Interview with Miguel Soto, developer of NeoStation
You mention in your blog post that your journey into retro gaming started around 2018. How have you seen the emulation scene evolve since then?
Honestly, the evolution has been huge. Even though emulation goes back several decades, in recent years I've noticed a very clear shift in what users are looking for. Twenty years ago, it was completely normal to have several standalone emulators installed on your PC, MAME, ZSNES, ePSXe, and many others. Back then, you really had to be a "geek" or someone deeply familiar with the scene to get your classic games running properly.
Today, things are very different. People want something simpler: fewer configurations, fewer technical steps, and a more unified experience. It's not that users have become lazy, it's just that the young enthusiasts from years ago are now adults with jobs, families, and very limited time to spend on complex setups. What they want now is straightforward: open and play.
That's where modern emulation frontends have made a big impact. Tools like RetroArch with its Libretro cores, and frontends such as ES-DE, Daijisho, and Beacon, have helped unify not just RetroArch but almost the entire ecosystem of emulators into a single, cohesive experience. They've made emulation more accessible than ever.
In the demo video you mention that you've been working on NeoSync for about two months. When did you decide to expand it to a full frontend? Does it draw from any other emulation frontend projects?
NeoSync started with a real problem. During a conversation with a colleague from my full-time job, he told me he was having difficulties syncing his save files. He used one retro handheld when he was at home and a more lightweight one when traveling. The issue was that he constantly had to transfer his saves manually from one device to the other just to continue his progress. In some cases he used Google Drive, but the experience wasn't always good or reliable.
That's when the idea emerged: why not create a platform that works like Steam Cloud, automatically syncing your saves? But the challenge was significant. With Steam, it's easier because the game developer defines where the saves go and how to identify them. In emulation, however, you have to detect the ROM, the system, the emulator being used, and the exact save path, and all of that can vary drastically between devices and configurations.
That's when I realized I couldn't just build the synchronization backend. I needed a complete ecosystem, a frontend that could detect all those parameters and provide an integrated experience. That's how NeoStation and NeoSync were born: two parts of a unified system designed to work together and make the entire process seamless.
Both NeoStation and NeoSync are the result of two months of intense work. I work in the software development industry, so getting to a functional solution came with its challenges, but nothing that couldn't be solved with enough dedication.
What are some of the main pain points you want to solve with NeoStation? How have other frontends fallen short?
As I mentioned in the previous question, NeoSync is one of the main problems that NeoStation solves. But there is another pillar that I consider even more important: the user experience. This includes both the interface and the ease of use, as well as compatibility across different operating systems.
Many existing frontends offer some of these features, but rarely all of them together. NeoStation covers them comprehensively. That said, it still hasn't reached full maturity to meet every need perfectly, which is why it remains in Alpha. At the same time, I recognize that existing frontends are very good and provide complete solutions in many areas.
On Android, the app supports both landscape and portrait modes, as some users prefer playing that way, especially for classic games with portrait-oriented screens.
Additionally, a user can have an Android smartphone, a Windows PC, and an iPad (there isn't an iPad build yet, but it will be available soon) and play the same game with the same save synchronized across devices seamlessly. This kind of cross-platform integration is a central aspect of NeoStation.
Tell me about your decision to include RetroAchievement support in NeoStation. Are you a frequent user of RA or was this based on community feedback?
Well, the same colleague from work I mentioned introduced me to RetroAchievements not long ago. He told me that the community is fantastic and that it really brings new life to the replayability of classic games. And he was absolutely right: I got hooked on RetroAchievements immediately.
However, I had a personal problem. A few months ago, I was using ES-DE on my retro handheld, a frontend I really love. Every time I wanted to see which achievements I still needed to unlock, I had to grab my smartphone, go to the website, search for the game, and check the pending achievements. It was very time-consuming, and sometimes it even discouraged me from continuing to play.
Since I was already building NeoSync and NeoStation, I thought I could integrate RetroAchievements directly, without any extra steps or delays. And well… it's done.
Of course, the community on Discord and Reddit has also provided suggestions that have greatly improved my initial design.
Have any NeoStation features proven more difficult to implement than you anticipated?
Yes, and by far the most challenging has been implementing gamepad navigation. This is my first time creating an app in Flutter (a framework for building cross-platform applications), and I quickly realized how complex integrating gamepads can be. Each gamepad works differently: they have different input mappings and also behave differently in terms of digital and analog inputs.
Creating a kind of universal mapping has been a real technical challenge. NeoStation is not yet compatible with all controllers, but it does support the most popular and widely used ones.
What was the inspiration for NeoStation's UI? Do you have any plans to add custom themes in future updates?
The inspiration for NeoStation's interface came from the Steam Deck. When it arrived at my home and I tried it for the first time, I loved the way it lets you navigate through games. It's a very different experience compared to a desktop PC: it really feels like being on a console, and I particularly enjoyed navigating the entire menu using just the gamepad.
NeoStation's interface isn't exactly the same, as I had to adapt it to the world of emulation, but it does share a similar feel in terms of smooth navigation and gamepad usability.
NeoStation was never designed with fully customizable themes in mind. I know this might draw some criticism from a portion of the community, but regarding the interface and user experience, I prefer to maintain control. My goal is to ensure a fluid navigation experience, with a strong identity and full stability.
What is planned, however, is offering predefined color palettes. Some users prefer dark mode, others light mode, and I'm also planning an OLED mode. Rather than full "themes," these will be options like color palettes, text sizes, and small interface adjustments that allow some personalization without compromising the consistency or stability of the interface.
NeoSync is one of the most unique features of NeoStation, and you're offering very accessible plans for storage. Tell me about the process of coming up with the pricing structure.
At first, you might remember the initial Reddit post introducing the idea. My original concept was to offer NeoSync for free, with up to 2 MB of storage per account, for everyone. This way, I wouldn't compromise too much on infrastructure costs and planned to keep the service running through donations.
However, the community response wasn't what I expected. Many people mentioned that the service could be unreliable in the medium to long term, that the storage was too limited, and that the percentage of donors might not be enough if the space per user increased.
Many users suggested introducing paid plans for those who need more capacity, a kind of premium or VIP plan. Personally, I've never liked the idea of hierarchies, especially in pricing plans, but I understood it was necessary to make the project sustainable.
That's when the idea came to increase the free tier from 2 MB to 4 MB and create four additional plans, with affordable pricing, of course. The idea was that no plan should cost more than a Netflix subscription, which became a personal challenge.
To avoid making the plan names feel hierarchical, I named them Micro, Mini, Mega, and Ultra. The names only reflect the storage capacity, which ranges from 16 MB to 1 GB.
The Micro plan is priced as low as possible, 2 USD per month. This allows me to maintain the infrastructure and cover the necessary taxes, making the project sustainable without compromising accessibility.
Do you have any other plans to monetize/fund the project going forward?
Honestly, I haven't thought about other ways to monetize the project for now. At least the current plans cover the infrastructure costs of NeoSync. The worst-case scenario would be if no one subscribed to a plan and everyone wanted to continue using the free version, because then I would have to cover the costs out of my own pocket, as I do today. That said, the current percentage of subscribers is sufficient to cover maintenance.
I'm confident that the service can be sustainable in the medium term. In the meantime, my main focus remains on providing a great user experience.
In some early posts you mention that NeoStation is a solo project. Is that still the case? Do you plan to bring in more developers in the future?
NeoStation will continue to be a solo project for now. I understand that this might not appeal to everyone, especially those who prefer open source projects, and I want to make it clear that I fully respect that.
I've been working in the industry for about 14 years, and I know how complex and slow coordinating a development team can be, especially in open source projects. When multiple contributors work in their free time, differences in the project's direction can emerge, and forks reflecting those divergences may appear. At this early stage, I prefer to maintain a clear and consistent path for NeoStation and move forward more efficiently.
For now, I prefer to maintain direction and work solo because I know I can progress faster this way and focus on the vision I have for the project.
That said, I want to make one thing very clear: if at some point I get bored with the project, something that could happen, I plan to release the entire source code on GitHub so the community can continue working on it. In the meantime, NeoStation will remain a closed project developed by a single person, while always respecting and appreciating the open source community.
It's been roughly a month since the alpha launched. How has the community response felt? Has anything surprised you?
I've been very surprised. Honestly, I expected to see quite a bit of criticism or even "hate," with people disagreeing with the direction of the project; maybe I was being too pessimistic with myself.
But when the alpha launched, the response was an absolute wave of positive reactions. Reddit posts reached 99% upvotes, and all the messages I read were really kind. Honestly, I felt very happy. I can see that the emulation community is truly supportive and friendly.
I was expecting a lot of criticism, thinking that people might not fully understand all the effort behind the project. But it was the complete opposite: positive comments, useful feedback, and the feature-suggestion channels on Discord filled up. This can only mean that the people who discovered NeoStation genuinely want to see it improve and grow.
What are some of the most exciting features to look forward to in upcoming releases/beta?
During the alpha, in the coming weeks, we'll be adding Linux support, improving navigation, and including support for standalone emulators, which has been among the most requested features.
Note: Since this interview was conducted, NeoStation has added support for standalone Nintendo Switch emulators Citron and Eden, including save sync functionality. |
In the beta, there will be other exciting changes, which will be announced in due time. The goal is to have a complete application for version 1.0, just as I envisioned it.
Anything else I didn't ask that you'd like to share?
I just want to share how grateful I am to the community. NeoStation isn't meant to compete with existing frontends; it's simply another option for users like me to have more choices and flexibility.
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