Sony fan crams PlayStation 2 in a Switch-sized portable package

We can’t help but wonder how much fan demand Sony might face, should it ever decide to do its own version of this fan’s generously proportioned PlayStation 2 mod, which crams the guts of the classic console into a portable package about the size of a Nintendo Switch.

A modder and PS2 fan who goes by the Reddit handle of darkwingmod is showing off the finished version of a portable project he (or she) has dubbed the “PIS2,” complete with gameplay footage that shows games like Kingdom Hearts running just fine on the homemade, take-anywhere hybrid device.

In a forum post at BitBuilt.net, Darkwingmod has been tracking the project’s progess since 2017, and explains (in great detail) how the suprisingly polished-looking machine was built from the guts of a PS2. The handheld runs original PS2 games without a physical disc and emulation-free, thanks to a Raspberry Pi 2 computing core that allows the machine to stream the games from a server.

According to its maker, the PIS2 runs games at “near full speed” despite pulling them from a server, features support for both VGA and composite video, and comes with a battery life indicator and a pair of all-necessary external memory card slots — one of which doubles as a switch between portable and TV modes.

This isn’t the first time a tech-savvy fan has worked portable wonders with the PS2, but it’s among the most polished and faithful to Sony’s brand of form factor that have come along since the iconic console ended its dominant 13-year run. A fan who goes by GmanModz tracked a similar homemade PS2 project a couple of years back, and ended up with a super-spiffy handheld device that you can check out here.

With the demise of the PS Vita and Nintendo now owning the market for non-smart phone portable gaming, there’s a part of us that’s certain a geeky gamer party would break out if Sony ever decided to put its own nostalgic spin on a portable PS2. In the meantime, though, we’re still more than happy to welcome an ever-growing library of PS2 game additions to Sony’s online platform — even if most of us do need to be near a TV to plug in.