SwitchBerry Is a Nintendo Switch-Inspired, Raspberry Pi-Based Mobile PC Gaming Device

Hackster Staff
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Hacker Drew Wallace enjoyed handheld gaming growing up, eventually graduating to consoles, then PC gaming, but never really got over the cool factor of portable systems. After trying a few streaming options, he settled on Parsec, which can stream games from a PC to other devices, including the Raspberry Pi.

“The goal was to play my PC games on the go, mouse and keyboard free, with little to no latency, and a steady frame rate.” (📷: Drew Wallace)

This, of course, opens up a whole world of mobile gaming possibilities, and after seeing the Nintendo Switch’s split Joy-Con controllers for sale, he built a system to take advantage of their split design. The resulting “SwitchBerry” resembles a Nintendo Switch, but instead contains a Raspberry Pi and uses a 7” Pi touchscreen for a display. It’s completely wireless, running off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and powered by a 3.7V 4400mAh LiPo battery and an Adafruit Powerbost 1000C so you can take it anywhere.

The Raspberry Pi, Pi touchscreen, Powerboost 1000C, battery, Perma-Proto board, and other electronics, all housed inside a 3D-printed case. (📷: Drew Wallace)

Though an involved project, you can find the details — including all of its hardware components — on Wallace’s GitHub page and images of the setup on Google Drive.

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

Hackster Staff

Written by

Hackster Blog

Hackster.io, an Avnet community, is the world’s largest network for hardware & software developers. With 1 million members and 17,000+ projects, beginners and professionals can learn and share how to build robotics, industrial automation systems, AI-powered machines, and more.

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