8 coolest and craziest game console mods

Video game consoles are a beloved part of nerd culture. Many of our first trysts with technology were with machines like the Atari 2600, the Nintendo Entertainment System, or even the PlayStation. Consoles have remained a tech staple for decades, and that’s partly because they have traditionally performed their main task wonderfully: playing games. When nerds latch onto something, a very common instinct is to tinker with it or to make it better. Creative use for technology is something we celebrate here at ExtremeTech, so I wanted to take the time to show off some of my favorite console mods. From complete transformations of the form factor to simple facelifts, these mods are perfect examples of what fellow nerds love to do in their spare time.

Yoshi’s Boxx

Long, long ago there was a television program called The Screen Savers on a network called ZDTV (later renamed to TechTV, and later absorbed into G4). Back in May of 2002, one of the on-air personalities named Yoshi DeHerrera took it upon himself to make the ultimate gaming machine. Not only was it a custom-made PC, but it was also a Frankenstein’s monster of game consoles. In a single case, he was able to fit the guts of an Atari 2600, a Nintendo Entertainment System, an original Xbox, a Gamecube, and a PS2. While it wasn’t a seamless experience because it required a video switcher, it was a superb example of extreme engineering. While The Screen Savers is no more, a video of the unveiling is still available on YouTube for posterity purposes.

The iNto64

A fellow by the handle Bacteria produced a portable version of the Nintendo 64 called the iNto64. Using Sony’s official PSone 5-inch LCD and four amps of battery power, this handheld monster weighs in at just over 2.2 pounds. With over 20 videos of instruction, it is now possible to even make your own.
    

PS2 Portable

Even better, veteran console modder Ben Heck made himself a portable PS2. In his very detailed post, he explains how he went about taking the PS2′s guts and cramming it into a tiny handheld system. It even has a working disc drive — this isn’t for ROMs, folks. Using a portable DVD player’s battery rated for 5400mA, the console and the 5-inch PSone screen consume an average of 1.9 amps. Perhaps the coolest part is how he cut out the case: a 60-watt laser engraver. Using plastic and acrylic, he was able to make a very snazzy case.

Wired Xbox 360 lighted controller mod

The Xbox 360 controller features limited use of LEDs to display which number your controller is (one through four). This cool hack posted on The Llamma’s Adventures shows you how to make the Select, Start, A, B, X, and Y buttons light up as well. Once you crack into the controller, just some soldering and hot gluing will leave you with a unique-looking Xbox 360 controller that will undoubtedly impress other nerds.

Hemp Wii remote

Let’s go the other direction from the Xbox 360 controller mod. A modder named Dhreck posted a controller mod for the Wii made completely out of hemp. While this looks like a novelty toy you’d buy from Etsy, it’s actually a completely functional Wii remote and nunchuk. You can even swap out the batteries. If you’ve ever wanted a hemp Wii controller, you can follow the tutorial to make your own. Is there anything hemp can’t do?
   

ROM device that plays cartridges

A few years ago, Sega took the opportunity to exploit nostalgia. They shipped a tiny device that had built-in ROMs of classic Sega games. Well, it turns out that the device is actually capable of playing Genesis cartridges once the port was added. This is a perfect example of modding just for the sake of modding. No, it’s not particularly practical, but that is the beauty of this scene. It’s all about the “could-a,” not the “should-a.”

Dreamcast VMU iPod Nano case

Sega’s Dreamcast was a pretty innovative machine. Not only did it feature online connectivity way back in the late 90s, but it also had a quirky controller add-on called the VMU. It acted as a standard memory card, but you could take it with you and play mini games on it. Now that the Dreamcast has been dead for over a decade, you might want to put your VMU to good use. This hack shows how the VMU can be hollowed out, and a 6th generation iPod Nano can be inserted. There’s no better way to show off your dorkiness than to use an ancient video game accessory as an iPod case.

PS3 laptop

Laptops and video game consoles: two great tastes that taste great together. Ben Heck, as previously mentioned, is a fantastic console modder. He turned an Xbox 360 and Wii into laptops, but the sexiest iteration is undoubtedly the PS3 laptop. It features a PS2-compatible 60 GB PS3′s guts while sporting a 720p 17-inch display and a built-in keyboard. The downside? This behemoth weighs in at an astounding 16 pounds. Now that the PS3 has seen some slimming down, a 2013 PS3 laptop mod would be much lighter, but there is something quirky and awe-inspiring about the audacity of making a 16 pound portable PS3 laptop.