Details
No portable build is perfect, and so I like to be up front with the flaws of handmade devices like these. None of these issues are serious in my opinion, but I want you to be aware of them before committing to a purchase.
The triggers are not full analog triggers like a normal GCC due to the space constraints. Instead, a two tact system is used to come as close as we can. The first tact is activated at a light press, which acts as the analog portion of the trigger. This allows for things like running and spraying water in Super Mario Sunshine or light shielding in Melee. The second tact activates when you push a bit harder, and acts as the digital press. This results in like a full shield in Melee or standing still and shooting water in Super Mario Sunshine. Ultimately, this affects very few games at all.
The build does get pretty warm. I install the best cooling system I can, but expect the unit to get pretty toasty.
I guarantee at least 2 hours of battery life on the system. You will likely get around 2 hours of battery life on Wii games, and 2.5 on GameCube games
There is no rumble feature. Rumble motors use up a fair bit of power, and I personally don’t like it enough to justify using it in my builds.
Not all Wii games will be playable with the built in GameCube controller. I include a hack with the build that allows you to emulate a Wii remote with the built in controller, but this doesn't work well for games that require tilting or precise motion. That being said, I've had very good results with games like Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, Super Paper Mario, the LEGO games, NSMB Wii, Xenoblade, and several others.
The case will have some subtle ridges around the curves of the case. I do get the cases professionally 3D printed, so the quality is as good as I can make it.
For legal reasons, I will not include any ROMs (games) on the portable. I will help direct you through the process of putting games on it when you receive it.
At this time, I will probably not include an emblem on the front of the case that says “Wiiboy Color” in the Nintendo style. Doing so would probably be pushing my luck on avoiding a Nintendo lawsuit, so I’d prefer to not risk that. If the emblem is very important to you then we can probably find some sort of workaround, likely involving you ordering a sticker from a 3rd party source and applying it yourself.
The design has been slightly updated since the YouTube video to accommodate extra buttons to control the screen, meaning the volume buttons are now on the top of the portable.
What You Get For Your Money:
The price for this build is $1250 due to the expensive costs of the parts used and the sheer number of man hours it takes to build one from start to finish. For this price, you will get:
All the features listed above
Custom molded buttons in whatever colors you’d like. Resin buttons will not have visible letters on the front, so if you would prefer distinct letters over specific colors then I can try to find buttons of a color you’d like from another seller (This may cost extra, but no more than $10-20). Sticks must be black, white, red, blue, or GameCube themed, but buttons can be anything you’d like.
A high quality 3D printed case in one of 9 colors: White, black, pink, red, orange, green, yellow, blue, or purple. More color options may be available in the future, but my current source for cases is limited to these options. Pictures that help show the true colors can be found here. (It is possible that the color on cases other than white will fade with use, so keep that in mind).
128gb of storage, which is enough space for 50-70 GameCube and Wii games, as well as pretty much any amount of retro titles. Storage is upgradable upon request, up to 1tb. The additional cost for storage will be however much a micro-SD card of the size you want would be, the cheapest options are generally on Amazon. The card must be a Samsung or Sandisk brand.
A protective foam carrying case.
A USB-C fast charger and charging cable
You will also need a USB-C to USB-A cable for transferring games and files from your computer to the portable. I assume that most people have one of these cables already, but if you need me to include one then I can include one in the package and add the cost to the order.
Repairs
Repairs will be done on a case-by-case basis. If you have any issues with your build whatsoever, let me know and I will do what I can to help. If a repair is needed, you will likely need to at least cover the cost of shipping. If the issue is due to something I did poorly on my end, I won’t charge you for time or materials, but if you did something you shouldn’t have then you will be expected to pay for repair. For example, if you drop the portable 5 feet onto concrete and it breaks, that’s on you and you’ll be paying. If a speaker wire pops loose shortly after you receive the portable, that’s on me and I will fix that out of pocket. Providing an exact warranty is something I can’t really define, but I’m not too worried about it failing quickly. The portables I’ve built for my personal use have been running great for years, but I also do a good job of taking care of them. Some portables are still working even 10 years after they were closed up, and I’m hopeful that mine can live up to that legacy. At the very least, I guarantee that I will assist with any issues or repairs for one year after I ship the portable, and likely longer into the future.
Turnaround Time
Turnaround time is going to vary a lot depending on my schedule. I am a full-time student so my free time to work on this is generally pretty low. That being said, I love building portables, so motivation should generally be pretty good for working on your commission. Generally you should expect turnaround time to be between 1 and 2 months, as I am a full time engineering student and I do need to put school first. I will be sure to update you on my progress as I go.
General Rules of the Road
There are a few additional rules I have when buying a portable that I would like you to be aware of before making any commitments.
Do NOT for any reason whatsoever open the portable up after I have shipped. If you would like to see what it looks like on the inside I will send you pictures. If something breaks and you need a repair I will take care of that for you. If I receive the portable back for repair and find that it has been tampered with then the price of fixing it will increase drastically.
Any time you are traveling with the portable, you must use the carrying case. My builds are sturdy and I have yet to have any issues, but this device isn’t the sort of thing you can drop into the bottom of your backpack or shove in your pocket without any additional layer of protection.
Be careful about letting small children or people with little respect for others' property use this. Regardless of whether you or your toddler breaks it, the price for repairs is the same.
Do not perform any major software changes to the portable after shipping. If something messes with the main program the Wii uses, then it is very possible for your portable to go dead in the water and require a whole new Wii. If it’s a simple homebrew program that doesn’t modify any CIOSes then it is fine to use. If you are uncertain of whether a program or modification is safe to use, feel free to ask me first! If you aren’t familiar with Wii homebrew or don’t have any interest don’t worry about this, I make sure all the softwares you're likely to want are included with the portable to make it easy on you.
Payment
All payments will be made through PayPal. I ask for half of the money up front to cover the cost of parts once I am ready to begin the build process. The remainder of the money will be requested upon completion of the build before I ship. If you have to cancel the commission after I have begun purchasing parts and working on the build, then that money is forfeited and will not be refunded. If I have to cancel the build part way through for any reason (would only be in the case of some sort of emergency) I will refund any money you sent in full.
Next Steps
If everything here looks good to you then the next step is to reach out to me directly through Instagram, Twitter, email, or Discord. In your message go ahead and indicate that you’ve read this page and would like to place an order, that’ll help me respond to you as quickly as possible. If you have additional questions that weren’t answered here or on the FAQ page, then feel free to ask those as well. Thanks for reaching out!