Whoever mentioned you possibly can’t train an previous canine new methods is outwardly a liar, as a Florida-based modder has taught Sony’s first PlayStation console do one thing fairly surprising. Particularly, the tinkerer turned the homebound system right into a handheld console utilizing a bunch of sizzling glue and magnetic wires.
YveltalGriffin, {an electrical} engineer who beforehand constructed an adorably cute and moveable Wii in April 2021, is again with one other creation. This time, he took an OG PlayStation, eliminated its motherboard, and turned that into a conveyable console. It’s a cool little bit of {hardware} innovation, as YveltalGriffin needed to get actual artistic to even make the construct attainable. He has dubbed it “the PS Hanami.”
For starters, consider the PlayStation 1 itself. To get its large motherboard right into a small chassis, YveltalGriffin needed to lower it in half and fold it like a guide. This allowed him to squeeze it into a conveyable console that’s simply seven-ish inches lengthy. Utilizing “numerous sizzling glue,” in addition to “heaps and plenty of magnet wire,” YveltalGriffin “embraced the jank” to complete your complete challenge in a single month.
What’s much more spectacular is how the PS Hanami runs video games. As a result of the machine is simply too small for a disc drive, YveltalGriffin bought it to run Xstation, an optical drive emulator that boots video games from an SD card. Mixed with an open-source decision scaler known as Shinobi (for a crisper picture) and the DualShock’s rumble operate, this looks like a retro gamer’s dream handheld.
YveltalGriffin admitted that the PS Hanami does have a number of main points proper now. It has no quantity controls, the ability button is “finicky” and turns the console off when brushing up towards issues, and it doesn’t comprise any analog sticks (although YveltalGriffin may sometime make a “revised model” for video games that require them, akin to Ape Escape). It additionally solely will get roughly two-and-a-half hours of battery life off a single cost, and since it’s hella janky with zero heatsinks, he mentioned it will get “good and toasty after some time.”
YveltalGriffin informed Kotaku over X/Twitter DMs that the toughest a part of the construct was “reconnecting the 2 halves of the motherboard” due to all of the tiny wires. Including twin analog sticks was within the authentic imaginative and prescient, however he simply couldn’t match each them and the front-facing audio system. So far as video games, he’s examined Castlevania: Symphony of the Evening, Crash Bandicoot, Ridge Racer Kind 4, Tekken 2, and Tomb Raider, they usually all apparently ran with out a hitch.
“I’ve introduced this moveable to the Midwest Gaming Basic two years in a row,” YveltalGriffin mentioned, “and it’s survived most likely 30 hours of playtesting by the general public at that occasion. By way of gameplay, it behaves precisely the identical as a PS1 linked to your TV at dwelling.”
Apparently, there’s a which means behind the title. “Hanami” interprets to “flower watching,” an annual custom in Japan of gathering within the spring to have fun the cherry blossoms blooming. However wait, the PS Hanami doesn’t appear to be a pink flower.
“At first, I deliberate on calling the moveable ‘PS Hana’ as a result of ‘hana’ (하나) means ‘one’ in Korean,” YveltalGriffin mentioned. “However then a good friend of mine from Japan talked about that cherry blossom viewing was occurring for the primary time for the reason that pandemic. My Wii moveable is known as ‘UltraWii Sakura,’ so I couldn’t resist the chance to maintain the theme going. (And a few cherry blossoms are white, so the title nonetheless suits!)“
Regardless of these flaws, YveltalGriffin’s PS Hanami is a exceptional achievement. Simply have a look at this video he uploaded to YouTube displaying the hand held operating Ultimate Fantasy VII. Now I’ve bought only one query for him: How can I purchase it? Properly, it seems that I can’t—no less than not from YveltalGriffin, anyway.
“This unit isn’t on the market, however related hand-crafted portables from BitBuilt neighborhood members often promote for round $1000,” YveltalGriffin mentioned. “The PS Hanami was a one-off construct and I received’t be taking commissions or constructing any extra of them anytime quickly.”
Replace, 04/15/24 03:40 p.m. ET: Added quotes from YveltalGriffin.
