GoKawiilWith Sony cutting disc production for PlayStation consoles by 2028, the future looks bleak for anyone who likes actually owning their video games. The past, though, well, that’s never looked brighter, with the retro gaming sector offering more opportunities than ever to enjoy the games of yesteryear.
There are now heaps of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) consoles that effectively remake original consoles, supporting authentic game cartridges on modern displays—like Analogue’s excellent N64 mimic, the Analogue3D. But Romania-based Epilogue has been going a slightly different route. Its Operator line is a burgeoning series of plug-in cart slots that let you play original cartridges on your computer, running the games through emulation.
The delightful GB Operator was first out of the gate earlier in 2026, supporting carts from three generations of Game Boy hardware. Epilogue is now following up with the SN Operator, which does the same for Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Famicom carts—and does so rather brilliantly.
Photograph: Matt Kamen
Super Familiarcom
Like its predecessor, the SN Operator is a simple perspex cuboid, albeit bigger, measuring 185 × 70 × 37 millimeters to accommodate the much larger SNES game cartridges. The cart slot now boasts guard flaps to protect the inner circuitry from dust and debris—much like Nintendo’s original consoles did—and the whole unit benefits from a rubber base that keeps it stationary on any desk, despite its mere 230-gram base weight.
The greater size means it’s not as portable as the GB Operator (I certainly wouldn’t want to lug it and a bunch of full-size carts around to play via my laptop on the go), but the original hardware was always a home console, so it’s no real loss. Setup remains simple. Connect the device to your computer (Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Raspberry Pi are supported) via the included 1-meter braided USB-C to USB-C cord—which also provides power—install Epilogue’s Playback software, slot in your chosen game, and you’re good to go.
The SN Operator continues to offer a host of visual options and filters for how games run, with screen modes ranging from pixel-perfect representations to CRT replicas—oddly, some imitating the grayscale appearance of the Game Boy—and modifiers to how fast or slow a game runs, including fast-forward and rewind features.