Our editors have compiled a list of the top five portable gaming systems, built by master modder Ben Heckendorn. Which ones are your favorites? Continue reading for the list.
Honorable Mention – PSOne Portable
Ben Heck completed this fully functional PSOne Portable in September, 2001. As one of his first portable gaming creations, it consisted of a Casio EV-550 screen, PSOne internals, memory card slot, 2nd player controller port, and a custom-built case. Short video demonstration after the jump.
In the end the project cost about $400 to create, half of that just for the screen. The buttons were all custom routed by me, except the original analog control knobs and the red “Toggle Analog” button, which was from Radio Shack
5. Mark VII Atari 2600
Ben Heck unveils his latest creation, a Nintendo DS-inspired Atari 2600 portable. It features a custom-machined case, built-in speakers, and a TFT-LCD screen.
Another day, another amazing Benjamin J. Heckendorn console mod. This time, Ben has churned out the Mark VII Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCSp Revision 7) portable with a cool clamshell design
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4. Atari 800 XE Laptop
Ben Heck has just unveiled an updated version of his Atari 800 XE laptop. It sports a “new case, a cleaner keyboard (with round keys!), and a breakout cartridge case.”
We particularly admire the Atari logo on the top, and Ben’s usual attention to detail and a clean, efficient, design. Still, we can’t wait for the day that Ben’s talents get noticed by Apple, Dell, or another big-name laptop maker, so that more of the masses can be showered with his talent
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3. nPod V.2
Ben Heck shows off his latest creation, the nPod v.2. This updated version uses a different “NES on a chip motherboard” and is smaller then the original nPod.
It has an easy-to-use sliding battery pack (4 AA’s that last a long time) and clean, simple styling. And lo and behold it has a headphone jack! Customization would also be possible, such as all the gray parts could be a different color, for instance. The rear of the unit. When finished they’ll be a cushion strip at the bottom for your fingers
2. Xbox 360 Laptop
That’s right, Ben Heck has done it again, this time he’s built a custom XBox 360 laptop. It features a 17-inch widescreen display, integrated keyboard, Wi-Fi, and a 3-port USB hub. This laptop measures 6.75″ x 10.75″ x 2.8″ and weighs in at 14-pounds.
A friend of mine asked back in May “Can you build an Xbox 360 laptop?” And I responded “Sure, can you pay for it?” He agreed, and thus I set forth on what was surely to be my most complex and insanely ridiculous videogame project yet
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1. Portable Wii
Features include a 7-inch widescreen display, stereo speakers, Gamecube controller port, and an integrated sensor bar.
Ben Heck: “It’s the Wii laptop! We spent the last few weeks (including much time spent over the holidays evading relatives) slaving over this bad boy and finally it’s complete.”
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