Nintendo Wii gets turned it into a Mini Gaming PC that can play Switch games

The Nintendo Switch is undeniably a juggernaut, one of the most successful consoles ever. However, before the Switch's meteoric rise, Nintendo's most successful home console was 2006's Wii - which introduced the world to motion controls as the primary way to interact with a game.

4

Nintendo Wii transformed into a mini gaming PC, image credit: Tech By Matt/YouTube.

On YouTube, Gaming enthusiast Tech By Matt has posted a deep dive into his latest creation, turning an original Nintendo Wii console into a gaming PC. One that is powerful enough to (ironically) emulate and play Nintendo Switch games like Super Mario Odyssey at a playable frame rate.

For those with a Nintendo Wii, you might recall that it was a pretty small console - too small to fit an ITX motherboard. So Matt decided instead to use the components from a mini PC - the Minisforum UM773 Lite with a Ryzen 7 7735HS APU. The best part is that the original power button turns on the PC, and the GameCube ports still work when you plug in the original GameCube controllers.

4

However, the Wii's DVD drive had to be removed to fit everything in.

Naturally, a lot of work went into the mod, plenty of 3D printing, soldering, and pulling apart a PC GameCube controller USB adapter to make it fit into the Wii's small enclosure. Interestingly, the integrated Radeon 680M graphics are powerful enough to run PlayStation 3 games like Ratchet & Clank but struggle with the Wii U version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Modding old video game consoles into gaming PCs or turning them into handhelds is quickly becoming a thing for modders and enthusiasts - and we're here for it. A Mini PC that looks like (or used to be!) a Nintendo Wii would be fantastic for retro gaming.