As is so often in the gaming world, it’s the fans and tireless members of the community who create the devices we’ve been dreaming of that the big companies just don’t want to touch. We’ve been asking for an N64 handheld for years now, something that Palmer Luckey told us was actually on the cards at Nintendo back in the day but never actually saw completion, and it’s down to developers like Riley Testut working on Delta and modders like Handheld Gameplay working on an actual handheld N64 that plays original cartridges to bring us the tech we want.
We’ve been hearing about an Xbox handheld for months now, so much so that it’s become more of a ‘will they, won’t they’ than Ross and Rachel on Friends. And seen as though we’re no nearer to getting any actual results, a modder and carpenter by the name of Redherring32 has created their own Xbox handheld using the motherboard from an original Xbox console. This is now the world’s first Xbox handheld ever made, and it’s hooked up to a 480p 9-inch display and has support for Xbox Live!
Honestly, this mod looks amazing. The detailing in the handheld, the screen size, the work that Redherring32 has put into making it – it’s a stroke of pure genius and requires the steady-handed precision needed to trim motherboards that we spoke in length with Wesk Mods about on the Retrospect Podcast.
This world first modding extravaganza is gradually making its way to GitHub too to give the plans to other users who want to create an Xbox handheld for themselves, as well as information being uploaded to BitBuilt. Hopefully there will also be an in-depth tutorial for first time modders, otherwise there’s going to be a lot of original Xbox consoles with broken motherboards sitting outside in the backyard waiting to go to the tip!
Some of you are probably thinking ‘Redherring32… I recognise that name’, and so you should. We covered the PicoPad earlier on this year, the world’s smallest working video game controller. Redherring32 is also the creator of the TinyTendo/OpenTendo, a handheld with the inner workings of the NES inside it. This modded Xbox handheld now joins their impressive back catalogue with a truly groundbreaking bit of kit, and I’m excited to find out more about it as the plans and tutorials drop in due course. I might even have a go at making my own!
