NFC Entertainment System (PC based)
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Model information
- Source
- Printables
- Category
- Video Games
- License
- Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial — Share Alike
I wanted to share the games I played during my childhood with my daughter and while I had the original consoles, I couldn't find a good (and affordable) way to play them on modern screens. Emulation lacked the physicality of cartridges.
This NFC rom loader peripheral fixes that. It uses an ACR122U USB NFC reader, 25mm NFC tags and some software to play roms in Retroarch when a cartridge is inserted into the fantasy console. Retroarch is closed when the cartridge is removed. The front of the console has a cutout for a USB hub to which wired gamepads can be connected to.
This is not a standalone system like some of the other NFC projects, but requires a Windows based PC. This is to allow for using the highest quality CRT emulation shaders.
Video:
The NFC loader software reads a CSV file containing the mapping of tag id, emulator, core and rom. No data is stored on the tags themselves and only the ID is used, so it should work with all tags. This could be extended to other Windows based software (i.e. movies in VLC, audiobooks, Steam games, etc).
I am using the MegaBezel shader in Retroarch for the CRT look and feel. The loader software is set to autostart on boot. The desktop icons and taskbar are hidden and the “Insert Cartridge” screen is a desktop wallpaper. Retroarch is configured to wait one second to load the shaders so there is enough time to show the rom name.
The software is on my GitHub:
https://github.com/skyworxx/NFCLoader
The specific model of NFC reader is this one:
https://www.acs.com.hk/en/products/3/acr122u-usb-nfc-reader/
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08GKQ19F6
The cartridges have a 80x40mm blank space for labels. I printed and cut those on a Cricut Maker 3 but the edges are all straight, so a pair of scissors and sticker paper will be sufficient.
I also made a 12 cartridge holder to keep them all organized.
Gamepads are cheap USB wired ones. The main goal was for them to match the actual emulated console so they line up with what's shown on screen. In the future I might replace them more modern controllers.