Gaming has brought joy to people for many generations, and during the pandemic, the multi-billion dollar industry boomed with families playing trending Nintendo games such as Hades Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ori and the likes of the wispsin the comfort of their own home.
But for one particular gamer in Waltham, Massachusetts, the thrill of gaming comes from the console itself. His passions have now led him to build a device that is officially the world smost malleable modified Nintendo 64 console
With a love for challenges and a desire to break boundaries with innovation, Gunnar Turnquist (USA) said: “I was inspired to create this project because I love the N64 and it was my first game console I had growing up . ”
yt
For those unfamiliar with the Nintendo 64, it was one of the original home game consoles in the mid-90s, and one of the last to use cartridges as primary storage.
These devices are quite bulky and usually have a height of 2.87 “(72.9mm), width of 10.23” (259.8mm) and depth of 7.48 “(190mm), making it difficult is to change the dimensions of this equipment.
Gunnar ran into obstacles such as cropping the motherboard to its most miniscule size. In order for the motherboard to function properly at a fraction of the size, he first had to carefully map the intricate connections and rewire the small circuits.
His end result paid off, as he was able to maneuver all pieces to a record size of 8.4 cm x 11.8 cm x 4.50 cm (3.3 in x 4.64 in x 1.77 in).
The custom console premiered on Gunnar’s YouTube channel ‘GmanModz’, a channel where he explains how he builds portable consoles, synthesizers and other neat tech projects related to gaming.
The LCD screen was measured at 3.5 “with a battery life of 1.5 hours. The new system also includes fully functional N64 controller buttons.
With his new achievement, many wonder how he managed to condense all operational equipment into such a small frame.
As it turned out, at the age of 13, Gunnar first encountered fellow game fanatics creating their own individual wearable game consoles. He was absolutely amazed that this project was feasible!
As a teenager, he was so baffled by the work of these game aficionados that he became intrigued to create one of his own.
Several days after his discovery, Gunnar methodically studied available online resources related to modeling video games and electronics. In his spare time from school, he studied and watched closely, learning how others were executing and executing their unique electronics project.
Gunnar continued to practice and perfect his passion for building portable consoles for 10 years, studying and noting ways in which he could improve his craft with every replication.
Over the years, Gunnar has received help and support from his high school teachers and friends who have guided him in his pursuit of modding.
Years of work and engineering studies eventually motivated him to continue this journey, pursuing electrical engineering in his own collegiate studies.
“I started learning electronics when I was 13 years old and when I saw people online building their own portable consoles, I thought it was the coolest thing ever and I had to try it. There have been many friends and teachers in my life who have helped me get started. High school teachers who became interested in and guided me through my projects. ”
For Gunnar, the reward for achieving this record was not the record itself, but the agility and persistence to manipulate the limits of older game technology and blend it with modern techniques, such as 3D printing, microcontroller programming and printed circuit board (PCB) to design.
“Anyone can learn how to make their own portable console and other DIY electronics projects. It can be a steep learning curve, but you start with something basic and improve on each project from there. ”