Slowly getting back into playing my collection lately since i have a little more freetime. I’m see there are so many consoles out there that can be modded to unlock certain features.
I recently modded my Xbox 360 and love not having to deal with my discs anymore and being able to see CPU and GPU temps to avoid damaging the sensitive GPU.
I also have a modded Wii and it’s the same situation. No need to deal with discs or worry if they have data rot. So much easier and less concern as my physical copies age.
I see the OG Switch can be modded and looking into that, seems like you can actually push it to do 60 FPS instead of the 30 it’s locked into when you buy one if you overclock it.
I’ve also heard the PSP and 3DS are awesome to mod, but don’t own them yet.
What do you all think is your favorite?
The PSVita is amazing modded, it has full support for running ps1 and psp games and psp home brew as well.
The vita home brew scene is also pretty crazy.
Simply modding it to have expanded storage is fantastic. I have a PSTV hooked up to my hanging room TV (basically like a firestick/chromecast) since it doesn’t need to sit on anything.
It kinda serves the same purpose as that PS1 Classic, except better in almost every way.
Expanded storage is such a godsend for the Vita.
Fuck those stupid memory cards lol
Honestly my “favorite” is my SteamDeck. In that it doesn’t really need to be “modded” just install some software and away you go. At certain points ive made it into:
- A desktop with mouse and keyboard
- A satellite tracker (satnogs)
- A retro gaming system
- A quick media system (we had some movie nights and the laptop adapter died at one point).
The PSP was my first back in the day. It was awesome!! 3DS is also a close second. I think I have a ton of homebrew games. Ive seen some impressive wii/wii u stuff lately. And the switch / switch 2 mod scenes are pretty cool. Switch for now is the easiest with all the homebrew stuff people have been putting out. And the switch emulator(s?) that are coming out are pretty impressive. Was able to play a couple of games after getting and compiling the latest releases. Hard to find but totally worth it.
Im having a blast with the miyoo mini plus playing pico 8 games lately.
Modded Wii is indeed awesome, I recommend you to check how to improve graphics on modern pannel if you don’t have a CRT TV.
OG Switch modding is great but offline only if you want to be careful.
3DS is indeed awesome for homebrew, I know PS Vita (especially the OLED one) are really appreciated.
PS2 is another great system to mod and with of course the gamecube!
I’ll always have a soft spot for the original Xbox due to XBMC, the homebrewed Xbox Media Center.
Though most would probably know it better by its current name, Kodi.
Same here. I did it the hard way with a modchip but these days it’s all software. It lived as a media player for a long time. I eventually replaced it with a PC running Windows Media Center, that was nowhere near as good…
I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for DS homebrew. Tons of fun things you can do with a flashcart.
3DS too, but although modding was a lot more widespread due to how easy it was, I feel like homebrew games were kinda lacking. Custom themes were great at least.
The DS with a flashcart was nearly perfect. It was incredibly portable due to the rectangular shape, the screen was protected from scratches while folded so you didn’t need a case, and it could emulate every console up to the N64 as well as every Nintendo handheld (obviously). I was upset when my cart finally died - no other handheld emulator I’ve found is as convenient.
everdrives are fun!
PS2 because the mod I used was nothing more than some styrofoam in the disc ejection sensor to do hot swapping.
Although, I also liked Morrowind on my modded xbox, becsuse it used the same file system as the PC version and could be modded if the mod was just an .esp file made in the editor and you manually added it to the load order .ini.
The GBA, not bc it has fancy features like the Wii, but bc the mods deliver an experience I couldn’t otherwise have.
Sure, running ripped games on a PS1 or full-on Slippi on a Wii is nice, but I wasn’t locked out of those experiences. I could use a PC or even my phone these days to get a similar experience.
However, GBA hardware mods are all about making the GBA the best it can be, not just doing something in yet another place like the Wii mods.
For instance, in the form factor of the GBA (i.e. the landscape form that is far superior to the SP), you can:
- Install a beautifully bright LCD (these days a display better than what came on the SP)
- Switch over to a rechargeable battery via USB-C
- Replace the awful mushy membrane buttons (which have, unfortunately, taken over the gaming industry) with tactile clicky push buttons
- Run any game you want off with a flash cart (if you’re rich enough for one).
With those mods and the extensive and wonderful GameBoy/GameBoy Color + GBA library, you get a truly elite handheld experience.
Sure I can play GBA games on my phone, but I can’t play them with a device that feels so good to hold like this. A dedicated distraction free gaming experience on the go as well. It’s personalized and practical and beautiful.
So yeah, loading backups from SD on a Wii is cool, but to me, nothing beats perfecting an already great device through hardware mods!
What button mod are you using?
I see the OG Switch can be modded and looking into that, seems like you can actually push it to do 60 FPS instead of the 30 it’s locked into when you buy one if you overclock it.
You can! That’s the sys-clk! And it makes playing ToTK far less stuttery than it is without this!
You can do all kinds of things, but my fav has to be the ability to run your own themes on the Switch. I’m not sure why Nintendo refused to allow themes on the Switch, but something like themezer lets you customize the look of your home, menu, settings, lockscreen etc to your heart’s content:
The OG can be softmodded, you just need to slide a RCM ‘jig’ in the right-hand Joy-Con rail to trick the system into booting into recovery mode, and then you can inject the exploit. It’s dead simple, but it can get tiring - having the do the same process each time you shut the console down. Some users try using folded foil or a paperclip (all you’re doing is ‘shorting’, so it works), but I’d recommend the dead-cheap dedicated jigs people make before trying that one:
You can also install Linux (not so great) or Android on a partition for emulating weaker older systems, you can back your saves up, play with cheats, use texture packs, even use any bluetooth controller from any company with the Switch by using MissionControl and…well the list is long for things it can do!
Every single Switch can be chipped (whereas only original 2017 and some 2018 V1’s can be jailbroken with the jig) however, my OLED is by far my fav chipped console. I did it myself (but to do it you need to be VERY proficient in micro-soldering), with the ‘kamikaze’ method, using the Picofly. This means it never loses the exploit, and it can be shut down and rebooted without losing the ability to boot into both the stock side (regular non jailbreak side - for online games) or the jailbroken side, where you can be as hacky as you want (as long as you remember to block Nintendo’s servers from being able to see you!)
People take the scene to great lengths, they customize everything and it can end up being an artform. I love my modded OLED, but I’ve also jailbroken V1’s, and chipped the V2 and Lite. I love seeing what some people end up making:
It’s well worth looking into! If you’re after a cheap V1 to do it the cheapest way you can, look at Buyee. They’re everywhere in Japan and so reasonably priced!
Wii U for me. It has all the Wii stuff, plus Wii U games.
I’ve been meaning to mod my Wii U, but i never play it, so it’s been on the backburner. I heard it’s almost as easy as modding the Wii.
In my experience, it’s actually a little easier; Wii hacks sometimes need multiple attempts, but the Wii U hack works first time.
Alas, there is much less Wii U homebrew, but you can hack the vWii just like a Wii to get all that goodness.
Dang, that is super easy, i can do that tonight in 30 minutes. Thanks!
Switch, solely for the fact that you can easily play emulated games on the TV or on the go without hacky solutions.
