This NES controller built by Redherring32 is very possibly the world’s smallest working video game controller ever made.
At least, that is what they are claiming. And it would be hard to imagine making one any smaller!
Redherring32 is a hardware modification wizard responsible for a bunch of really amazing advances in the retro modding scene.
Most notably the TinyTendo/OpenTendo project, which minimizes the hardware of an original NES and puts it in a handheld form.
We’ve been seeing their work pop up on our Twitter feed for a while now. But it was today’s post about this new open source NES controller that really caught our attention.
World’s Smallest Functional NES Controller
The PicoPad project is Redherring32’s latest miniaturization of an original Nintendo product.
And while their TinyTendo project perhaps makes the original NES more functional, the PicoPad adds a new level of difficulty to your NES game play.
Who knew that making a controller less functional could be so intriguing! And I mean no insult to Redherring32’s work, of course. Because this is clearly a technical marvel.
Even they admit “However difficult you think it is to play games with this, I assure you it’s so much worse.”
It’s hard to imagine making any real progress in one of the best NES games using a PicoPad.
But if you’re up for the challenge, this project is entirely open source. Which means that you can access all of the working files to make one yourself!
Conclusions
If you think playing games on a controller smaller than the plug itself sounds tough, imagine trying to make one.
I can’t even imagine the technical skill it requires to design and build the world’s smallest working video game controller. But I’m wildly fascinated with those who can do it.
So big respect and appreciating due to Redherring32 for continuing to amaze all of us. And for offering incredible open source projects to the world.
You’re doing magical things.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
