Making a Portable GameCube/Wii: G-Boy Mod

In this video I put together the renowned and coveted G-boy: a dream come true in the form of a portable Nintendo GameCube. Actually, it's a portable Wii and can play games on either platform without any fuss since we're using real/original hardware. No emulation needed! Unfortunately, the G-Boy kit is discontinued and the bitbuilt store shut down. I'm holding on hope that this (or something like it) will come back in the near future! You can still buy newer versions of the individual components required here (just not in a conveniently packaged kit): 4layertech.com/
Thanks for watching!
*Note: Speech error at 7:18 I said "capacitor" when the component is an inductor.
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Affiliate Links (I get a small commission if you buy from these links, thanks for helping me out!):
Storefront:
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Tool List:
‣ Soldering Iron: amzn.to/3IoqgyQ
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Other Links:
‣ Bitbuilt Assembly Guide: manual.bitbuilt.net/guide/g-b...
‣ Gman (Father of the G-Boy): / gmanmodz
#QuackFix #Gamecube #Portable

[@FantasticQuack]

To what end is it ever okay to cut a Wii motherboard in half?? Let me know your thoughts on this one!

[@jeremylugodas]

maybe to make a portable of an old console? just spitballing

[@bubberiffic]

Just did it for an Ashida build a week ago.

[@DashRetro]

I wonder what it is that makes us so fascinated with making non-handheld things into handheld, and also making handheld things into non-handheld. That's why the Switch is so genius!

[@brucideous]

Freaking incredible man! That was fascinating to see your process!

[@RandomizationShow]

I've had this kit sitting around for a good year or two, this video will be very helpful! Thanks!

[@FantasticQuack]

It was the same story for me and I finally got around to it, wish you the best with yours!

[@woogaloo]

I wish you could still buy the G-Boy case. I would love to do this and was given an extra Wii just for this purpose. Very neat to see.

[@FantasticQuack]

I briefly looked online if you could download the 3D model to print it yourself but not seeing it anywhere unfortunately..

[@or3n_]

how much would u buy one for. i have made them before but it takes 2 whole days of printing. i wouldnt mind selling one.

[@Michelle-nl5xl]

​@@or3n_ would you sell the shell or the 3D model?

[@Itz_Dark_YT]

​@@or3n_I'll buy it for 40 bucks actually

[@55Kryan]

I've seen some manufactured ones on Aliexpress. They're $50 but not having the 3d printed look is a plus in my book

[@oziqpl]

I love how clean the internals are compared to many other portables

[@FantasticQuack]

The kit is pretty great to leave things clean for the most part. They did not give many options for wire management so that aspect is pretty messy though.

[@TheAssclown213]

I have to say that I bought the GameCube when it came out... at the time they were slow to release games and it was the only system I ever returned for trade-in and I got a original edition Xbox instead and never looked back. Even to this day I did go back and buy another one and three up on the games but there might be 12 to 15 games I enjoy playing at that. I think it's one of those things that nostalgia covers things in Rose Colored Glasses. Then again to hit the opposite point, everybody likes what they like. To each their own.

[@FantasticQuack]

As a kid I always liked PS2 and Xbox more than Gamecube because I thought it was too "kiddy"... and I wanted to play GTA San Andreas! But these days I'd pick the Gamecube every single time; it has the largest library of top tier games (that still hold up) by a wide margin over anything else from that generation. I still actively play Gamecube to this day, but not so much Xbox and PS2. Like you said though, to each their own.

[@golvellius6855]

Dude amazing

[@FantasticQuack]

Dude thanks!

[@dems5146]

excellent project 👏👏👏👏

[@FantasticQuack]

Thanks!

[@bubberiffic]

In case you ever make a portable in the future. Trim the Wii outside of your cutting lines and sand inwards with 100 grit sandpaper for shaping, then smooth it with 400, then 1500 to get a clean finish.

[@FantasticQuack]

I won't make the same mistake twice!

[@Watermelon855]

really nice tutorial

[@FantasticQuack]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@ColemakDH]

It's a good thing you only found the 4 layer trim guide because 6 layer boards aren't fit for portables regardless, mainly because of the power draw

[@FantasticQuack]

I didn't even look to hard for a 6-layer guide as I assumed it would be problematic, so just cut my losses and waited until I found a 4-layer board.

[@foxracing6655]

Sucks you can't buy the kit anymore :( I hope it returns one day!

[@FantasticQuack]

Same here, it seems unlikely but a man can dream

[@Patzilla1999]

I have a serious question, would there be a way to just put it in a switch lite, the lite already comes with battery screen controller speakers, would it be possible to just carve up a wee motherboard add a couple adapters oriented the right way to use the current cooler and put it in there?

[@FantasticQuack]

It would be possible for sure but you'd have to get real creative and modify the shell internals accordingly to fit everything. The fan and heatsink are pretty thick so the cooling system would likely need a redesign to fit in the thinner shell. Otherwise you could have it sticking out the back or something in its current state but that would look kind of cheesy.

[@VKsChannel]

Amazing job, I wanted to do it too but I'm scared of destroying my wii

[@FantasticQuack]

I'm with you, my main Wii is still fully intact, I went through local listings and garage sales to get one for this project. Wii's are very affordable compared to some other retro systems.

[@JuicyJakeRepairs]

nice one, but did you apply the perfect amount of thermal paste? 😉

[@FantasticQuack]

If anything I think I had too much :)

[@CarpetBanana]

This is probably the cleanest build of this I've seen

[@FantasticQuack]

Thank you for the compliment!

[@NaterFernat]

The G-hole

[@FantasticQuack]

?

[@TheVideoGameReject]

Is RVLoader specifically only for portable systems or would I be able to get away with using it on a standard system?

[@FantasticQuack]

I'm not positive, you could test it on a standard tv setup and just revert if it doesn't work

[@TheVideoGameReject]

@@FantasticQuack thanks for the reply! I've always been interested in it since it has a very nice UI for what it is

[@newogame1]

Black wii with gamecube ports is the quickest way to get a 4 layer gamecube wii.

[@FantasticQuack]

Good to know! I was just taking what I could get from garage sales and the like locally. I'm not to big on ebay.

[@bozertoes]

I know with editing magic this tutorial is only 11 minutes long, but how long would you say it took in total?

[@FantasticQuack]

It's hard to say accurately due to a number of factors such as starting with the wrong wii model. I had never modded a wii before so researching that was somewhat lengthy for me. When I had the correct Wii model, the whole process took about 2 weeks spending a couple hours each day on it. Since I was interested in the camera position and filming what I wanted it makes everything take ~50% longer than if I weren't concerned with making a video. After I was done I spent an equivalent amount of time over the next week editing the video. I'd say I spent 40-50 hours total on this video. For someone just wanting to do the mod they should expect to invest 10 - 25+ hours depending level of experience.

[@AmazonHack1]

Good video.What is the chance to get the wiiboy work?

[@FantasticQuack]

I'm less familiar with this one. Is it essentially the same as the Gboy? Maybe a more important question is can you buy parts for it?

[@melley420]

6:48 can i use New Nintendo 3DS XL buttons too?

[@FantasticQuack]

I'm not 100% but I believe they are different

[@melley420]

Thanks for your clarification!

[@commandokittykitty726]

God, i need one of these

[@FantasticQuack]

Truly a great kit! Cheers to hoping they come back

[@Gabriel2.0]

7:17 - that's an inductor

[@FantasticQuack]

Speaking error. I meant to put a text correction on screen and missed it. Doh!

[@dastranjer9274]

There was a guide on the bit build website about how to use a 6 layer wii , it was just not recommend…

[@FantasticQuack]

Did they take that guide down at some point or did I just miss it? I was pretty bummed having to find another wii so if I would have found the 6 layer guide I probably would have just done it!

[@stevevalley2321]

can you do a video guide for the ashida

[@FantasticQuack]

Never heard of that one?

[@manfredjohnson627]

You probably know it by now, but it's the "Wavebird with a screen in the middle" one.

[@FantasticQuack]

@@manfredjohnson627 oh man that would be cool! I'm still looking for a 4th wave bird and then would need an additional spare beyond that before I'm comfortable cutting one apart! Time will tell...

[@manfredjohnson627]

It doesn't use a real Wavebird shell. It uses a custom 3d model.

[@manfredjohnson627]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKiQkoKDlrSarqs

[@revine9243]

The BitBuilt store isn't gone because of supply issues. It's gone because of internal drama that happened between the owners

[@FantasticQuack]

Interesting.. Any more detail on this? I was not aware.

[@revine9243]

​@@FantasticQuack to my knowledge, the owner was overwhelmed with the store and had like a breakdown and stepped down but i've heard that gman might be working on another kit, but it could still be like a year from now

[@davidb.6681]

First time I opened a Wii I just wanted to throw the thing at a wall. I felt like they purposely made it a point to make the process annoying for anyone that did it.

[@FantasticQuack]

It's basically like one of those puzzle boxes where you have to slide out secret compartments and latches to get it open

[@GoodVibeCollecting]

I'm not a fan of destroying original hardware but since 100 million Wii's were made I guess it's ok if one gets modded.

[@FantasticQuack]

I can tell you first hand that slicing through a Wii motherboard is an unnerving experience. At the end of the day though it isn't so much destroyed as it is... consolidated :)

[@or3n_]

buy them up now. theyre cheap.

[@Zackprojects]

Yeah 12 year old me would freak out too.

[@moldorm30]

The kit is so incredibly low quality and crappy that it's laughable it sells for that high price

[@FantasticQuack]

What issues did you have with it? I thought the kit was well done when considering it came from just a small group of people vs a big company

[@dastranjer9274]

Ye, It has very high quality custon pcbs