Various DSes (DS Lite, DSi, and 3DS)
Bought: The DS Lite was probably 2009, DSi 2010, and 3DS XL 2015. All were gifts.
Specs:
- Model: uhhhhh
- Color: Maroon, White, Blue (also respectively)
- Game catalog
How it came into my possession: I think everyone my age had a DS of some kind. The DSi was not mine, it belonged to my older sister, and she left it behind. Back in the day, I had a blue one that I dropped one too many times, and the shoulder button started sticking on it as a result. This one is pristine.
Condition/defects: They're all working perfectly still and even their batteries are in good shape, though my mom did that thing where you put your name on your kid's stuff when they go off to camp for my DS Lite, and I've yet to scrape the sticker off.
Mods: The DSi has been modded with Unlaunch and hiyaCFW. It's been a total trip getting to install DSiWare and seeing games like Tetris Party Live again, games I haven't played since I was a preteen. I've also used it for photo taking; the trip to Wales diary is filled with DSi camera photos from around the country. The 3DS is modded with Luma3DS and all the classic stuff, including the 3D OK Go "White Knuckles" video, which I always wanted since I'm a huge OK Go fan, but could never figure out how to install.
Game Boy Advance
Bought: Earlier than I can remember! I wanna say 2005, 2006, maybe?
Specs:
- Model: SP (AGS-001)
- Color: NES Black
- Game catalog
How it came into my possession: Again, older than I recall. I remember me and my sister both got different GBA SPs though, hers being a plain silver and mine being an NES striped model. That suggests I knew about the NES by then, but I feel like I learned about it through YouTube, and I don't know if I was on it back then. Ah, faulty memories...
Condition/defects: Some of the ports are a little worn and loose, but I don't know if that's just how the SP is or if I really wore out the connectors on the unit. There's definitely a bunch of surface scratches all over the plastic, but it still works great and I'm still very fond of my NES model.
Mods: None! I know it's hot to replace the screen on the frontlit GBAs with a nicer backlit screen, but I play my GBA games on an emulator these days, so it'd be money spent for nothing. It's mostly sentimentality that I hold onto this one, though now that I've been playing GameCube Animal Crossing, I have been trying to get ahold of a link cable so I can check out my island on it.
Sega Genesis
Bought: Must've been 2008 or 2009 I got this one. I recall having it and playing it mostly at the house we lived in when I was in middle school.
Specs:
- Model: Model 2
- Color: Black
- Game catalog
How it came into my possession: Another gift back when I was thinking of getting into collecting retro games. All the games I have for it, I got with the console, and I certainly haven't played it in a decade, hence why it's in storage. I've really been meaning to sell it,
Condition/defects: Everything on it seems solid. Genesis consoles are built really well. The controller wire is a little exposed, but it was my preferred controller for my Atari 2600, so I know it still works.
Mods: None.
PlayStation 2
Bought: Late 2021 as a Christmas gift.
Specs:
- Model: SCPH-30001
- Color: Black
- Game catalog
How it came into my possession: We've owned PS2s since I was a little kid, usually the cheaper slim models (which I prefer, having now owned a faulty fat model, but I'll get back to that). Unfortunately, I was an idiot and tossed out two of them because the lasers on them broke and didn't think to try and get a network booting solution going (and MC2SIO for reading games from the memory card slot didn't exist in 2016).
Condition/defects: This is not in terribly great shape. The lasers take a bit, but always manage to load games, and the memory card slots sometimes need encouragement to detect cards. I always feel like it's on its way out, but it's still been playing games just fine, thankfully.
Mods: Softmodded with a Free McBoot card I got on eBay back in 2014. I tried to mod a Network Adapter with a SATA connector and load games from a hard drive, but the console never recognized it and I wound up getting refunds for everything but the screwdrivers. I'd still like to try that MX4SIO mod that people have been talking about, or try the network adapter again with another, dedicated Pi to serve it games.
Nintendo Wii
Bought: I think this one was a gift to the whole family in the late 2000s. This one plays DVDs, so I'm fairly certain it was bought in 2008.
Specs:
- Model: Original, pre-DVD support removal but post-writable boot2
- Color: White
- Game catalog
How it came into my possession: Of course, the Wii was sort of a communal family console, but it fell into my hands when everyone else lost interest in games. I've got it hooked up next to my PS2 now, and with my cheap little Chinese capture device, I've been using it on streams, because real console streaming is the best.
Condition/defects: None!
Mods: Homebrewed with BannerBomb and all the USB game loaders. I have WiiMC around for DVD support, though I bizarrely recall my Garfield and Friends DVDs playing in Spanish through it and not being able to change it.