8 replies
16h42m
This was messing with my head for a minute, I thought maybe they had figured out a way to use mini CDs (like the GameCube) to make that tiny disc drive functional, but it appears to just be decorative.
8 replies
16h48m
How long before someone goes all the way by designing a completely custom motherboard and transplanting the key components onto it I wonder? It's been done for older systems but the BGA parts in the Wii would be a challenge.
3 replies
16h34m
Funny you should mention that! Some members of the BitBuilt community are working on this including the talented YveltalGriffin https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/nintendo-vegas...
2 replies
16h22m
Is this seen as any less of a "Wii" than a trimmed board? What if parts were replaced with newer, functionally identical ones?
This is kind of a Wii ship of Theseus.
0 replies
14h52m
As a longtime observer of the scene, no. Creating the smallest board possible while maintaining original game compatibility are about the only metrics to stick to. Usually this boils down to keeping the CPU, GPU, NAND (if exists like the Wii), and most times the RAM.
There are some nuts people out there like Redherring32 with his TinyTendo project that go above and beyond just putting the components on a new board. He designed the TinyTendo which requires cutting down the DIP-packaged CPU and PPU from the NES into a smaller package. These components were only produced for Nintendo systems of the era and are the special sauce for overall game compatiblity. https://github.com/Redherring32/TinyTendo
0 replies
15h56m
Ship of Wiiseus
2 replies
14h38m
How does a typical smartphone SoC compare to the Wii in terms of processing power? Would one of those running an emulator be even smaller?
0 replies
10h46m
You could 100% make a smaller fake "wii" by emulating it with a smartphone SoC. Mid-range phones can emulate Wii and Gamecube at 2x resolution.
However, the intention of these miniature builds is to preserve the original device, just in tiny form. No emulation involved. As if it was an official product.
0 replies
14h25m
It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but the Wii's CPU was 32-bit, 729 MHz, and single-core, and its GPU was a 243 MHz SoC. I briefly checked the Samsung Galaxy S lineup as a point of comparison, and it seems like the second one (from 2011) already smoked those specs. As for space, even without doing any modifications to the phone it's already about half the volume of this mini-Wii.
Of course that's really just sidestepping the challenge of "how small can you get an actual Wii".
0 replies
13h15m
People already do the strange things, like VSA100 monsters:
https://www.zxc64.com/vsa100_based/0_62911_strange_god_agp_2...
7 replies
14h44m
Since the GameCube controller connectors on the original Wii wouldn't fit cleanly on a build of this size, I use TRRS headphone connectors instead.
Word of caution: many electronics are not designed for the shorts between connections which occur if you hot-plug one of those.
2 replies
13h29m
Haven't touched a GameCube or a Wii in a long time, but didn't those things not support hot plugging GC controllers in general?
0 replies
10h42m
You can hotplug them, but when plugging them, there's no short risk, as all pins have their individual connectors. A barrel TRRS headphone connector can short, because the first "pin", the tip, goes through every single connector. Imagine this was power, and one of the connectors it went through was ground.
0 replies
11h56m
The stock GC controller ports place the contacts next to each other, rather than at different depths, so they won't connect controller pins to the wrong port pins or short pins together when partially plugged. (I do suspect the ground and/or power pins may be longer than data lines, to connect first.)
1 replies
12h52m
A design change which didn't quite make it into the final release only enables the 5V and 3V3 lines on the GameCube controller when the tip-switch on the TRRS jack is activated.
The short-proof approach/strategy would be to use small magnetic pogo connectors, but I really wanted to maintain compatibility with the GC Nano!
0 replies
10h41m
Good to know this was already considered!
0 replies
14h25m
That's a very good point to keep in mind. I've seen that go wrong!
There are lots of connectors out there where the pins never short. The tricky thing is finding ones that can be plugged and unplugged often, while still being small. I've misused USB B connectors for this purpose; it's not common enough for someone to have the wrong cable to plug in, yet very easy to solder and to get the parts. There are also some circular connectors (M5, M6) where the connector on the device is decently small and the bulk tends to be on the cable side.
With a small crimper there are even more compact options which still handle many mating cycles, like Samtec's various Tiger Eye product lines.
0 replies
4h0m
Because the TRRS plug is part of a custom dongle, you can plug the dongle into the jack first, and then plug the controller into the dongle after, and eliminate that short risk
4 replies
16h44m
Here's a similar project with a PlayStation 1 if people like this kind of thing: https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/ps-hanami.6279...
1 replies
5h57m
I wonder if doing this will result in subtle bugs simply because the effective length of the copper traces is being altered, which changes the transmission time.
0 replies
5h7m
This is the unspoken secret of all these mods. They’re built to be built, not played, so if there are subtle instabilities introduced which may impact practical gameplay they will likely never be discovered because the final creation just sits unused on a shelf.
0 replies
10h33m
Similar project for an (also portable) xbox 360 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-2dgSjljn4 (in French)
0 replies
12h19m
Woah. I did not expect someone to gleefully saw the original mainboard in a bunch of fitting parts, the solder the severed links back together. That’s some next level stuff. Amazing!
4 replies
16h56m
Wii was my favorite console. So many fun games that you could play with the whole family! Wii sports resort is one of the best all time games
3 replies
11h4m
My Wii has never left the prime location from under the TV since launch day - getting on for 20 years! Despite having switches and gaming PCs my kids now love the Wii, the balance board and wii sports are all that are played now, but they still see regular use.
0 replies
5h19m
I regret getting rid of it while moving to a new house. Even though the screen had turned green-ish it still worked. Had the newer Wiimotes, balance board and all that. Miss it terribly. The Switch is good but Switch Sports is not the same. No planes to fly, no mountains, Showdown, etc.
0 replies
6h43m
Note: The synthetic rubber feet on that Wii will have turned to goop that stains everything it touches by now. I would get some isopropyl alcohol or turpentine and remove them entirely.
0 replies
4h49m
Just using the UI on the Wii is a simple pleasure even without the games.
I am surprised there is not more HTPC frontends which duplicate the look and feel.
4 replies
11h52m
I'm curious, why do you want to make the smallest Nintendo Wii?
0 replies
11h6m
I think it's an art following the ancient school of thought named "why not", which pushes innovation since forever.
0 replies
10h48m
It's fun to hack something up (quite literally in this case).
0 replies
6h45m
I'm more curious why you (apparently) don't want to.
0 replies
11h50m
Because it's wee!
3 replies
11h7m
There is this discman that only uses a corner of a disc. By using that tech it could be even smaller..
1 replies
10h45m
This Wii build doesn't even have an optical disk. If you read the article, it loads up games over microSD.
0 replies
4h53m
Is it really a Wii without the optical disk :)
0 replies
11h3m
3 replies
9h47m
This makes me miss the days when computers were ~12 watts and (basically) passively cooled. This would not be possible on any newer system. I'm also not counting the 1" fan on the back of the wii which was replaced by a heatsink.
0 replies
7h49m
M1/2/3 mac minis could have been very well cooled passively. MBA's are.
0 replies
6h39m
What you sir need is a Dell Wyse 5070. Passively cooled, four 64 bit cores, you can put up to 32Gb memory inside, two DP outputs and an M.2 SATA socket. 4-6 watts at idle and around 16 watts at full chat.
0 replies
5h41m
Most RPi style single-board computers (SBC) are passively cooled. Some perform better with a heatsink, some heatsinks come with a fan, but (for most use cases) it's not really needed.
Passive cooling went away during the 80s/90s homecomputer -> PC transition. But modern tech has brought it back - provided you choose form factor & performance expectations appropriately (even though modern SBCs are crazy fast compared to Amiga or Atari ST era machines).
2 replies
14h24m
This reminds me a lot of BenHeck, back in the day he made all kind of cool custom portable XBox (original) and PS1 consoles
1 replies
9h34m
It was his mini Atari 2600 etc that blew me away originally - and his site just felt so 'fun'.
0 replies
1h32m
The benheck forums are the reason I work in tech. It was a great community. A lot of the people working on these projects today are former members. The most notable was Palmer Luckey who went on to found Oculus.
1 replies
11h10m
Interesting choice of name.
0 replies
8h19m
Could have called it a wee wii though.
1 replies
7h38m
I am always amazed by hardware people. These things are not trivial at all. Way more difficult than software in my experience.
0 replies
5h11m
yeah, i find all a incredible work. Right from the design and building, so many moving parts and variables it looks like some kind o "alien" work to me :D, amazing.
1 replies
2h50m
Do the custom controller connectors introduce any amount of input lag? Would love to try and make one of these for Melee tournaments if it doesn't.
0 replies
1h29m
Not really sure how it could? It’s just effectively adding ~5” of wire and a differently shaped connector. Unless you’re worried about the fraction of a nanosecond the extra wire will add...
0 replies
5h2m
This YouTuber does similar mods where he shrinks consoles. This video is for Dreamcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJuqtHW2o9w He has also done ps2 and N64
0 replies
15h44m
This is damn impressive. There's also a slightly more detailed build log in this forum thread: https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/project-short-...
0 replies
4h58m
amazing build and repo. make hardware and software!
0 replies
15h0m
It was great seeing this in person at MGC this year. Every year the Bitbuilt guys seem to somehow make the Wii smaller and smaller. It's insanity.
0 replies
2h28m
Hey James, glad to see you've been putting all your free time to excellent use :D
This looks amazing, I love all the attention to detail.
0 replies
15h13m
Interesting can’t wait to see the worlds smallest Wii.
0 replies
13h17m
Nintendo already salivating at the thought of a cease and desist because well…Nintendo.
0 replies
15h47m
Aw man I wish I had this when I went in and converted mine to HDMI output.
0 replies
15h45m
Reminds me of this video where someone put a wii into a gameboy form factor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh1vNDcXZbA
It's so cool that you can just chop up the motherboard like that and it still works.
0 replies
16h14m
a wee wii
0 replies
17h5m
Code Golf but IRL?
0 replies
9h19m
The motherboard "trim" is crazy cool.
Purely for aesthetics! It wouldn’t be the same without that iconic glowing disc slot.
If you were selling these, the "goodies" would surely need a couple minified disks, for purely aesthetic reasons!
Along with an "authentic" mini power "brick" wrapped around the middle of the USB-C cord. :)
Very nice!
The disc could then just be a caddy for a micro SD memory card, which when inserted on the disc slot would promptly launch a game stored in there.
Selecting games from a virtual library never has the same kick as when you insert a cartridge or a dis[ck] into a machine and have it boot from that.
Edit: I also realized you may as well cut out the memory card and just have each "fake" disc encode (perhaps optically) a little ID which the machine could read (perhaps a cheap camera) and associate to a game already stored in the machine's internal memory.
It's a lost opportunity that you didn't repurpose the CD drive opening as a full-size SD card slot!
Nicely done regardless.
Mini-CD would be too big for this size, wouldn't they ? Something similar to a credit card would fit the bill and could look gorgeous.
The issue of course would be that there aren't cards of that format that can store the amount of data required, but maybe with a bit of fantasy a micro-sd card could be embedded in it.
Yeah a minidisc is 64mm, I couldn't find the exact measurement in the README and can only dig so far on my mobile but even just eyeballing it and measuring a deck of cards it would be a lil too big.
That would be amazing, someone has to do this in the future.
ok phew I was super confused.