After the initial development of VGX player software to run on the Mega Drive with the custom button grid, a hardware interface was devised which consisted of an Arduino Uno, a USB Host Shield based on a MAX3421E and a Sega joyport cable. The idea was to be able to replace the custom button grid with a commercially available MIDI controller and the Novation Launchpad seemed like a good option as it includes 64 light up buttons, a USB interface with bus power and is inexpensive and readily available to buy second hand.

Showcase Video of the Arduino Version of VGX Live