Like the gaming version of a turducken (those abominations with a chicken and a duck stuffed inside a turkey) but less horrifying, YouTuber Geeksmithing has created a self-contained portable version of the original NES console that even includes a tiny projector for big screen gaming anywhere.
Geeksmithing started with an original 8-bit Nintendo entertainment system and gutted all the electronics leaving an empty shell to fill with modern hardware. Destroying original hardware isn’t always the best approach, but there’s no shortage of NES consoles still out in the wild, and the results of this hack just seem so much cooler given they’re packed inside a real NES housing.
Many hackers will trim away the unnecessary parts of a classic console’s motherboard in order to shrink it down or make room for other upgrades. But given the size of the NES’s housing, Geeksmithing was able to simply cram one of Nintendo’s miniaturised NES Classic Edition consoles inside it, as well as a pair of wireless NES gamepads which conveniently slide into the console’s now unused cartridge slot for storage.
That still left room for a miniature pico projector inside which projects out a hole cut into the back of the NES, as well as a set of hefty rechargeable batteries that makes the upgraded console completely portable. There were minimal modifications made to the exterior of the NES—the most significant being an added kickstand that props the console up for the projector. And there’s no visible charging port.
To make topping up its rechargeable batteries even easier, an induction charging coil was added that works with a modified version of the SNES Mario Paint’s plastic mouse pad that now serves as a charging pad. That might be the most commendable upgrade here given that not even the Nintendo Switch offers wireless charging.