It would be great if it can support popular retro games emulators such as NES, SNES, PS1, PS2, etc so that it can scan and add every ROMs I have into a games library. This will make Plex the ultimate TV companion.
Someone did make a games scanner, it will be on the forums somewhere. It didn’t allow for playing of said games, but it allowed you to display them at least.
@s1mpleman said:
Someone did make a games scanner, it will be on the forums somewhere. It didn’t allow for playing of said games, but it allowed you to display them at least.
I see. But I hope to have the ability to play them. Right now, I’m using Raspberry Pi 2 as my Plex client (running on RasPlex). Whenever I want to play games, I would switch the micro SD card with the one with RetroPie. I know, it is a first world problem. But it would be great if both are integrated.
I was thinking of replacing the RPi2 with an Android TV device such as Nvidia Shield. That way, I can have both Plex app and emulator app installed. But this way, it doesn’t provide the deep integration feel and not old people friendly. Not to mention the cost will be significantly more. The main reason why I love Plex is because my non-techie parents and wife are finally able to watch my movie library at ease. I would be great if it can extend the ability to play retro games to them.
@benleow said:
I was thinking of replacing the RPi2 with an Android TV device such as Nvidia Shield. That way, I can have both Plex app and emulator app installed. But this way, it doesn’t provide the deep integration feel and not old people friendly. Not to mention the cost will be significantly more. The main reason why I love Plex is because my non-techie parents and wife are finally able to watch my movie library at ease. I would be great if it can extend the ability to play retro games to them.
I pointed it out just so you could check it out, I’m not trying to shoot down the idea sorry. Personally I haven’t really played games in a while so it’s not on my priority list, but it’s a cool idea. It would mimic the XBMC setup I had a while ago which did have this functionality. Until this gets more votes and is implemented I would say that’s probably the best work around I can think of at the min. I’m not sure if it would work on the raspberrypi, but it might be worth a check out.
I agree with you though, it’s a lot easier than “lending” them disks that never return, and my little dream for Plex is it to eventually encompass all media types so you can have a vote from me.
In the meantime you could check out LaunchBox, they just updated with a Steam style big picture mode. I haven’t tested it out fully (only used the more manual prior version) but it’s a nice frontend for games, you can import from installed games, Steam, emulators, etc.
I think the basic version is free so you could at least test it and see if it works for you. I got a couple of USB NES controllers and my wife & my cousin had no problems navigating it on their own. I’ve got the original carts but it’s hard to pass up the convenience and filters.
Also having multiplayer with other Plex users at there house might be a fantastic idea to look into. Just thinking about playing Super Mario Brothers 3 with my brother in a different state through Plex sounds amazing.
this is a media player/server not a videogame console. Downvoted.
Early 2021 clean-up: implemented
