Pygame fails on Windows 10 with pip install pygame

Question

I am having Pygame fail on my install into python. I have tried multiple work arounds with no success. Including reinstalling python with different options path modes same with PiP including upgrades and Path options.

What am I suppose to do now?

Python 3.8.0a1 (tags/v3.8.0a1:e75eeb00b5, Feb  3 2019, 19:46:54) [MSC v.1916 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license()" for more information.
>>>
C:\Users\brog\Downloads>pip install pygame
Collecting pygame
  Using cached https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/b2/6b/c510f0853765eb2219ca5aa3d416d65bb0dea7cd9bb2984aea0a0e04c24d/pygame-1.9.4.tar.gz
    Complete output from command python setup.py egg_info:


    WARNING, No "Setup" File Exists, Running "config.py"
    Using WINDOWS configuration...

    Path for SDL not found.
    Too bad that is a requirement! Hand-fix the "Setup"
    Path for FONT not found.
    Path for IMAGE not found.
    Path for MIXER not found.
    Path for PNG not found.
    Path for JPEG not found.
    Path for PORTMIDI not found.
    Path for COPYLIB_tiff not found.
    Path for COPYLIB_z not found.
    Path for COPYLIB_vorbis not found.
    Path for COPYLIB_ogg not found.

    If you get compiler errors during install, doublecheck
    the compiler flags in the "Setup" file.


    Continuing With "setup.py"
    Error with the "Setup" file,
    perhaps make a clean copy from "Setup.in".
    ---
    For help with compilation see:
        https://www.pygame.org/wiki/CompileWindows
    To contribute to pygame development see:
        https://www.pygame.org/contribute.html
    ---
    C:\Users\brog\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-install-3177swfa\pygame\setup.py:321: SyntaxWarning: invalid escape sequence \d
      return ', '.join(s for s in findall('\d+', ver)[0:3])
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
      File "C:\Users\brog\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-install-3177swfa\pygame\setup.py", line 203, in <module>
        extensions = read_setup_file('Setup')
      File "c:\users\brog\appdata\local\programs\python\python38-32\lib\distutils\extension.py", line 171, in read_setup_file
        line = expand_makefile_vars(line, vars)
      File "c:\users\brog\appdata\local\programs\python\python38-32\lib\distutils\sysconfig.py", line 405, in expand_makefile_vars
        s = s[0:beg] + vars.get(m.group(1)) + s[end:]
    TypeError: can only concatenate str (not "NoneType") to str

    ----------------------------------------
Command "python setup.py egg_info" failed with error code 1 in C:\Users\brog\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-install-3177swfa\pygame\

C:\Users\brog\Downloads>

Answer 1

You're using Python 3.8 which is still in development. As such, there are no pre-built "wheels" for the package on PyPI ( https://pypi.org/project/Pygame/#files ) and so pip is trying to build from source. Building from source can be a complex process because you have to make sure you provide a suitable compiler and all the non-Python dependencies. There are instructions for building from source here: https://www.pygame.org/wiki/CompileWindows Bear in mind, though, that if something does go wrong with the build process you might have difficulty finding help since you're using the in-development version of Python.

I'd say your options are:

• Use Python 3.7 if you can. Installing pygame should be much easier.
• Stick with Python 3.8 and following the instructions here: https://www.pygame.org/wiki/CompileWindows If things still fail, try asking a more specific question explaining which steps of the instructions you've followed.