All posts by benheck

Thanks for your interest

Hello, portable fans. I’ve found a buyer for the single Playstation Portable project I built, so I am no longer taking requests. Thank you all for your praise and emails! Yes, it would be nice if Sony built such a device, but they probably never will.

I will not be mass producing Playstation Portables since that right belongs to Sony and not me. I built the single unit that I did just to do it, and to prove it could be done.

Speaking of that, sometime soon I shall try to post an article about The Future of Video Gaming, which will be a ramble session where I’ll look into my crystal ball and tell you what sort of stuff I think is down the road. So stay tuned!

Behold… the SNESp!

  Click for super-hi-res version

I spent quite a while on this unit, the latest and greatest, the Super Nintendo Portable! I decided it was about time to make portable Nintendo system so here it is!

Some people thought my ‘making of’ for the PSp was too short on information. Well, careful what you wish for! Here, for your reading pleasure, is the SNESp STORY – the most overdone “how I did it” yet! Grab a sandwich, too, cause it’s kinda long. Ok, it’s REALLY long. But, it goes more into detail of how I create my devices than ever before. From the creative process, to design principles, unit construction and more! Please allow time for the pages to load, there are a lot of photos as well.

Also, there is a short demo video of the SNESp on the Downloads page. Enjoy!

New System Announced / Update On Coming Attractions

Greetings, my portable-loving fans! I haven’t updated in a couple weeks, I have been busy working on my new portable. It’s not finished yet, give it another week, but I will tell you all what it is. It’s nothing other than a portable Super Nintendo!

A portable SNES is probably the second-most-requested, right behind the Dreamcast (?) I am working to make it as stylish as possible, given the SNES’s famously cheesy original design. Also, I am working on the most detailed “How I Did It” ever, which is taking just as long to create as the system. However, I think you will all enjoy it very much.

Also in the weeks ahead I plan to have some sort of essay on the future of gaming, X-Box VS Gamecube and more. And for future reference, I already have my eye on the super-small Gamecube as the next system to hack up! BUT, will power consumption be too high? Wait and see..

So stayed tuned! I hope to have some great content in the months ahead, and I invite you all to come on over and have a look see! Check www.Classicgaming.com or better yet, this site, for updates!

Questions for all you Dreamcast lovers out there…

Um, there’s, ahem, no particular reason I’m asking, just, uh, curious, yeah, that’s it! So, mostly for the sake of, enlightenment, I’m wondering about the following things…

1) If someone were to build, let’s say, a portable Dreamcast, would it require BOTH VMU slots or just one? Would 1 be enough?

2) Assuming this person did build such a unit, would it be necessary to be able to SEE the LCD on the VMU unit when it was plugged it? Could a gamer live without that?

3) Would the unit need the three extra controller ports, or were there not a ton of games that require this?

4) What would be better – a smaller screen (2.5″) and better battery life or a bigger screen (4″-5″) and less battery life?

5) What other features would be cool in such a unit?

SO! If anyone has any thoughts/input as to these and other burning questions, please email me! Thanks!

Forums Added! New System Being Hacked into Bits!

My Screwdriver of Fate has fallen upon yet another system… but which one? The answers will come in the weeks ahead… so stay tuned! (Hint: It’s NOT the 3D0)

Meanwhile, feel free to take part in our newest feature, The Forums! (Note 5-16-05: This now leads to current forums) Once reserved only for the senators of Rome, the Atari 2600 Portables Site has decided to get with the year 1993 and add this valuable tool! In the Forums, you can discuss stuff such as your own projects, what sort of systems should be ‘portablized’ (a word so trendy and new, not even the spell-checker can recognize it) and more!

So click here or use the “Forums” button to your left and post away!

Site Facelift & New Wallpaper!

Dashing, Debonair Desperado of Danger!

I was never completely happy with my old site design so I re-did it. The site now has a cleaner look and the navigation has changed. It now uses frames that load sub-menus for most selections, thereby not disturbing the contents of the main window until you are ready. Upon final selection of something, the content is displayed in this window. Some categories have been lumped into each other, such as “How To” and “Research & D” being under “Info”. Hopefully this is simpler for everyone, let me know what you think.

New wallpaper! A phantom blimp over London? An army of mechanized motor-men? Just a few stories from the serial novel that never was but still could be, “The Portable Crusader”. Now, adorn your desktop with the prototype cover of this exciting new foray into overwrought escapism! Your co-worker, wife, husband or friend-who-stops-by-constantly-to-use-your-CD-burner will be amazed, and at the same time impressed by the daring exploits depicted on your once-mundane computer screen! To get it, visit the Download section or click the photo above!

In other news, I’m glad everyone enjoyed the PSp so much! Now, if I just had more time to play it…

Playstation Portable

(Note- The PSp is a personal project of mine, it is not intended to be a mass-produced product and is not for sale. Thanks -Ben)

Playstation Portable!  Can you guess the game playing> (hint: it rocks)” src=”https://benheck.com/Games/Sony_projects/PSp/PSpMain1.jpg” /></p>
<p align=Since it’s this site’s birthday, I thought we’d have a SURPRISE! Here it is, my latest gizmo, the Playstation Portable, or (you guessed it) ‘PSp’ for short.

Hopefully this doesn’t seem like ‘treachery’ to all my Atari-loving fans out there, but SOMEONE had to make a portable CD-ROM based game system! The PSOne, despite its ability to run off wall adapters and hook up to mini screens, just wasn’t portable enough so I had to take things into my own hands. For the whole story on how (and more importantly WHY) I did this, please click here.

Visit my Download page for video of the PSp in action and desktop wallpaper.

This unit is not for sale and I have no plans to mass produce them. Being a modern system and not ancient like an Atari, it’s a safe bet Sony would come after me for it. However, maybe they’ll take the hint and make this themselves (and have me design the case?) A portable Playstation would be aimed towards a different market than the Gameboy Advance and is certainly a more powerful system. And with a different, more adult market the reduced battery time wouldn’t be as big an issue… We can always hope.

Oh, for those who have asked and will ask, I am bidding on a Gameboy Advance-Opening Screwdriver on eBay. When I get it, I shall open my Advance and find a way to rid the world of non-backlit Gameboys!


As for the mass production of VCSp units, it is still pending and I am working on it. This Playstation thing was just a fun ‘break’ for me…

Also, I have donated a VCSp Rev 5 to Atari Age for the Classic Gaming Relief Auction to benefit the United Way September 11th Fund. Not only is this a great cause, but you could get a VCSp without having to wait! Please visit their site for details.

I wonder if I will win the award for “Most Hyperlinks In A Single Sentence” for that…

Playstation and all related indicia are the trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. This project was done for educational purposes, experimentation and fun, there is no intention to mass produce this ‘portable Playstation’.