Hacking Video Game Consoles Turn your old video game systems into awesome new portables by Ben Heckendorn

Sinopsis

On New Year’s Eve 1999, some friends and I were wandering around downtown Madison, Wisconsin, waiting to start celebrating (typically around 3–4 p.m. in our state). During our travels, we came across a used-game store and inside, they had a glass case containing Atari 2600 cartridges. Much to my surprise, some of them were quite expensive!
 

“Do people actually pay money for Atari games?” I asked the friendly shop manager. “Oh yeah...” he replied, kindly pausing from his hamburger consumption to set my feet upon the path of knowledge. “People buy that stuff all the time.”
 

This amazed me. You see, I’ve been an Atari fan as far back as I can remember, which translates to approximately 1980. Because my parents had bought into that “it will ruin your TV!” myth, I was pretty much the only person I knew who didn’t have one, but I still managed to play a lot, thanks to my friends and relatives. A few years later, I managed to get an Atari 800 computer, which held me over pretty well until, one glorious day in 1994, I plunked down $20 for my first, very own Atari 2600 game system (complete with dust, grime, and flaky joysticks). Sure, I played SNES and Playstation during the 90’s like everyone else, but I still kept the Atari hooked up so I could squeeze off a round of Space Invaders or Asteroids if I felt like it.
 

Seeing those Atari games in that store got me thinking... maybe I wasn’t the last fan out there... maybe I wasn’t alone. Luckily, the Internet (and the world) didn’t end at the stroke of midnight as some had predicted, so I was able to do a search the next day. Sure enough, a huge fan base for Atari existed, with people even programming new games for the 2600, as well as other old systems! I felt vindicated!

Content

1.  So You Want to Make a Portable Video Game System, Eh?
2.  Choosing a Game Console to Make Portable
3. Knowing Your Tools
4. Learning Basic Electronics for Portables
5. Hacking Pocket Televisions
6. Using Computerized Cutting Equipment
7. Making Portable Game Consoles
8. Making Your Nintendo Entertainment System Portable
9. Building a Portable Nintendo By Hand
10. Building a Portable Nintendo Using CNC Machinery
11. Making Your Super Nintendo Entertainment System Portable
12. Building a Portable Super Nintendo by Hand
13. Building a Portable Super Nintendo Using CNC Machinery
14. Making Your Sony PSOne Portable
15. Building a Portable Playstation 1 by Hand
16. Making a Portable Playstation 1 Using CNC Machinery
17. Making Your Atari 2600 Portable
18. Building a Portable Atari 2600 by Hand
19. Making a Portable Atari 2600 Using CNC Machinery

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