Original PlayStation Turned Into Emulator
As a gift for his brother, Andreas Wilcox decided to convert an PlayStation 1 into a Raspberry Pi computer with a PlayStation emulator.
Andreas Wilcox and his brother have always been fans of the original PlayStation — never actually having one around the house, but playing on friends’ consoles. They still find the low-fi style of 3D games released at the time interesting, and now with the advent of faster and faster processors, this once-amazing technology can be emulated with an inexpensive Raspberry Pi running RetroPie. One could just install the software and be done with it, but Wilcox decided to make an awesome gift for his brother in the form of a RPi PlayStation emulator built into — what else? — an original PlayStation!
The project is outlined nicely in this post, and while Wilcox considered printing a PlayStation, he instead purchased one for 20 euros. From there, disassembly ensued, with the goal of making a system that looked as original on the outside as possible. Fortunately, there is actually quite a bit of space in these old PSXs, and after removal of unneeded bits, he was able to fit the Pi, along with a fan and shroud assembly in the middle.
He adapted the PSX inputs to work with the RPi via a USB converter, and the memory card slots were brilliantly adapted to accept thumbdrives. Modifications to the back include a USB-C power input, as well as an HDMI connection and extension feet on the bottom help with cooling, but without close inspection, you’d assume it was an original system. In fact, the non-functional CD door still opens, which creates a nice effect, and allowed Wilcox to create a fake “DanStation” birthday disk for his brother!