Opinion on modded consoles

[guygus09]

What are your opinions on modded consoles and handhelds. Anything from exchanging/customizing outer shells, adding backlit screens on older handhelds, and homebrewing. Does it add new life to a boring old system, or does it disturb the purity of the system's originality and value?

[Agozer]

Being a PAL gamer, getting a modded PS2 was the only option if I ever wanted to play the massive number of games that never got an European release. That, or the resulting European release finally surfaced 10-24 months after the original relase, and/or lacked a 60Hz option.

I really don't get the fascination with homebrew games, though. As for customization and other such alterations, I'm not tech savvy enough to dabble in that.

[hoshichiri]

I don't really buy modded consoles myself, as a general rule. I have one- my Colecovision is composite modded, because it was the first guaranteed working Coleco at a decent price I'd run into.

On the one hand, I do think it's important to preserve the original hardware as it was, if for no other reason to preserve the sometimes bizarre ways we've had to hook up game consoles in the past (daisy-chained RF units, anyone?) At the same time, there is no denying my Coleco looks worlds better using its composite out rather than its original hookup. Actually, I think that's often the best route- if you can add functionality without invalidating the original options, you can have the best of both worlds.

As far as cosmetic mods- I worry about them resulting in damaged machines (for example: please don't coat your NES in matte black acrylic craft paint. It won't end well.) I also worry about issues identifying them as mods down the road- an exceptionally well done mod could change hands a few times and be mistaken for some prototype special unit a decade down the road. I'm not against them, though- the number of people doing permanent cosmetic mods isn't high enough to be that big an issue.

[marvelvscapcom2]

What are your opinions on modded consoles and handhelds. Anything from exchanging/customizing outer shells, adding backlit screens on older handhelds, and homebrewing. Does it add new life to a boring old system, or does it disturb the purity of the system's originality and value?

I like them but only after I have the original model already. I love the nostalgia of a clean original looking retro console .   But some of the customs people make are impressive and some customs help to restore badly aged systems into works of art .

[redblaze57]

Modding is something i want to look into doing more. As video signals become lost to time and let's face it RF and Composite are very muddy.  I know Adam Koralik has talked a lot about video clarity and yeah he's right about it. Any game with large dark areas is near impossible to navigate in composite on an HDTV. That being said tje only mod i have is the clips removed in my SNES so i can play japanese games on it.

[ferraroso]

Being born in Brazil, the first time I ever saw a non-modded PS1 was when I briefly lived in the US in 2007.
In fact, the PS1 was never officially released in the country and the PS2 had its official launch there only in November 2009. Thus, since it was almost impossible for someone to get their hands on any official games there (at least for less than US$150,00 or so) the consoles would be sold in stores already modded to play bootleg games.

Nowadays, things are a little bit different, but I still believe that modded consoles are a valid alternative in order to experience games that, due to its current price, limited distribution or region lockout would be, otherwise, impossible to play.
As an example, I'm a huge fan of the two original Medal of Honor games on the PS1, however, living in Japan, the only way to play these is by using a modded console as they were never released around here.

As for homebrew games, I think that they can be a very interesting way to give new life to a console that has been left behind.

[98dgreen]

The only time systems should be modded is when they are completely unusable for example a game Gear with blown capacitors or an nes that needs new pin connectors.

[metshael]

Being a PAL gamer, getting a modded PS2 was the only option if I ever wanted to play the massive number of games that never got an European release.

This. Getting a PS2 that could read any game from any region was the only way for me to play games like Suikoden III, Radiata Stories or the trilogy .hack//G.U. since they were never released in Europe so i took my first PS2 (a FAT model) to a shop that could modify it (they also cleaned the insides and changed the lens) and that console served me well for 8 more years before breaking down (well it's still working but after 5 minutes the color of the screen goes from a full pink to a black and white image...), so i got into the same shop and took another PS2, again a FAT one, already modded this time (with a system that can read any game for PS2 AND PS1 this time, the previous couldn't read any PS1 games), and that console is still working well (Just in case i brought another one since they were pretty cheap at the time).

Modifying the outer shell... no, i never done that or ever got a console that was modded like this but lately i got three console for free who are in a pretty bad state (a PS1 broken on the back, a very yellowed GameBoy with a non-working screen and a non-working original Xbox, it doesn't even start)... Since they will probably never work again, i'm very tempted to learn how to modify them, i don't think i will be ever able to repair them but maybe i can give them another life as decoration in my collection.

[eyesoffiction]

Depending on where you live and if a game never has a chance to come out in your region, I say it's totally fine to do.

On actual hardware mods or aesthetic changes?, if you can find a good replacement shell that isn't crap, it's neat to do when the old shell is worn or damaged beyond any kind of repair.

[dashv]

The only time systems should be modded is when they are completely unusable for example a game Gear with blown capacitors or an nes that needs new pin connectors.

This is my personal feeling as well.

I have at least one stock condition console before I consider a modded one.

Some retail games will refuse to play on modded consoles.

I never mod a console that still has a live online network (PSN, Xbox).

If the system is dead then I do everything in my power to bring it back. If that is not possible I find alternate ways to let it live on.

I’ve got a couple of posts in the hardware forums here for PS3 and GBA.

If I do bother to mod it ideally I try to make it better than the original in some way.

[oldgamerz]

Modding certain consoles is actually rendered illegal in the United States. Though I think it has more to do with selling the modded consoles. I do know that I've tried to soft mod a PS2 and saw that there is a red flag doing this even though it's yours, It don't make much sense to me either

[justin8301]

I think it depends on what kind of mod you're talking about. Modding a system to play backup games, not really my thing, but modding something to improve the functionality of it is ok in my book. For instance i backlit my gamboy and gameboy advance, and i installed a blinking light win into my NES. Next on my list is replacing the backlight in my gamegear with an led.

[zenimus]

Many of my old consoles are modded in some way. Generally it's to improve the video quality beyond what was originally available. I'm definitely NOT one of those who say wacky things like "The developers intended you to see scanlines!!" or "The colors are supposed to be blurry like that!!".

Atari 2600 (heavy sixer) modded with S-video
Colecovision modded with RGB
NES modded with a Playchoice 10 PPU for component video (previously the only way to get RGB from an NES until...)
Famicom AV modded with NESRGB for HDMI
TurboDuo modded for component and region unlocking

I have a few old Game Boys with scratched screens that I want to overhaul soon with glass and backlights.

One thing I'm against though are case mods. They're never good. Even the "well done" ones are terrible. I'm talking spray painting an NES gold and putting a triforce logo on it, or stuffing a Raspberry Pi Zero into a NES cart for some reason. Game systems have a certain iconic look, and to ruin one for some artistic whimsy is upsetting.

[ffxik]

To each their own on this one.  I don't have a problem with modding.  I do soft-modding for people in my area and have done some hard A/V mods on older consoles.  I won't do case mods unless required for components.  As stated earlier in the thread they just never look good, to me that is.

My favorites are the painted ones.  It seems to never fail that every one I have worked on the individual never roughed up the shell and/or bothered to primer it.  They just go to town on them and when I occasionally get them the paint fakes off everywhere.  Then it gets awkward when they notice the paint is chipped and I have to explain to them what they did wrong and that a strong fart could blow the paint off the thing.

Those that don't take the shell off before painting it though, they have a special place in my heart....

[dashv]

One thing I'm against though are case mods. They're never good. Even the "well done" ones are terrible. I'm talking spray painting an NES gold and putting a triforce logo on it, or stuffing a Raspberry Pi Zero into a NES cart for some reason. Game systems have a certain iconic look, and to ruin one for some artistic whimsy is upsetting.

What about situations where the internal components are fried beyond repair or the case itself is significantly damaged?

I've had situations like that where it was impractical/impossible to restore pristine stock condition.

In those cases I've gotten a bit creative and artistic in order to keep at least the spirit of the thing alive.