A yellow and black custom DS Lite has popped up on eBay, and reportedly sports an engraved Pikachu for all those Pokémon fans out there who can't get their hands on the real yellow Pikachu Lite. The problem? Said engraving isn't visible anywhere in the provided photos! For all we know, it could actually be some Mudkips on that DS. But that's okay -- we heard you like Mudkips.
Regardless, it is pretty (but not seriously yellow), but we're not sure it's $160 pretty, which is the Buy-it-Now price. We like it when they start at the low, low price of $0.99.
GelaSkins' awesome range of DS skins got us thinking about decorating our handhelds all over again, but who out there has already skinned their DS, and which design did you opt for? Better still, have any of you customized your own DS skin? If so, now is your chance to show it off (pictures are a must for this DS Daily, obviously), and perhaps even earn yourself some internet fame!*
* Amongst the people who read DS Fanboy comment threads.
This isn't the first time we've featured a wooden gaming system. Instead of a SNES, this time modders have turned a NES into a portable system, encasing the screen and hardware in a nice wooden frame. And to prove this modder means business, the portable NES is shown playing none other than badass title Contra.
What we would like to know is if you tried anything like this before and was it successful? Did you turn your NES into something much better? Share your experience(s) with us!
As folks who love the DS to be all kinds of different colors and modded inall mannerof amazing ways, we often stare at our boring white DS Lite and wish we could punch it up with some color. But, alas, we are far too afraid that even an attempt at taking out the screws would result in the handheld's failure to work any longer. Seriously, you should have seen the spice rack we tried to make back in wood shop. The thing was fugly.
Yet, we have found hope through a flickr photostream. One soul, who describes this ambitious project as their "first time to paint such a demanding job," really managed to set the bar for first attempts. Just looking at this thing, we can hardly believe that this person has never taken apart and painted a DS before. It's quality.
Does this give you a yearning to try and paint your own DS? Still too scared to give it a go?
Painting specialists ColorWare want to add some spice to your life by giving your DS a stylish new paint job, or by providing you with a brand-new custom unit.
The only thing that comes to mind, for us, is creating a DS themed after our favorite sports team and slapping a sticker on the top of the clamshell. And considering that we don't partake of the DS line-up of sports titles available, as we often favor the console variety, we can't really see that much appeal in giving the DS a splash of color.
But then we start thinking about what people with actual artistic ability could do with a professional paint job like this on their DS. True, most folks who mod their consoles and handhelds might prefer to do the painting themselves, as it all ties into the whole I made this part of it, but perhaps the time saved or price are the factors that could weigh heavily on someone's decision. Then again, we don't really know how much it would cost to paint something like a DS. Our skills lack.
Or maybe this can be a really expensive prank. Snatch a friend's DS, send it in and have them paint it puke green on top of puke green, that kind of thing? Actually, that might not be a bad way to get your own DS, because if our friend did that to us, we'd tell them to keep it.
At first glance, Flickr user Punkfish-'s modded DS Phat is like a thousand other slightly underwhelming DIY mods. But then you catch wind (ho ho) of the upper half, and a double take is the only reasonable reaction. That's because Mario is ... farting! Breaking wind. Tooting. Passing gas. Cutting the cheese.
Needless to say, we are shocked and appalled (okay, and also amused). We hope Punkfish-'s sister, Rosa, appreciates her DS's new look!
eBay user luckey92 knows what to do with an old DS Phat: mod it! The second part of auctioning it off online and donating 20% of the sale to Child's Play isn't something that we'd probably do ourselves, however. It's not that we're horrible people who don't care about good organizations that bring fun and hope to sick children all over, it's that we're horrible people who love the DS and would hold onto this sucker forever. We'd probably sit it next to our N64 and take pictures, then conduct a mock wedding between two N64s, with this DS being their offspring.
We can understand. The DS is the best invention since antiseptics, in our eyes, completely revolutionizing our life and bringing peace to the world. It's a device that could probably travel back in time, get into the ring with the great Muhammad Ali and knock him out in two rounds (the DS would spend the first round dancing circles around Ali, humiliating him before going in for the kill in the second round). The DS is our own personal super hero.
So, we can appreciate this mod that puts a touch-screen into a Game Boy Color. But, you may wonder how the controls actually work. See, different areas of the touch-screen are mapped to corresponding buttons, with a majority of the screen being assigned to the d-pad. It's not as exact to the DS, but it's close enough for us.
This Zelda DS mod is pretty much exactly like the other well-known Zelda DS Lite: same raised sword-and-shield emblem, same lighting effects, and even the same two-tone design. The only real difference is that it uses two different tones. It's even being sold for charity like the last one. Australian high rollers can feel good about bidding on this item, because 15% of the final purchase price will go to the Child's Play charity.
While the previous effort evoked a very classic Zelda feel with its stately gold and black hues, this DS, with its vivid blue-on-white design, fits in more with the Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass aesthetic, which is more DS-appropriate anyway!
[Update: Auction relisted, new link here.]
[via Kotaku]
One of our readers named chicagojosh created the delicious piece of gaming hardware you see above. Much like Frankenstein, the handheld was brought back to life after the hinges on his white DS Lite broke. In combining it with a new Onyx black DS Lite, he has officially made it into our BFF scrapbook.
But, one question begs to be answered: do you prefer it to the new black and red DS Lite? Or the enamel navy and white DS Lite?
Is there anything the NES and its controllerscan't do? After seeing the evidence, we're guessing no. The latest? Some intrepid fan turned an old NES controller into a mouse, and now we want one. It's either that, or we want to do something cool of our own ... but the problem is, we're stumped. In these situations, we turn to you. If you had the means and the know-how to make something from an old NES or controller, what would you do? One of these examples, or something totally different?
Bored with the dull gray, clunky design of her old Nintendo DS, Marie decorated the dated handheld with lace trim and a ribbon bow, gluing her himegyaru-styled artwork onto its lid. The brick's interior was also gussied up, but with what, we're not sure. Daffodils and closed-eye kisses from Prince Charming maybe?
On its completion, her project sent out a rainbow-tailed shockwave that was felt for miles, magically transforming tough-guy motorcycles into purple unicorns, perfuming musky-scented men, and X-ing out every Y chromosome in its path. Squeal and swoon past the post break for a better view of this girly mod and its Princess Cupcake hood.
The past few DS Lite mods we've featured didn't venture far beyond lodging LEDs into the handheld's face, so we're glad to have a twist to that formula for today. AcidMods forum administrator F00 f00 installed light-emitting diodes into the back of his portable. To emphasize its glow, he used what looks like Onyx Black casing and a clear replacement shell for the DS's frame.
How long will it be before we see a DS Lite kitted with ambient lighting? Staring into those bright screens while you're in the dark puts a lot of strain on your eyes, and there are times when turning on a light just isn't an option (e.g. like when you're hiding in a blanket because there are ghosts floating around your bed). Put on some sunglasses and check past the post break for more photos of F00 f00's mod.
Rocky's ultra-modded DS Lite has gotten to the point where you can literally station it on the coastline, its LED beacons guiding ships to safe harbor. His latest hack installs LEDs under the ABXY buttons, sticking them in place with hot glue. We're not sure if the mod has any functional purpose -- save serving as a navigational aid to sailors at sea -- but it's certainly something we haven't seen done before with the handheld. Float your boat past the post break for larger photos of the DS lighthouse.
When we last checked in with Acid Mods forumer Rocky, he had outfitted his DS Lite with a clear shell and several LEDs, wowing all the ladies and fellas with its electric blue brilliance. His latest experiment adds a sound amp chip that floods the LEDs with light in time with the handheld's audio. Don't feel like driving out to the dance club tonight? Just find yourself a dark room, load up Darude's "Sandstorm" on your DS Lite, and you've got the same experience right in your hands! Sort of.
Rocky has posted a photo tutorial of the installation process, but we're much too squeamish to replace our stock casing or do any sort of soldering. If that seems like too much hardware hacking, you can settle with just watching a video of the jazzed up DS Lite flickering along with music tracks and video game sounds after the post break. Though we can't condone his use of a flash cart to load backed up games, we won't let that get in the way of imagining how cool it'd be to play our favorite rhythm titles with this mod.
A yellow and black custom DS Lite has popped up on eBay, and reportedly sports an engraved Pikachu for all those Pokémon fans out there who can't get their hands on the real yellow Pikachu Lite. The problem? Said engraving isn't visible anywhere in the provided photos! For all we know, it could actually be some Mudkips on that DS. But that's okay -- we heard you like Mudkips.
Is there anything the 
Bored with the dull gray, clunky design of her 
The past few DS Lite mods we've featured didn't venture far beyond lodging 
Rocky's 
