[Susan Keller]

I’ve been playing the included games on my Qinux BitBip 89 and it’s been a good time so far. But I’m curious about adding a few of my own favorites that aren’t in the list. Is that doable for someone who isn’t super techy? I don’t want to mess anything up. Just wondering if anyone here has tried it and how it went.

[Leo Grey]

Adding games is possible but “not super techy” and “won’t mess anything up” don’t really go together here. You’re basically copying files onto the storage and hoping the menu picks them up. If you stick to common retro formats it’s usually fine, but I wouldn’t call it plug and play.

[Mike Reynolds]

Adding games means messing with files, so that combo doesn’t really exist. I tried it once, got the folder structure wrong, and spent an hour wondering why nothing showed up. If that sounds annoying, just stick with what’s already loaded.

[RonWeek]

I poked around the folders on mine one weekend and it wasn’t too bad, though I just copied a couple of old favorites over and left the rest alone. It worked fine for me, but I only tried it the once and haven’t messed with it since.

[MeryVip]

I got mine mainly for the plug and play setup, so I haven’t touched the game files at all. From what I’ve seen, the storage is pretty limited anyway, so even if you figure it out you’re not fitting much extra on there.

[Susan Kennet]

Easier to just enjoy the built-in list, if I’m honest.

[Emma Reads]

I actually found it pretty straightforward, way easier than I expected going in. My brother sent me a folder of old arcade games he had lying around and I figured it would be a whole project, but it ended up being like twenty minutes of fiddling. I just plugged the stick into my laptop, found the folder where the games live, and dropped the new files in next to the existing ones. Unplugged it, plugged it back into the TV, and there they were in the menu. No drama at all.

The one thing that tripped me up was file names. A couple of mine had weird characters in them and those didn’t show up until I renamed them to something plain. Once I did that they were fine. I’m not someone who messes with this kind of stuff normally, I mostly just wanted to play some old favorites from when I was a kid, and it worked out.

So I’d say go for it. Back up the original files first if you’re nervous, then you can always put things back the way they were. That took me two minutes and gave me peace of mind. The worst case is you copy something wrong and just delete it again. It’s not like you can break the console by adding a file. Mine’s been running fine with the extra games for a couple months now and I haven’t had any issues.

[Jackson_H]

I went from planning to load a bunch of my own stuff onto it to just leaving the thing alone. When I was looking at it before buying, “additional game downloads supported” was one of the things that pushed me toward it, since I figured I’d customize the list eventually. After a couple months of actually using it, that interest mostly faded. The built-in lineup covers way more than I expected, so the itch to add anything just kind of went away on its own.

I did open up the file side once out of curiosity, poked around for a few minutes, then closed it and went back to playing. Nothing about it felt impossible, I just couldn’t be bothered once I saw how much was already there. So my take shifted from “this needs my own games” to “this is fine as is.”

If adding stuff is a big deal for you, I’d still check how the folders are laid out on whatever version you get, since that part seems to vary. For me it stopped being the deciding factor.

[L_Parker]

I dropped a few of my own roms on mine last month and it worked fine once I found the right folder. Not hard, just fiddly. If you can copy files to a USB stick you can do it.

[Mark Carrell]

Adding games is doable but I wouldn’t call it effortless. I tried it once, got a couple working, then quit messing with it. Half the battle is figuring out which folder they actually belong in.

[Tom W98]

It’s doable but I wouldn’t call it beginner stuff. You’re basically poking around in folders and hoping the format matches. If you’re the type who gets nervous messing with files, just leave it.

[Nina White]

I poked around with mine for maybe twenty minutes and got one game to show up, then decided I’d rather keep the stock list tidy. I’m not big on sorting folders anyway. If tinkering isn’t your thing, it’s fine to just leave it be.

[Sarah J]

I’m still on the fence about buying one of these, so the whole “can I add my own games” thing is something I’ve been trying to figure out too. What I’ve gathered from poking around is that it kind of depends on which version of the firmware you end up with, because the folder setup isn’t always the same across them. So someone might find it easy while someone else with a slightly different unit hits a wall. That part bugs me a little since you don’t really know what you’re getting until it’s in your hands. I don’t need to load a ton of stuff, just a handful of games I actually care about, but I’d rather know upfront whether that’s realistic before I commit. Curious whether the ones people bought recently have been consistent or if it’s a total toss up depending on the batch.

[Pete Tilbrook]

Tried it once on mine and got a couple of games running, but it’s not something I bother with anymore. I’d rather just play what’s already on there than spend an evening digging through folders. Adding stuff is fine if you enjoy that side of it, I just don’t.

[Mike38]

I grabbed a couple of my old favorites off a USB stick and they showed up after a reboot. Not instant, but nothing broke. I’d say go for it if you have the files handy.

[Jordan M.]

Adding games isn’t hard, but it’s also not something you just click once and forget. I tried it on mine and got a few of my old favorites running after moving files onto a USB stick. It took me a bit to figure out where they needed to go, but I didn’t break anything. If you can handle basic copy and paste, you’ll be fine.

[Tom Briggs]

Adding games is the easy part. Keeping them organized so you can actually find them later is where it gets annoying. Mine turned into a mess of files and half the names showed up wrong on the menu.

[Susan Keller]

Thanks for all the replies, good to know it’s not as fiddly as I was worried about. I might give it a go this weekend when I’ve got a bit of time. If it turns into a mess I’ll just start over, no big deal.

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