by Joe Grand, Albert Yarusso, Ralph H. Baer, Marcus R. Brown, Frank Thornton
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Product Description
In November of 1977, Atari shipped its first 400,000 Video Computer Systems. Since that time, over 1.2 billion consoles have been sold worldwide, and a large percentage of those are still hanging around as "classic systems". An avid (some would say rabid) community of video game hackers and hardware geeks has developed around a common passion to push their consoles, and the games themselves, beyond the functionality originally intended by the manufacturers. This book is the first on the market to cover the entire range of consoles produced over the last 25 years (most game hacks and geeks own multiple platforms). It provides detailed instructions on how to customize and reconfigure consoles to a wide variety of ends--from the cosmetic case modifications to the ambitious porting of Linux to the Nintendo GameCube. Platforms covered in this book include Atari, Nintendo, Playstation, Xbox, and Gamepark 32.
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Average Customer Review:
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
 Lots of fun--if you're brave enough, 2005-03-16
Ever wanted to create an Atari 2600 PC? What about moding your Xbox? How about replacing the screen on your Game Boy? This book will show you how to do all of these things and more. All you need (aside from a couple of basic tools) is a strong stomach and an iron resolve to void your warranty. In fact, having no fear is 90% of the work.
This book provides step-by-step instructions for a number of various "hacking" projects on a variety of consoles. The majority of the hacks in this book deal with "retro" or "classic" systems, like the Atari series (2600, 5200, or 7800) as well as the Nintendo NES system. Some of these hacks update these systems to work on modern televisions (like the addition of S-video to the 2600), but most are just for fun (like creating a left-hand Atari controller).
The hacks for modern consoles are also quite interesting, but most are concerned with the installation of a mod chip. There is some interesting discussion about installing Linux on a Game Boy or Xbox. The authors discuss how to boot a PS2 from a memory card, and other interesting items. However, while these sections are very useful and quite interesting, there's nothing quite like dissecting an obsolete video game system.
This book even has an appendix dedicated to teaching the basics of electrical engineering. There is also a great list of distributors for obsolete or hard-to-find components. In fact, the appendix is so good that it alone makes this book worthwhile.
If you're ever going to take apart some electronic system, I would first suggest getting a book by these guys. If that electronic system happens to be some game console, then this is the book for you. These guys know what they're doing-they're the best.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
 Major Hacks for Game Console Machines, 2004-12-29
This is a fascinating, over-sized book that is filled with major hacks for various of today's video game consoles, including the Xbox, PlayStation 2, Nintendo NES, along with the Atari and Gamepark 32. The material assumes some degree of comfort with electronics and electrical engineering, although you do not of course have to be an electrical engineer to perform the hacks. You will need to be comfortable with working with integrated circuits, electrical assembly, soldering wires, and dis-assembling electronic devices. Of course, you will also need to be comfortable with possibly ruining beyond repair the discussed device, if you fail to successfully complete the described hacks.
This is a highly specialized book that specifically targets a unique audience, namely those confident in their skills and abilities to follow the excellent hacking instructions and step-by-step "how to hack" photographs that are replete throughout this important book.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
More hardware hacking books pleaseeeee!, 2004-12-04
I just received this book days ago and I have read it cover to cover, of course I haven't been able to do all the hacks since it means cracking open many of my systems, but I was especially excited about the Atari 2600 stuff, since I am more into old programming and hacking. This book is one of a kind and I am glad people are starting to write books and develop products that show people how the hardware works as well as the software. I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to experiment with hacking their consoles, also the book is fascinating as a general read. And if you liked this definitely check out "Hackers" by levy, "supercade" by burnham, "once upon Atari" DVD and definitely check out the XGAMESTATION retro game system at www.xgamestation.com if you want to build some oldschool game hardware.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Combining the best of hardware hacking and videogame systems, 2004-11-23
OK, I'm a little biased because I wrote the book, but Game Console Hacking (GCH) intends to be a fun, educational, and interesting guide to modifying video game consoles and accessories to do things they weren't originally intended to do. The book covers a wide range of systems, from the classic/retro Atari 2600 to the teenaged Nintendo NES to the modern Xbox and PlayStation 2 (other systems include the Game Boy Advance, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, and Gamepark GP32). The projects range from simple to complex, some requiring hardware/electronics skills and other requiring nothing but your video game system. The book guides you through a number of step-by-step projects with copious amounts of pictures and contains chapters on the tools required for the warranty voiding trade and a basic introduction to electronics. GCH was written as a follow-up to Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty, which was a more general look at modifying various consumer electronics. GCH specifically targets video game systems, as the name implies, and combines the best aspects of hardware hacking and modifications into a single book. I recommend the book to anyone with a curiousity about modifying their video game systems and wondering what actually goes on "under the hood".
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Breathe new life into your old classics..., 2004-11-21
Have you got an old Atari 2600 sitting around that you don't know what to do with? Game Console Hacking will give you some interesting ideas on how to recycle those old gaming consoles.
Chapter list: Tools of the Warranty-Voiding Trade; Case Modifications: Building an Atari 2600PC; The Xbox; PlayStation 2; Nintendo Game Boy Advance; Gamepark 32 (GP32); Nintendo NES; Atari 2600; Atari 5200; Atari 7800; Electrical Engineering Basics; Coding 101; Operating Systems; Index
Although I'm not into gaming so much any more, my kids have had most of the more recent consoles at one time or another. And growing up, I had one of the Atari 2600. But after the latest and greatest comes out, the older gaming systems end up gathering dust. Game Console Hacking is an interesting book on things you can do to breathe new life into the old classics. This book is heavy on altering hardware components, so you need to be comfortable with a screwdriver and a soldiering iron. But even if you're not as experienced in that area as you'd like, the book has an abundance of photos to show exactly what you should be doing at any given point in the process. At the end of each chapter, there's also a section on homebrew game development as well as additional resources on the Web for that particular console. So even if you're not wanting to hack your hardware, you will be able to find information to push your gaming fun even further.
For me, my favorite hack was using an Atari 2600 console to contain a full-blown PC. I thought that was just too cool. I could imagine showing up at a user group meeting to do some software demo with an Atari 2600 under my arm, and blowing people away when I boot it up as a regular PC. I don't know that I'll get around to doing it, but it's an intriguing idea.
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