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Plug and Play TV Games

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Overview

This grouping covers self-contained Plug ‘n’ Play TV game units such as Jakks Pacific/AtGames dongles that run off built-in ROMs. Because those systems are hardware-specific, REG-Linux launches them through MAME and tags everything as plugnplay so themes know which artwork to use.

Technical specifications

  • Manufacturer: Various
  • Release year: 2002
  • Hardware type: console

Quick reference

  • ROM folder: /userdata/roms/plugnplay
  • Accepted formats: .zip, .7z
  • Emulator: MAME
  • System group: plugnplay

ROMs

Drop each ROM archive into /userdata/roms/plugnplay and refresh EmulationStation so the new entries appear. EmulationStation treats these as MAME games, so include any ZIP/7z container that holds the plug-and-play image.

Native Linux ports

REG-Linux also accepts native Linux ports under the same system. Place the unpacked game data in /userdata/roms/ports/.data/<Game> and create an executable launcher script in /userdata/roms/ports/ that changes into the .data/<Game> directory before launching the binary. After marking the script executable (chmod +x <script>.sh), refresh the gamelist and launch the script from EmulationStation.

Emulators

MAME

MAME handles both the plug-and-play archives and the native Linux port wrappers. Configure options through the in-game menu ([HOTKEY] + south face button or [Tab]) or via mame.ini. REG-Linux exposes shared settings such as plugnplay.videomode, plugnplay.decoration, plugnplay.padtokeyboard, and BGFX options (plugnplay.video, plugnplay.bgfxbackend, plugnplay.bgfxshaders, plugnplay.switchres). Tweak rotation (plugnplay.rotation) and D-pad orientation (plugnplay.altdpad) when needed.

Controls

Plug-and-play titles shipped with proprietary controllers, so MAME indexes the inputs numerically. Use /remapping_controls_per_emulator to swap buttons if the layout feels wrong; the default overlay is the generic MAME mapping shown inside the repository.

Troubleshooting

  • If a new ROM does not appear, re-run Refresh Gamelist from the [START] → Game Settings menu to rebuild the list.
  • Vulkan-based native ports require Vulkan 1.1+ hardware; they will not run on GPUs without adequate support.
  • For general issues consult the arcade guide and the generic support pages.