A new Wii mod sees Nintendo’s revolutionary console crammed inside a tiny tin of Altoids mints, and it probably won’t be the last time a curious tech-savvy individual with a soldering iron butchers a console “for the memes.”
Unlike other popular console mods that see those good with their hands turn newer consoles into self-contained systems they can lug around to parties or set up on the beach, this mod condenses the footprint of the Nintendo Wii into a tin of Altoid mints. A built-in screen and controller make this a fully functioning portable Nintendo Wii console; though that doesn’t mean you’ll actively want to use it.
The major shortcomings of the device and its terrifying design saw masochistic maker Shank dub the device the “Kill Mii, and you can see how it was built here.
A good deal smaller than competing console platforms at the time, the relatively petite size of the Nintendo Wii evidently made it easier to disassemble and squash into an even smaller chassis over time.
There’s likely a reason Nintendo itself didn’t opt for a similar strategy that could have seen the console maker predate its own Nintendo Switch by over a decade (albeit with less graphical clout). According to Shank, the compact system doesn’t really fulfill the requirements of a viable handheld gaming device despite its somewhat practical looks.
The Wii mod gets hot during use thanks to an inadequate 35mm fan, the battery lasts around 10 minutes, and the controls are as hard to use as they look. Even those relatively comfortable 3DS circle pads can’t alleviate the concerns of those thin face button rods.
Nintendo surprised the gaming world over a decade ago by combating the rise of HD consoles with a standard-definition device only a tad more powerful than what came before. Instead of opting for raw power, the Japanese company secured one of the most popular consoles of the generation by choosing low-cost hardware and motion controls that opened up gaming to a wider demographic, similar to what it achieved with the Nintendo DS series of handhelds.
