My wii's bigger than yours ... (Wii mod)

Update: 9-20-07 I've ordered some samples of various kinds of acrylic, white, mirror, carbon fiber, etc. I have to run a few tests and "work" with it until I feel comfortable enough to actually order the material to make a few of these. My intentions are to make a lot of about 4 - 6 white ones in the next couple months and put them on ebay. If everything goes well then I might branch off into other colors, maybe even a mirrored ones. I'd like to get a black case for my Wii, like the Shockii & Chuckii and then make a black one of these for myself.

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Update: 9-7-07 Ok, I've found a decent place to get the GC parts. I'm working on a newer design at the moment, possibly a little shorter than the original and made out of white acrylic so I won't have to paint and sand. I really think I'm going to lose the LEDs though. My main problem at the moment is all the epoxy adhesives I have won't stick to acrylic, so I have to find an alternative to keep the ports in place. Ok, now before I drop a nice lump sum on acrylic sheets, adhesives, tools and other crap I have no other use for, I need to know if the few people who have been saying they want one ... actually want one. I'm estimating my cost at around $30 ea. and if I ebay & paypal them I can't see making any money for my time and labor for anything >$40. I just have to be sure that these will actually sell at $50+ before I spend money I don't have on supplies. Just let me know what you guys think. Thanks

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Ok, I just want to thank everyone for their comments. Some of them made posting this worthwhile, while others were just plain ... yeah ok w/e. Anyway there seems to be alot of buzz about why I made this and that the all glorious wavebird would have been a better path to redemption. Well this whole project started as sketches here and there ever since I found out where the controller ports were located. I even wanted to move the memory card slots up front but I didn't have a dead 'cube for the parts.

Why did I make this? I wanted the controller ports up front, I wanted extra weight so it won't come flying out of my entertainment center if a cord gets yanked, and my Wii was so small next to my xbox and ps2 that I was getting an Inferiority complex. aarrgghh. the e-mail made me do it!

Why did you want the controller ports up front? I guess it all has to do with where I'm putting my Wii. If my Wii is standing up ... umm vertically I can't get to the ports and if my Wii is laying down umm horizontally I can't get to them either. Now someone on digg said "Since he's got the Wii in the horizontal position anyway he could of just rotated it 90 degrees in the counterclockwise direction" ... well then my wii would be spitting discs at my xbox and that's not going to happen.

Why not just use wavebirds? Have you seen how ugly 4 of those things sticking out of the side are? Besides I'm anti-wavebird ... Gamecube games were meant to rumble and even if I did want to use them I'm too cheap to buy them. We're all CAG remember?? :lol:

If 4 Wavebirds fell from the heavens would you use them? ... umm. Maybe just in the name of modding. I could always hard wire them internally (in the case) and still use ports up front for wired controllers.

For those of you who've either expressed interest or have pm'ed me about getting one of these. I'm seriously thinking about doing a small run of them but I'll have to get materials and the proper tools as most of the holes were dremeled to fit, which is too much work.

when I get a chance I'll do a write up on the process ...

It took a few weeks but it’s finally finished ...









here’s some shots of the process ...















Digg this!

MOD Note: Before you criticize or scream "Wavebird" remember that not all GC games used the standard controller (Donkey Konga). - DaPhatty

nice.

did i miss something? u doubled the size just to move the controller ports to the front?

Color me impressed!

Why.

The lights in the ports look cool, but you ruined the sexy

haha sweet deal

can you use the wavebirds with that?

[quote name='Strell']Why.[/QUOTE]
why, for the jokes, of course...

:lol: ...heehee, wii :lol:

Not bad, and all you had to do was void your warranty

Congratulations on making your Wii hideous.

Eh, that's actually pretty cool, I'd probably buy one if it was $20 or less and it had a couple of other functions so it would make the added bulk worthwhile. I don't see how it would void your warranty since it doesn't touch the internal parts of the Wii, unless third party controller extensions void it.

nice fab work on that box.

and I dont believe anything youve done would void your warranty.

[quote name='Purple Flames']Not bad, and all you had to do was void your warranty [/QUOTE]

i didn't void my warranty, it just plugs into the gamecube ports (look at the last pic)

[quote name='Mojimbo']Eh, that's actually pretty cool, I'd probably buy one if it was $20 or less and it had a couple of other functions so it would make the added bulk worthwhile.[/QUOTE]

I'm hoping that in time Nintendo will either release or support an external hard drive (usb) and I can put it in the space in the back.

Very nice.

I am working on designing my own wii housing at the moment, and one of the features will be to move the gamecube ports to the front. Actually I am thinking of passing 2 to the front, and 2 to the rear. The rears I will use to run long cables to a hook up box near the couch.

Yeah this seems like a big waste of time and money. But if you really need your controller ports to be in the front... then congratulations.

Nice work

If you are using Wavebirds, this seems a little unneccessary. But, if you are still using corded controllers, this does seem like a slightly cool feature. It makes the Wii more of a home console and helps it from tipping.

Nice job...definitely front page material.
I submitted the front page version to digg so it shouldnt crash the server.

DIGG IT!

[quote name='phatbunbao']did i miss something? u doubled the size just to move the controller ports to the front?[/QUOTE]

Its a pretty awesome mod. But it kinda looks ruins the look of the Wii sort of. However its great if you want your console vertical while having the wired controllers plugged in without worrying about it falling over.

I'm impressed. It is really awesome that you wanted your Wii to do something different and were able to make it happen. Well done.

Neat, but Id still rather just buy a wavebird to play it then doubling the wii's size.

That is simply ugly. Buy some Wavebirds and there is no issue. All you did was make the Wii look likea ed up fat piece of shit Gamecube.

Nice try through.

Good job man, almost looks (Panasonic) Q-like. The LED's are a nice touch. I'd actually want something like this, because the way I have my Wii set-up, putting Gamecube controllers and memory cards in is a major pain (I have to lay it horizontally).

You know, I actually like this mod. It is very practical and you made an effort to keep the aesthetics as neat as possible. Best of all, it shouldn't void the warranty. Good work.

And to the thread crappers - keep your negativity to yourself. You are not welcome here.

all these people trying to talk shit man. Its awesome. Nice job.

Ha, great job! To those haters and threadcrappers who think your mod is "ugly"--- 'em! I think the blue leds behind the ports are nice touch.

I know these mods are more about personalization and hobby than giving a shit about what other people think, so kudos to you on taking the time to make this and share it with the CAG populace. It's definitely not as amateur-looking as some folks in this thread are trying to make it out to be.

Splendid work. I don't know where all the hate is coming from.
You wanted controller ports in the front, and you've got 'em. AND they glow blue.

Bravo to you, sir.

nice! any chance for a write up?

So.. the ports are blue and in the front now?

To reiterate what others have said:

dayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyummmmmm!

You ought to post instructions, of course. The photos are telling, but locating parts would be nice as well.

Damn the a-holes are out in force tonight. Still think it's cool...Dugg it in fact...

Pretty cool looking. Good job.

Holly shit! That's awesome dude. So are they just using controller extensions? Do you have a site with a guide on how to make one? Have you considered selling these? Seriously, I thought it was so stupid for Nintendo to put the 4 ports where they are and advertise the console as a console that can stand up like the PS2 and XBOX 360. I mean it can but only if you don't plan on playing GC games with wired controllers.

Dugg it.

Eh, I find it pointless since Wave Birds are far superior.

Kick ass job man! Well done!

Cool Shit man.

Nice work!

Having one of these would be cool, but i'd be too scared to do it for myself. I'm kind of retarded when it comes to mods like these.

But yeah, great job.

Very nice, and to my knowledge the first CAG mod of any type.

Good work. I really like how the controller ports are lit up.

forget the haters, i think it's pretty cool.

[quote name='SaMiDaDrAgOn']Eh, I find it pointless since Wave Birds are far superior.[/QUOTE]


Easier too, and maybe even cheaper.

I don't get the need to do this, but it looks cool either way.

I wouldn't do it, but what you've done looks the best it possibly can. Very good look considering the amount of extra size was added on.

The first picture I thought was the Panasonic Q!

That must've taken a lot of work. Impressive.

Sigh, some people are so damn clever.

[quote name='SaMiDaDrAgOn']Eh, I find it pointless since Wave Birds are far superior.[/quote]

And that will really help when I want to play donkey bongos.

congrats! I like the mod and the LED ... and really, I like the craftsmanship.

... doubled the size of the wii? then get a bigger room! all the haters.

first i wanna say thats pretty neat, its not something i would do, since i have my Wii placed where i can easily use the sockets on the system. but it is neat

second i wanna say that gonintendo.com posted an article about it
Click Here