Panasonic Q Gamecube Restoration Project
If you have never seen one of these game consoles before, then say hello to the Panasonic made DVD & Nintendo GameCube combi device, otherwise known as the “Panasonic Q”. Panasonic were the manufacturer for the disc drives in the official Nintendo GameCube and as part of that business relationship, they were allowed to create their own version of the GameCube. Well, of course they wanted to go above and beyond the original and in many ways they did. Offering a full DVD player, a feature that helped make the PlayStation 2 such a huge success, and a design that screamed modern multimedia experience. The thing very much looks like Hi-Fi’s of the late 90s and early 00’s before the iPod changed that industry for good. They really went big on the design, with a backlit LCD display and this excellent blue glow around buttons and the GameCube controller ports. For many Nintendo fans over here in the west though, it was just a day dream. Not only was it crazy expensive at around £400 back in 2001, but as it was only ever released in Japan, it made it even more pricier as traders imported and added their cut onto that price. Due to the limited release, it only ever sold around 100,000 units, which for a console is very small numbers and makes it quite rare.
After nearly 20 years of drooling over this product (what some consider the best looking Nintendo console of all time) I have finally got my grubby little hands on one. However, to reminisce that scene in Ghostbusters, when Ray first turns up at the old firestation building with a beaten old Cadillac and lists the multiple issues to Peter and finishes off an optimistic “…but it works”, it’s the same here. There’s quite a lot of work to get it up to former glory, but it does apparently work.
As well as actual damage to components to get it working, there are some aesthetic blemishes I will want to correct at some point and of course, the missing included accessories I will need to acquire too, such as the official Panasonic branded controller. My initial list of what I know of is below.
The Issues and bits I know about:
- Matching Panasonic GameCube Controller
- Game Boy Player serial port cover
- Digital Component Cable
- Panasonic DVD Remote
- A lot of Rattling inside
- DVD Drive draw End Cap broken
- DVD Drive collapsed inside
- Mirror effect worn behind front plastic
- Top screen housing worn
All things that will take time, research and hunting on eBay and other forums. So this posting will be something of a diary on the ongoing project. I’ll update each stage by stage with observations, issues I’ve encountered (and hopefully overcome). As well as parts I purchased and tricks I learn on the way.
Step 1: What’s rattling inside?
Before I even want to turn on, I want to work out what the rattling inside is from. If any loose parts turn out to be a loose PCB or screw, it could cause shorting out, so I want to remove any bits I can. However, this guy is not an easy product to deconstruct inside. There’s a lot of ribbon cables, a lot of screws and a lot of parts.
I won’t go any deeper than the top of the DVD drive, as to go further, is a much more complex job that means I have to remove the front, back and more levels of the board inside. I do not want to do this unless I have to.
Observation – I will definitely need the replacement disc drive rails to put the drive back to where it needs to sit. As I don’t have a 3D printer myself, I will need to order one from someone like RoseColouredGaming.
Step 2: Does it Power on?
As the Panasonic Q has it’s power converter inside the product (and now way of swapping out) I needed to get a step-down convertor to exchange the 240V UK power to the 110V Japanese power needed. I now have this, so can get this guy plugged in to see if it does turn on (I may have cocked up something) and what appears to work and what doesn’t.
The great news, is that it indeed turns on and all lights appear to be working too, including the backlit LCD. What is interesting though, is as soon as it goes into GameCube mode, how loud the fans kick off. If I click the OPEN/CLOSE button, the screen says OPEN but nothing happens. Not surprising as the disk drive inside is wonky and the drawer physically can’t come out safely. So, before writing off the drive, I need to ensure it is mechanically able to open and close, even with its cracks and gaps. To do this I had to take off the side panel and prop up the drive to keep the tray aligned with the slot before clicking OPEN/CLOSE. What did I use to prop up the drive? A Game Boy cartridge case… worked a treat. The Drive is indeed able to open and close. Woohoo!
Observation – So the disk drive mechanically appears to be ok, but we need to make sure the laser and spindle are ok and it is able to run and read disks ok. I’m also taking note of the incredibly loud fans when in GameCube mode, I will monitor this as could be a sign of another problem.
Step 3: Does it Play Games?
Japanese game acquired, one of my faves “Super Monkey Ball 2”. Really fun, whimsical arcade game that doesn’t need much explanation to get past the language barrier – not only because I know the game inside out, but also the iconography is very self explanatory.
Official Panasonic Q controller acquired. It’s not in the best overall condition, needs a clean and the joystick is mega loose. Very likely will take replacement parts from a normal GameCube pad to fix up using the
So it powers on, but does it actually work? So, two tests here: Does it read discs and does it output video/sound. Well, let’s plug it in and find out.
Following on from last week’s huge acquisition of a Panasonic Q GameCube console, I was quick to get started finding the matching accessories to start building the full package together. Plus, I continues my obsession with the Hard Case Game Boy Pockets with a third, but it came in a decent little bundle. Take a look at what’s arrived on my doorstep this week.
Official Panasonic Q Branded GameCube Pad + Emerald (eBay, Auction)
Just as I begin restoring my Panasonic Q gamecube, a listing on eBay came up for two GameCube controllers. Obviously the highlight is the official Panasonic Q pad to match my new console, but almost a cheeky bonus entirely, is also the Japanese only Emerald Blue version too – which I have also had my eye on for some time. I never disclose exactly how much I pay or win auctions for exactly, but what I paid for both was roughly market value on the Q pad, so I got the emerald for free (in a way).
Sadly, you can see that the left stock on the Q controller is discoloured, but far more concerning is that both of the controllers analogue sticks are incredibly loose. I never knew that Gamecube sticks got loose like this. N64 yes, of course. But Gamecube No. In fact, I’d say they are both a write off and I will need to find two donor pads and steal their innards from and restore these more rarer versions. Plus looking at the photos, they definitely need a good clean too.
Game Boy Pocket Blue Hard Case Bundle (eBay, Auction)
So last week, I was talking about the fact that until the other week, I never knew of, or had ever seen these hard case packaged versions of GB Pockets at all. But like the old bus analogy, you wait and wait and many come at once. Well, I have acquired no.3, in Blue.
The actual Pocket is in incredible condition itself. No wear on the back, no serious scratches to the lens and upon adding some triple A battery goodness and a cartridge, it performs perfectly. Once again reminding me just how awesome the pocket is. Look at that screen, it’s brilliant.
Now I guess, I just need to get a clear one and I can walk away from this little obsession.
Replacement Game Boy Cart Cases (eBay, Buy It Now)
There’s one thing I hate more than loose cartridges… fake cartridge cases. Through the years I have seen some terrible fakes and the rough, sand paper like plastic used, makes my skin crawl. With all the random cartridges I have acquired recently from auctions, I needed a boost in spares, so bought a batch of official ones. I think including shipping, about £1-£1.20 is a fair price for these things if buying out right. I mean, if you buy as part of a bundle then you’d probably get for free with games.
Seen as though every game came with one of these cases, it makes me wonder how so many cartridges over the years have become disconnected with these. Maybe people didn’t see the point in them. I can tell you now, even my 6 year old self had developed a level of OCD for such things.
If you’re not familiar with the Evercade yet and have any interest in classic video games, then you have to check out this new handheld. It isn’t just another ROM playing piece of plastic, but an affordable and capable handheld that uses it’s own format of cartridges, yes cartridges. Like the good old 80s and 90s before CDs and digital downloads made collecting less fun. Each cartridge comes in a hard plastic bookcase like the Mega Drive or Master System and comes with a collection of games from a specific platform or publisher. Like Atari, Namco or Data East. We’ve seen these sort of compilations many times through the years on other platform, but you will find some awesome retro classics on there, even from the 16-bit era, like Earthworm Jim, Splatterhouse and Boogerman.
The big news I wanted to share here was what I consider to be quite the game changer. Breaking the curse that plagues these sorts of platforms in the past, where it’s largely the same old compilations of old arcade and 8-bit classics we have seen multiple times over the years. The announcement of this particular cartridge has branched out including two absolute monster indie titles previously hard to come by in physical form. These two games are XenoCrisis and Tanglewood. This shows that there is now a new platform for indie titles to publish their games onto an affordable and easily available physical form and that Evercade are committed to bringing great content to this handheld. Without say having to dig deep for limited physical production runs or overpriced collector editions, which even puts me off sometimes.
Take Tanglewood. Widely available as a digital download largely for Steam and PC, but otherwise only available physically on a limited amount of original Sega Mega Drive cartridges. As this game was developed entirely using the original SEGA Mega Drive dev tools (the back story is awesome alone and was even featured on the BBC), it is by nature a MEGA DRIVE game. Like all the good Disney releases for SEGA’s 16-bit console, Tanglewood is a cute platforming game with incredible detail to animation and character design. Reminiscent of Lion King and Castle of Illusion series of games. I have so far resisted the urge to play this, until I get a physical copy.
XenoCrisis is also technically a MEGA DRIVE game and available on physical cart form their website, at an eye-watering £55. Again it is already wildly available on digital download on Steam , PS4 and even Nintendo Switch. It is with no doubt a great shooter game. It’s an over head arena shooter that somehow to me feels like Amiga classic Alien Syndrome mixed with Konami’s Contra style chaos. I haven’t played through this one yet, as I don’t own it. But being a huge Contra fan, I am looking forward to picking this one up when this release is available later in the year
I did never pick up the actual MEGA DRIVE cartridges obviously for both these games, so soon I will be able o grab them for Evercade on one cartridge for an acceptable £14.99 to enjoy on a £50 handheld. What I love about these price points, is that it’s exactly what made the Nintendo Game Boy such a success. Yes, there is more powerful and better hardware out there, but the affordability made the Game Boy a monster of a success back in the day and I hope this means we will also see on the Evercade a vast library of awesome indie titles, continuously released in the years to come.
Who knows what other awesome indie titles we can see on the Evercade?! Maybe even titles like Shovel Knight, Hotline Miami, 198X, Celeste or Super Meat Boy could all make an appearance. I’m sure the hardware limitations might make titles like Fez (god I love that game) or Limbo from coming to this platform as they were very much built for HD style smart gaming systems. But anyway, take this as the first huge Evercade release.
Have you ordered an EVERCADE console yet? What other popular independent games would you like to see released on this platform? Reach out on social media to let us know what you think.
Saw this video from Colin at Does Not Compute on YouTube and it definitely got my excited. I am and always have been a huge GAME BOY fan. I still collect and play and play game boy games and currently working on a big SNES Game Boy Advance series project. I have done the classic Backlight and divert mod too to a few Game Boys now, including one for my own dear oldest brother Guy. The fact that the backlight kits are even a reality is an engineering feat itself in my opinion – bringing new life to older hardware is fun in so many ways.
As technology advances in all directions, it means certain components like better quality screens become available, at cheaper prices. Say a hi-res screen panel from a BlackBerry phone a few years back that cost hundreds of pounds, is now cheap enough for someone to utilise in updating a 1980s games console. So using modern components and a little engineering, clever souls can put together new advancements and package them up ready for guys like us to recreate. This new mod is bringing an IPS quality screen with improved colour contrasts to the original DMG bad boys and it looks so good.
Comparing the traditional Backlit & divert mod DMG to the new IPS panel
The full kit takes away a lot of the pain points that a lot of people face when doing the traditional backlit kits. In fact, you remove the entire front PCD where the original DMG screen is permanently attached too. Removing the risk of damaging the original screen and creating the vertical lines seen or breaking it completely, as the old screen is quite fragile. Some will argue though that as you are removing half of the original hardware, you may as well just buy a Raspberry Pi kit like the RetroFlag ones. But, I definitely see the value in this for enjoying original Game Boy cartridges without adding to the frown lines on my soon to be middle-aged face. Check out the video below from ‘
Availability is still rolling out I believe so not widely available in the obvious and usual modding stores yet, but I have found it on eBay here in the UK already for £55. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Game-Boy-Backlit-Screen-LCD-IPS-Color-Kit-Speaker-DMG-Original-V2/254556087461?hash=item3b44b9a4a5:g:wQYAAOSwI5FeguKh
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