Have you ever looked at a Nintendo DS and thought it would be cooler if the top screen was replaced with a Game Boy Advance SP? Or look at the Super Nintendo controller and wish it had a GBA SP screen fixed to the back? Whether you own one or not, hardware modder Hairo Satoh (aka Retrohai hai Softbank) is here to bring you some truly damning reimaginings of Nintendo’s portable consoles. (Think back to their portable analog PlayStation built into the Takara wheel controller.)
Let’s take a little journey through Satoh’s Instagram account. Before we get into my favorite variations of Nintendo handhelds (“frankententos,” if you will), know that Satoh has also done some pretty nifty custom work on the company’s various portable consoles. And they are made to order.
This one they recently released is a great example.We are called Transparent Case Stan here edge, but this one goes a step further with its colorful holographic stickers and ChromaFlair-style color-changing gloss. Oh, and it can also run Game Boy Advance games.
The controller mod I mentioned above isn’t the only time Sato has turned a console gaming controller into his own handheld computer. The GBA SP’s screen looks perfect on an SNES (well, technically a Super Famicom) tablet…
….and the PS2 Dual Shock controller.
But why not put it on the Nintendo DS Lite too? It just doesn’t make sense, and even though this is a mashup of two of the most compelling pieces of hardware Nintendo has ever made, I don’t need any justification for this thing’s existence. And, this is where things start to get a little cursed.
I’m guessing this is a Nintendo DS too?
Again, but more colorful.
Ah, yes, the original Game Boy Advance SP DS (OGBASPDS).
I’m fascinated by the concept of the multi-position adjustable screen on this original DS.
Give me this and the ability to emulate a great vertical scrolling shooter turtledove, please.
Ah, yes, that makes sense.
I can’t say I understand the extra buttons and D-pad here, but I respect the confusion.
Nintendo Longboy DS.
I think this might be the final boss of Sato’s creative creation.
Sato didn’t get back to us when we reached out, but we’d love to know more about these creations. How much of it is made up of custom hardware? How much of this is imitating Nintendo’s handheld, rather than repurposing its original hardware components to suit? If we hear back, we’ll dig further.
