We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: it’s not uncommon that for console modders to transform older systems, such as the original Sony PlayStation, the Xbox, and the Nintendo Wii and Game Boy, into smaller, more compact versions of their original shell. One modder recently transformed something a little more modern: a full-sized PlayStation 4 (PS4).
The modding was conducted by Australian YouTuber, Restore Technique, who recorded the entire process and posted in on his channel in a 30-minute video. The journey was, as you can imagine, tedious and not easy, requiring a lot of changes to much of the console’s innards.
To sum it all up, the modder chose a PS4 Slim and more specifically, the last and most current iteration of the console, due to it have lower power consumption. As is the case, there was plenty of trimming down metal and PCB, installing a 7-inch display, cannibalising DualShock 4 controller, adding on batteries, and a power management system, among the lot.
As you’ll see in the video, and at the risk of repeating ourselves, the process was difficult, time consuming, but not impossible. There was a moment where Restore Technique had issues with the DualShock mounting pieces being consumed by a chemical reaction between the ABS plastic and Threadlocker used on mounting screws, plus some graphical glitches occurring due to the heat being too high.
At the end of the day, though, the modder did managed to create a “handheld” version of the PS4 Slim, dubbed the PS4T, which could run PS4 games digitally and more to the point, natively, albeit for approximately 90 minutes. That said, it is unlikely that they’ll be able to bring it on to airplanes, mainly due to the system generating too much heat to charging while playing games, and the batter size exceeding the 100Wh limit imposed on air travel.
Unfortunately, Restore Technique has disabled their video from being played on sites, so you’ll have to visit his page directly to view it.
(Source: Restore Technique)
