS4, X-Box, Wii U, Switch Pro, etc).  You can even use a bluetooth keyboard/mouse to emulate a controller if you wanted.  The BlueRetro itself supports up to 7 simultaneous bluetooth connections and can emulate/support up to 4 players at once.

 

It's incredibly configurable (through a web interface) and you can also mix/match almost any configuration you can think of.  

 

For example, Smash TV for the NES had an interesting feature where you can use two controllers at once to emulate the arcade dual-stick setup.  BlueRetro can emulate these two controllers and map them to the different analog sticks on a single controller.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0b7eRCILWs)

 

It already supports many systems:

• NES
• SNES
• N64 (with built-in memory pak support coming soon!)
• Gamecube
• Saturn
• Dreamcast (with built-in VMU coming soon!)
• JVS (arcade)

 

Other systems are coming soon:

• Genesis/Megadrive
• Playstation
• Playstation 2
• Atari 2600
• Sega Master System
• Neo Geo
• PC Engine
• CD-i
• 3DO
• PC-FX

 

darthcloud has been updating this on an near-daily basis adding support for new systems, designing the PCBs, etc.

 

This is by far one of the most interesting (and useful) projects I've seen in a while.

Edited October 5, 2020 by sofakng