Someone cut a PlayStation in half to create a portable version. The result is fantastic

Absolutely handmade, which, with some restrictions, allows you to enjoy the magic of PSX in a compact format.

The world of video game console modding usually brings some fantastic surprises. We’ve recently seen users adding a 61TB SSD to their Steam Deck or very nice mods like the Fisher Price toy controller. However, what we saw this time is a real work of art.

Near original PlayStation (PS1, PSX) in portable format. There is no Raspberry Pi style emulator board inside, no. Inside there are no more and no less than all the components of the PlayStation, but it is packaged in such a way that a priori it would seem almost impossible to make it work.

In fact, the author of this mod, user YveltalGriffin from the BitBuilt forum, achieved this by breaking the PSX motherboard in half, then connecting both halves, and then placing them in this new portable console case, the format of which resembles for example the PSP or PS Vita.

The author explains in a “journal” on the same forum how he bought two PlayStation PU-18 boards in the PAL version. The board “looks complex, but it only has two layers and everything runs at a very low speed.”

First I tried flashing the bios, who was a bit “in the middle of everything” and checked that everything was still working. It also added an Xstation module to allow games to be loaded from an SD card, and eliminated major parallel connectors that weren’t necessary for the end result.

That’s when he performed the most “wild” operation: cut the plate in half. Doing something like this seems like a guarantee that the board will be rendered useless, but in reality it is a process that other modders on the forum seem to have overseen, and this user was inspired by those other modding processes.

From here it’s time to deal with the wiring hell: you need to connect both halves, precisely connecting the traces that were disconnected when the board was cut in half, and this is where the real precision work comes in with tiny solder points. this will allow you to leave connecting these tracks between both halves.

However, this time-consuming process paid off, and this user confirmed that after connecting both halves via rewiring, everything still worked.

There was a clear reason for cutting this plate in half: to create a portable version of the console. and then connect it to a 5 inch screen with a resolution of 640×480 pixels.

Now that these halves were “reconnected”, I could “fold” the original board and place it in the 3D printed case. Previously, yes, it had some additional modifications added to it, such as the aforementioned Xstation module or another component called Shinobi Scaler, which allows it to display images in 480p.

The end result is certainly fantastic, although, as its creator himself admits, has limitations. There are no volume buttons, reset buttons and power indicator are not connected, there is no fan, so it overheats after some time of use.

Regardless, we’re looking at the “PocketStation”, as he’s dubbed it, being able to offer gameplay identical to that of the original PlayStation, but in a compact format. Spectacular, don’t you think?

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