Turn Your Useless GameStick Into A Powerful Emulator
The GameStick
I had high hopes when I backed the GameStick Kickstarter project. After finally receiving mine, it was underwhelming. The UI was slow and sluggish, there were not many games, and the controller had considerable lag.
Many of the issues were fixed, but you can turn your LGameStick into an old school emulator. You can play games from NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, GBA, N64, and more.
This is certainly nothing new as people have already posted instructions on how to do this. However, I wanted to document my own experience and hopefully make it a little easier for anyone else who wants to try.
Conceptual Overview
- Load a micro SD card with ROMs and emulators
- Convert your GameStick to a GameStick Dev (Developer device)
- Install your emulators
- Play your old school games
Load Files Onto A Micro SD Card
Create two folders as shown below and put your files into them
Save these two folders to your micro SD card.
Scenarios For Converting Your GameStick To A Developer Version
Depending on your situation, there are a few different methods to do this (this is also documented on their developer site once you make an account). I’ll be documenting how to convert an existing GameStick.
Converting An Existing Consumer GameStick
Use this process if you’ve already completed setup of a consumer GameStick.
Note: This process will erase all installed applications and data on your stick (To ensure a consistent platform and to reduce casual APK theft)
1. Navigate to the Settings
2. Choose Software Update
3. Hold down the L1 and R1 buttons, and without letting go, press the back button
4. Make sure you make a developer account before trying the next step
5. Enter the code shown at the top of this link
6. Select Confirm
7. Your GameStick will now download the developer system image
Install Your Emulators
When the GameStick boots back up, choose the Android Launcher
1. Plug in your SD card into the GameStick
2. Choose AppInstaller
3. Select External Storage Card
4. Install each of the emulators you chose
Play Your Games
Just choose your emulator and load up your favorite games.
