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Google Maps never received an official NES release. The phrase refers to an independent 2021 hardware project, attributed to ciciplusplus, that uses a real Nintendo Entertainment System to display a deliberately low-resolution map. A Raspberry Pi 3A+, Cypress FX2LP microcontroller and custom cartridge hardware supply data and communications; the NES provides the controller input and video output. It can scroll and zoom, but it is not a complete navigation system.
Two different things are called “Google Maps on the NES”
The story has two stages. In 2012, Google presented an 8-bit version of Google Maps as an April Fools concept. The promotion imagined an NES cartridge and offered a browser-based 8-bit map mode, but Google did not release a working commercial cartridge. Contemporary coverage describes that joke and its online experience at The Digital Reader.
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Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition | $279.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Hyperkin RetroN 2 HD Gaming Console for NES/Super NES/Super Famicom | $74.99 | Buy on Amazon |
In September 2021, an independent maker turned the visual idea into a physical demonstration. Hackaday’s report identifies the project as the work of ciciplusplus and shows an original NES displaying a blocky map through custom hardware: Hackaday’s project overview. It is therefore accurate to say that a hacker recreated Google’s joke on real NES hardware, not that Google ported Maps to Nintendo.
What the 2021 project actually does
The demonstrated system is best understood as a map viewer. It renders a low-resolution, tile-like map with country and city labels, lets the user move around it with the NES controller and provides zoom control through the A and B buttons. The available description does not specify which button corresponds to which zoom direction, so that assignment should not be assumed.
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- Nintendo NES console Classic Mini European version with 30 built-in games.
- Installed Games: Balloon Fight - Bubble Bobble - Castlevania - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Donkey Kong - Donkey Kong Jr. - Double Dragon II: The Revenge - Dr. Mario - Excitebike - Final Fantasy - Galaga - Ghosts Goblins - Gradius
- Ice Climber - Kid Icarus - Kirby's Adventure - Mario Bros. - Mega Man 2 - Metroid - Ninja Gaiden - Punch-Out !! Featuring Mr. Dream - StarTropics - SUPER C - Super Mario Bros. - Super Mario Bros. 2 - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Tecmo Bowl - The Legend of Zelda - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- Includes 1 joystick Nintendo Mini Classic: NES (Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro Wii compatible), 1 HDMI Cable, 1 USB power cable (to power the console, the USB cable must be connected to an AC adapter not included)
- Does not include: Commemorative poster, USB plug.
| NES control | Verified function |
|---|---|
| D-pad | Scrolls the map |
| A and B buttons | Control zoom; the reported source does not establish each button’s exact direction |
Nothing in the documented demonstration verifies address search, GPS positioning, turn-by-turn directions, route calculation, live traffic, Street View or a full Google Maps interface. Calling it a “game” or a navigation device overstates what was shown.
How the hardware is divided between the NES and the external computer
Raspberry Pi 3A+
The Raspberry Pi 3A+ supplies the computing and map-data side of the project. The available report does not establish whether imagery is fetched live, cached locally, preprocessed into tiles or generated from a fixed dataset. The careful description is that the Pi supplies map data to the cartridge interface.
Cypress FX2LP microcontroller
A Cypress Semiconductor FX2LP microcontroller provides the high-speed interface between the external system and the custom cartridge connection. It is part of the bridge that lets data from the Pi reach the NES-side hardware.
Rank #2
- Comes with console, 1 controller, power cord, video cord
- Controller is original OEM (not 3rd party)
- Tested and works well. Nice condition
Custom cartridge and ROM
The cartridge is not a standard game cartridge or a simple flash cart. A small ROM contains boot and communication code that starts the NES software and prepares the console to receive incoming data. The available coverage does not say that a complete world map is stored in that ROM; its described role is primarily boot and interface logic.
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The NES PPU
The NES’s Picture Processing Unit produces the actual video output. In practical terms, the original console acts partly as a graphics terminal: external hardware handles work that modern map data requires, while the NES renders the resulting low-resolution imagery and accepts input from its controller.
Why the NES needs help from a Raspberry Pi
A stock NES has a very limited CPU, little working memory, a constrained tile-based graphics system and no native internet connection. A modern mapping service also involves data acquisition, image preparation, search, geocoding and routing. Expecting the 1983-era console to perform all of those jobs internally would be impractical.
Rank #3
- The system comes bundled with: an HDMI cable
- an AC adapter
- one NES Classic Controller
- and all 30 games, installed and ready-to-play.
- E10+ w/ Mild Violence
The hybrid design divides the problem. The external computer can store, retrieve or prepare data and manage communication; the custom cartridge carries that data into the NES; and the NES supplies the authentic picture, timing and controller experience. This is why “running on the NES” is useful headline shorthand but technically incomplete: the display path includes real NES hardware, while the mapping workload is shared with external electronics.
The approach resembles the broad strategy used by an earlier NES Doom project, which also used a Raspberry Pi and custom cartridge-side hardware to feed data to the NES’s PPU. That comparison describes an engineering pattern, not proof that both projects use identical circuitry.
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- No verified turn-by-turn navigation or route calculation.
- No verified destination search, address lookup or geocoding.
- No verified GPS location, live traffic or Street View.
- No evidence that the displayed data came through an officially supported Google Maps client or current Google API arrangement.
- No evidence of a Google-branded cartridge, retail release or supported consumer product.
Directions would be a separate engineering project. Rendering a map is different from searching for two places, building a route through a road graph, recalculating it and presenting instructions. Those tasks also raise network, authentication, licensing and usage-cost questions for any implementation that relies on contemporary map services. Hackaday’s mention of possible future driving directions was speculation, not a demonstrated feature.
Rank #4
- HD audio and video (720p) with 16: 9/4: 3 Switch (HD cable only); 3 ft. HD cable; includes AV ports with AV cable
- High compatibility with (NTSC/PAL) NES, Super NES, and Super Famicom cartridges
- Hyperkin-engineered perfect pin (patent pending) Technology sets a new standard for state-of-the-art, high-quality pins
- Comes with a “Cadet” and a “Scout” Premium classic-style Controller; Controller ports support two compatible controllers for each Console
- Includes 6 ft. Micro charge cable and AC Adapter. If AC adapter is not included, We strongly recommend that you use a USB wall AC adapter that has a minimum output of 5V 1A.
Can you buy or easily build one?
There is no verified official product page, retail cartridge or turnkey kit for this project. The documented setup is custom hardware, and the available coverage does not establish a complete public build guide, maintained repository, compatibility list or current support status.
A reproduction would require more than an ordinary NES flash cartridge and a Raspberry Pi. The cartridge-side interface, microcontroller arrangement and software that move data into the NES are central to the design. Compatibility with every NES revision, Japanese Famicom hardware, clone consoles and emulators is not established by the project report.
Readers should also distinguish a real console demonstration from an emulator video. The source identifies an NES-compatible cartridge arrangement, but it does not provide a complete compatibility matrix or prove that every variation of NES hardware behaves identically.
Why the project matters
The appeal is not practical navigation. It is the way the project closes a loop between a memorable 2012 joke and real retro hardware. Google supplied the visual premise; an independent maker supplied the custom electronics and external processing; the NES supplied the unmistakable pixel-era output and controller feel.
That makes “Google Maps, Now on the NES” both true and misleading depending on how it is phrased. A real NES displays and controls the map through a cartridge interface. It does not contain a self-contained modern mapping service, and Google did not release the hardware.
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