Building A GameCube Mini Because Nintendo Never Did

Nintendo never made a GameCube Mini, with the console’s form factor remaining the same until the eventual launch of the Wii in 2006. [Bringus Studios] decided to build one of his own instead.

The build began with a Revision C GameCube motherboard, which comes without the digital video port and the second serial port. It also comes with an integrated power supply on the motherboard which makes it much easier to slim down into a smaller form factor. The main space saving, though, came from removing the rarely-used ports on the bottom of the console and the DVD drive. The latter was replaced with PicoBoot, which allows ISOs to be loaded from an SD card.

Once trimmed down and fitted with a replacement cooling fan, the console then got a custom half-height 3D-printed case. It’s tidy and functional, but we’d love to see a more finished resin-printed version more accurately aping the traditional GameCube aesthetic.

If you want something even more portable, consider building a pocket-sized Wii. Video after the break.

9 thoughts on “Building A GameCube Mini Because Nintendo Never Did

    1. Truth. I grew up with Sega but my Gamecube was the first console I bought for myself. Love both brands dearly, but while Sega keeps re-releasing their classic games on new platforms and even an official emulator on PC, Nintenwon’t so I can’t actually pay for the games I want to play.

      Maybe it is selection bias but it feels like Nintendo console hacks have a higher level of quality and complexity than hacks for other consoles. People making all-new motherboards for the NES, portable SNES, N64, GC, and Wii consoles that look downright professional, it’s all very impressive.

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