The Smallest Functional Video Game Console Ever

As humans, we have a bit of a fascination with things that are at a much smaller scale than we are. People have long made a hobby out of sculpting matchsticks, pencil tips, and entire dioramas that fit inside they eye of a needle. But it’s one thing to make a delicate static model, and quite another to create a functioning device at an itty bitty scale. That becomes even more impressive when everything is crafted by hand, as was the case with YouTuber FabNiWorld’s tiny working game console, TV, and video game controller.

FabNiWorld recently posted two videos showing the build process for these amazing creations, which was done entirely without 3D printing or professional PCBs. The first one follows the construction of the television set, while the follow-up covers the game controller. The actual game is running on an Arduino, which is housed outside of the “set” and hasn’t been miniaturized. However, we don’t have any doubt that FabNiWorld could build a tiny console that utilizes the same Arduino code running on a tiny SoC (System-on-Chip), as well. The set, in this case, is a tiny little room like what you’d find in a dollhouse. The TV rests on a little wood table in front of a cheery handcrafted window.

Both the TV and the game controller were made from a combination of thin plastic sheet and Sugru moldable silicone rubber, which is similar to modelling clay. The TV contains an OLED display that connects to the Arduino via an I2C connection. It’s especially great that FabNiWorld disguised the SCL and SDA data lines as composite cables, and the VCC and ground lines as a power cable that actually plugs into an outlet on the wall of the set. The game controller resembles an SNES model, and has button contacts that were created from copper foil, insulators, and axial through-hole resistors. As you can see in the video, FabNiWorld was able to play a game of Space Invaders using that small controller on the miniature TV set, which we think is a much more impressive feat than carving a silly matchstick.