We’re no strangers to Hairo Satoh on Instagram. You might know the channel Haihaisb, a feed where Hairo describes his profession as Game Boy Doctor, a title that we couldn’t agree with more.
Hairo has created some amazing creations over the years; his feed is one of our favourite to scroll through, and when you see creations like a Tamagotchi Mobile Phone that actually receives calls, it’s not hard to see why!
This time, however, Hairo has taken things one step further by making a retro gaming emulator out of a modded PS1 controller. We covered it on our Instagram stories a couple of days ago, but I keep seeing it as I scroll through while doing my news trawling and I’m such a big fan that I think it deserves its own article!
Just take a look at this thing; if Hairo started making and selling these handhelds I would buy three before I even knew that I was reaching for my card! The case of the emulator is actually from a Roulette Controller that was used for the PS1 title ‘Game of Life’ in Japan, and I think it looks much better with a screen in there than a coloured wheel!
Complete with a USB-C charging port, all the original PS1 buttons from the original controller, triggers, and speakers, it’s an interesting and, more importantly, fully functional emulator that we’ve seen playing everything from PS1 titles to SNES games. Donkey Kong Country on a PS1-themed emulator might seem mad, but if Nintendo and Sony had never fallen out and the SNES had actually received its disc drive, then it might have actually been a reality!
And don’t worry, there’s still a wheel in there in the form of a volume wheel. It’s hardly one that will change your fortune or earn you tonnes of money, but it’s useful nonetheless.
I think we can all agree that this homemade handheld is much more exciting than the PlayStation Portal. At least with this one, there won’t be any lag, and it’s a much more interesting design too! Hairo has certainly enjoyed showcasing this handheld while on his travels. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for more exciting creations, and I urge you to do the same too!
