The USB-C port also allows for connections to another modded Nintendo Wii, which can then play your games with their various save files onto a bigger TV. Then it’s as easy as drag-and-drop to move your (legally acquired) game files onto the USB storage device hidden in the device’s internals. To get games onto the device, you can connect the WiiBoy to any computer via its USB-C port.
#HANDHELD WII EMULATOR 480P#
The charging solution is effortless, the various buttons function as you’d expect, and the 3.5-inch 480p IPS LCD panel looks premium. Its 3D-printed case and carefully selected component pieces - salvaged from various sources including the Wii, Switch, and DS Lite - feel almost as good as if Nintendo had made them itself. With this understanding, the WiiBoy Color is astounding to behold in person. The work required to pack an entire Wii’s hardware into such a small package, and have it still function as intended, is nothing less than sculpture. Financially supporting modders like GingerOfMods, who created the WiiBoy Color, comes with the same feeling one might enjoy as a patron of any other art form. Something like the WiiBoy Color isn’t merely meant to play games on, it’s more like a work of technological art. To understand this madness, one must understand that retro gaming enthusiasts do not abide by mere human logic. With so many of the prominent pieces of the GameCube and Wii’s libraries already ported over to other consoles - particularly the Switch - or compatible with the formidable Dolphin emulator, why would anyone even need a standard Nintendo Wii? Why would anyone want a Nintendo Wii without motion controls? How is this experience worth a grand total of $1,250 ($1,490 with the additional storage I ordered)? The main question you ask yourself in the time between commissioning a Nintendo Wii modded into the shape of a Game Boy Color and receiving it is: Why?