EmulationStation on Steam Deck! Showcase & Guide

Well, that didn't take long. The desktop version of EmulationStation works really well with the Steam Deck, and allows you to streamline your emulation setup on this impressive handheld. Plus it works in perfect sync with EmuDeck, allowing you to have preconfigured emulation settings AND multiple options when it comes to organizing your ROM library. In this video we'll go over basic setup, add artwork, and improve how it displays in SteamOS.

Timestamps:
00:00 introduction
01:38 installation and EmuDeck setup
05:26 EmulationStation setup
07:22 scraping and some configuration
11:52 configure ES for SteamOS UI
16:29 testing ES in handheld/gaming mode
18:57 themes showcase
19:42 summary & conclusion

Theme song sampled from "Rosetta" by T-120:

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This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only.

#EmulationStation #SteamDeck #RetroGaming

[ES-DE_Frontend]

Thanks for the great video! Let me clarify the gc vs gamecube situation. ES-DE (EmulationStation Desktop Edition) uses the RetroPie naming convention and not the Recalbox/Batocera naming convention. For most systems they are identical but there are some differences such as for Nintendo GameCube. ES-DE was originally based on the RetroPie fork of EmulationStation, from around two years ago. I had to go for the RetroPie names to retain maximum compatibility with RetroPie themes, which ES-DE does support. Part of the reason why my application is so fast on the Steam Deck is that I decided to support the Raspberry Pi 4/400 with the most recent release and I had to optimize it like crazy to get it to run somehow OK on that weak device. Overall that's a really good tip if you want to maximize the performance when programming, target a really weak device, it's also good fun and a nice challenge :)

[heisenbergwhite]

Steam Deck is really the dream handheld we always wanted

[peterfiser]

Great video as always, two mentions.
1. You can make a symbolic link names 'gc' pointing at the gamecube folder. No need to copy back and forth. Right click in folder, Create New > Link to file or folder.
2. At 4:55 you mention case sensitivity, but Steam Deck microSD cards use ext4 with casefolding, meaning the system doesn't care for case sensitivity.

[markomanolios]

man... now with steam deck you 're probably working overtime, but you make some of the most detailed, enjoyable and to the point tutorials for emulation out there! thanks!

[lscottex]

I didn't have to change the ROM directory path in Emulation Station, so the latest version might already default to the right place! Thank you for this fantastic series of videos - great stuff and very helpful.

[h_x_h]

Can someone create a registry script for windows that changes the “Yes” button in boxes to “Yeah man, I wanna do it.”?

[Drivenby]

THIS is what i needed. Q2 cant come soon enough. Also you and ETA prime are in SYNC

[Kaze]

Wow…. I just set this up on my Deck and man do I need to grow my ROM library. This is amazing.

[dinellisgonzalez]

Excelent video. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Emulation options in one year will be absolutely amazing. This is why I love this machine.

[DecAllTimeAlways]

*18:19**:* That's one of my favorite games of all-time! Ridge Racer for PSP. I had the original and R4 on PS1. Max Tour is nearly unbeatable. I still play that game on my Vita after 17 years. "Midnight Run" is the best. Long, sweeping turns at night.

[Isaac]

I probably will never get a steam deck but it’s so satisfying to see nice well put together solutions that ultimately benefit the final user

[julianp.]

Absolutely loving emulation on the deck. Thanks for all the guides. The hardest thing I've run into is figuring out all of the button configurations for each emulator's functions (save states for example).

[ipunchcats]

bro i was just watching the other emulation video and checked your channel, as you said "Video coming out tomorrow". Aight sweet, good timing on my part

[Elipsisx]

Bro... I've been following you since the I got into retro gaming emulation consoles (Anbernic, Miyoo, etc.) and I gotta say that for me you are the legend in this topic!

"Do you really wanna do this?"
"Yeah man, I wanna do it"

That dumb quote always put a smile on my face when following one of your tutorials.. AWESOME job Russ!! Keep it up!!

[angroidgames]

Well things are moving very fast, Emudeck and ESDE guides like this one are now already outdated since the new version of the Emudeck script takes care of basically everything. Amazing work, a Linux based console with the opensource community backing it, this is a dream come true, what a fantastic product!

[mauriciobentz]

i will use and watch your video to do this on my steam, when ever I get it between July-september! Great videos as always.

[mirkwood]

Finally I have found the solution to creating custom artwork for the wide icon. Thank you!

[sandernetzotov]

Woot, my Steam Deck is coming today and can't wait to set this all up. Thanks for the -as always - very clear guide.

[jmbd]

This looks like a nice interface to show your emulated games. I just created a collection in Steam for each console (NES, SNES, etc). I added all my games to the corresponding collection. I may try this out. Thanks!

[JasonL]

There is an amazing amount of information packed into this video!