How do we feel about retro console modding?

[TheSoulWalker]

This can go from a simple Flash Cart, to an ODE, to replacing the whole power supply, or soldering in and HDMI port to your system.

Personally I'm not a fan of mods that require soldering, custom bios chips or HDMI solder jobs are not for me.

Things like the Satiator or GDEMU though I enjoy because of how accessible it is in terms of how plug and play the things are.

My most heavily modded systems are my Dreamcast with the USB-C power, GDEMU, and Noctua Fan mods, and my OG Xbox that has a SSD swapped in.

 

[fake-kun]

Who is this "we" you're talking about?

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

I've soft-modded most retro consoles and handhelds I own where I can. Hard modding is something I've only dipped my toes into though.

 

[Bakuma1997]

By this point? Mandatory if you don't want a cool looking brick

 

[for.we.are.many]

Softmod yes, hardmod not so much

 

[burntman]

This can go from a simple Flash Cart, to an ODE, to replacing the whole power supply, or soldering in and HDMI port to your system.

Personally I'm not a fan of mods that require soldering, custom bios chips or HDMI solder jobs are not for me.

Things like the Satiator or GDEMU though I enjoy because of how accessible it is in terms of how plug and play the things are.

My most heavily modded systems are my Dreamcast with the USB-C power, GDEMU, and Noctua Fan mods, and my OG Xbox that has a SSD swapped in.

I love it, I have soft modded, but only purchased hard modded. I have a ps4 that I'm hoping for an exploit soon, I understand I could use goldhen; but I'm hoping there will be a version that is permanent. I have a wii soft modded, sega saturn with saroo, dreamcast with gdemu, 3ds soft modded and I helped my friend with his hard modded 360 aswell. I would love to get a gba flashcart & a mega drive one. Also looking to upgrade to the new 3ds ll cus that one can play ps1 and neo geo when hard modded, oh and I want a ps vita too.

 

[pr0xy]

Who is this "we" you're talking about?

And is this "we" in the room with us right now?

 

[burntman]

And is this "we" in the room with us right now?

oui

 

[Bonkers225]

Greatest invention since emulators. All those outrageous markup sellers can get bent. 800-1k for Panzer Dragoon Saga, I'm looking at you.

 

[sunofpearl89]

I like having physical games for some of my consoles for nostalgia purposes and having an extra backup that looks nice on my shelf. The PSP, if you can even call that retro, is nostalgic to me because it's the console that helped me break free from my stuck-up Nintendo brand loyalty that was making me miss out on so many great games until around 2007. And those little discs are so fascinating!

For most older consoles, though. ODEs are my go-to if I'm not emulating. As others have said, the greedy middlemen on eBay can shove it.

For my Dreamcast, I have a GDEmu clone, a noctua fan mod, a resettable fuse, and a new slot for the internal clock battery that you can easily replace with it.

For my Saturn, I have a MODE.

I also agree with the OP in that I'm allergic to soldering. That's too intense for me. Plug n play all day every day.

I also have a modded Switch and 3DS, but that's with software. No regrets there.

 

[pr0xy]

This can go from a simple Flash Cart, to an ODE, to replacing the whole power supply, or soldering in and HDMI port to your system.

Personally I'm not a fan of mods that require soldering, custom bios chips or HDMI solder jobs are not for me.

Things like the Satiator or GDEMU though I enjoy because of how accessible it is in terms of how plug and play the things are.

My most heavily modded systems are my Dreamcast with the USB-C power, GDEMU, and Noctua Fan mods, and my OG Xbox that has a SSD swapped in.

I feel fine with it. Been doing it for as long as I've been able to.
I'm not that much of a fan of hardmodding, but I've softmodded all three of my PSPs, both of my 3DS systems, my Wii and my Wii U. Oh, and I've used flash carts for both DS and GBA consoles.

 

[Nebulon_Galaxy]

Its mandatory, like hell im paying for Magical Knight Rayearth or a copy of Burning Rangers! Imagine having to buy Parasite Eve or any Sega Saturn game with a slight chance the disc may work since GD-Roms arent exactly reliable.

 

[Advil Lavs]

I recently learned how to use a soldering iron so I feel pretty good about it. It would've been cool if there were more mods for non-Gameboy handhelds. And more cartridges that let you play games that would usually require you to have an add-on or a better version of your console to work.

 

[TheSoulWalker]

Who is this "we" you're talking about?

Us in general, the community, etc. I'm more interested in people's takes because not everyone plays retro the same way.

Like I started with emulation way back in the day before collecting. I also buy those retro collections like the Capcom Arcade Stadiums or the Genesis/Mega Drive collection personally

 

[ZombieFish]

By this point? Mandatory if you don't want a cool looking brick

Exactly. Caps, y’all. Especially early 2000s stuff, cause plague. I guess you could argue cap replacement is “repair”and not “mod,” but either be a purist or don’t.

I will say this; I don’t feel comfortable physically altering a console’s appearance unless I have an unaltered one as well, but that’s preference more than principle. Also, for my money, retrobrite is just basic maintenance.

 

[DeadVoivod]

Usually softmod everything, hardmod I only had PSX, 2x PS2 with DMS3 and Matrix Infinity, GameCube with Qoob