Kotaku: Ben Heck

This Xbox 360 Controller Dispenses Hot Pockets

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

It's...it's like a dream come true. More »

These Massive Original Xbox Controllers Were Transformed into Xbox 360 Controllers, for Halo

Stephen Totilo — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:30:00 EDT

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As promised, Microsoft's Halo team is bringing Duke to their big Halofest celebration this weekend—that is, the massive Duke controller that originally sold with the original Xbox. The Halo crew commissioned hardware modder Ben Heck to transform eight classic Dukes into wireless pads that will work with Xbox 360s. Watch the video to see how that works—and to see what some lucky people at this weekend's Penny Arcade Expo might actually win. More »

Watch a Master Modder Split an Xbox 360 Controller in Two

Mike Fahey — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:40:00 EDT

In the latest episode of The Ben Heck Show, master video game console modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn creates an Xbox 360 controller for folks that can't bring their hands together in front of their bodies. How does he do it? More »

A Machine That Changes Xbox 360 Discs For You

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 02:30:00 EDT

My TV has a remote. Ditto my surround sound. My Xbox 360 can be turned on remotely with my control pad. And yet, when I want to change the disc, I have to get up. On my feet. Which is never where I want to be. More »

What Do You Get When You Cross An Xbox 360 With An Atari 2600?

Mike Fahey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EDT

Modder supreme Ben Heck marries Microsoft's current-generation console with an Atari 2600 to create the lovable monstrosity known as the Xbox 360 1977 Edition, making us wonder why faux wood paneling ever went out of style. More »

This Is One Extremely Rugged Portable PlayStation 3

Mike Fahey — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:40:00 EST

Legendary console modder Ben Heck's creations are normally quite elegant, but when a couple in Afghanistan asked for something rugged, he gave them this majestic beast. More »

Duct Tape And A Bag Of Rice Helps Disabled Man Get In The Game

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:30:00 EDT

Steve Spohn suffers from muscular dystrophy, leaving him physically limited. But thanks to duct tape, a bag of rice and an Xbox 360 controller, he can still get his game on. More »

The Amazing Bill Paxton Pinball Machine

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:30:00 EDT

The incredibly talented (and patient) Ben Heckendorn, hacker and modder extraordinaire, has revealed his latest and greatest creation, a built-from-scratch pinball table based on the works and quotes of actor Bill Paxton. More »

Infinite Bits: Miami's First Video Game Convention

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EDT

Next weekend in Miami you can enjoy live music, tournaments, world record competitions, special guests, a costume contest, and a video game museum at Infinite Bits, South Florida's "first major video game convention." More »

Building a Bill Paxton Pinball Tribute

Owen Good — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:40:00 EDT

Modder extraordinaire Benjamin J. Heckendorn always wanted to build his own pinball machine from scratch. So what did he choose as its theme? Playboy? KISS? Nope. Bill Paxton. More »

Make Your Own Modded Console Handhelds

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 05 May 2009 08:30:00 EDT

Console modder Ben Heckendorn has made quite a name for himself chopping machines apart and making them smaller, sleeker, more portable. Now you can do as he does. More »

If Only There Were More Of These Commodore 64 Laptops

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:30:00 EDT

Heeeeyyyy. It's Ben Heckendorn, console modder extraordinaire. What ya got for us this week, Ben? A Commodore 64 laptop? Oh yes. More »

Ben Heck's New Mod: The "Atari 3600" Stick

Owen Good — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST

Everyone's first big complaint with this — a 360 controller stuffed into a 2600's casing — is the lack of a second analog joystick. So it's not your new Halo stick. But Braid? Sure. More »

Ben Heck's Xbox 360 Laptop v2.0

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:30:00 EST

Oh Ben Heck. What can't you do? I ask because there are so many things you can do. Like making desirable console laptops. More »

Inside The 60GB 360: Old CPU, New Memory Chips

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:20:00 EDT

The new Xbox 360 has a 60GB HDD, which is new, but what about the rest of the console? Anything new inside the unit? Hacker extraordinaire Ben Heck got hold of one and busted it open like a naughty coconut to find out. What he found was that the new console has the same GPU, same 65nm CPU and same heatsink as we've been seeing for a while now, so don't expect any heat/noise improvements on that front (at least for the next few months), though he did notice that some of the console's memory chips have been moved from the bottom of the board, which should ease up on heating in that part of the 360. Other than that...yeah, it's a 360, with 40 extra GB. More »

Ben Heck's One-Handed Controller Now On Sale

Mike Fahey — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:20:00 EDT

First announced back in October of last year, the Access Game Controller designed by technical wizard Ben Heckendorn for disabled gamers is finally ready for sale via eDimensional's website. The device, listed for use with the PlayStation 2, PS3, and PC, allows one-handed gamers modify the controller as they see fit via a series of circular modules containing face buttons, shoulder buttons, analog sticks and a d-pad. More »

Ben Heck's Guitar Hero Pedal

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:30:00 EDT

What, Ben Heck, coming up with excellent, craft, gaming-related things? You don't say. This is his latest contraption, a heavy-duty pedal designed to work with Guitar Hero to give it that extra dash of authenticity. After Heck did some one-handed GH controllers for the Games for Health conference, Activision decided to send him some guitars for further experimentation, and these are what he came up with. Although primarily designed to allow someone with the use of only one hand to play Guitar Hero (as the pedal allows them to strum with their feet), they can also be used to activate the whammy bar, giving them a much more general application. While they look nice and rugged, the highlight's got to be the fact he wired them using the controller cables from an old Jaguar controller. More »

Ben Heck's PlayStation 3 Laptop

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EDT

My consoles absolutely hate Ben Heck. Every time he releases a new mod, such as this gorgeous PlayStation 3 laptop, similar to his Xbox 360 Elite laptop from awhile back, I tend to spend many hours sitting in my living room, eyes moving curious from consoles to the cabinet where I keep my (barely used) tools. With my degree of electronics knowledge, this is the game console equivalent of having someone quietly staring first at you, and then at a loaded gun in front of them, over and over again. Luckily for them I've yet to work up the nerve, though I do have an extra PSone sitting around gathering dust. I think I just heard it whimper. More »

Ben Heck, Not A Huge Gamer

Mark Wilson — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Reuters just ran an interesting profile on internet-famous console modder Benjamin Heckendorn. It's definitely worth a quick read if you're interested in the man behind the DS Atari 2600 or Xbox 360 laptop, but we particularly enjoyed his response to his own gaming habits.

I didn't used to play, but last year I went out of my way to play more video games. I would probably maybe buy one game a year. Last year I said you know what, this is ridiculous.

Uh oh, all those games will probably rot his brain. More »

Xbox 360 Elite Turned into Halo 3 Laptop

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:00:03 EST

Modder Ben Heck (aka Bengamin J. Heckendorn) dazzles. He's got the uncanny ability to take things, and turn them into other things. Pretty things, at that! Last spring, he crafted an Xbox 360 into a laptop. Now, he's done the same with an Xbox 360 Elite. Nice trick, but we've seen it before. How about turning an Xbox 360 Elite into something else — like a stack of waffles? More »

Ben Heck's Mystery Solved

Mike Fahey — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:20:13 EDT

Ben Heckendorn, who's mutant power involves pulling dreams out of my head and making them a reality, has finally unveiled the mystery product McWhertor mentioned back in late April, and I am very pleasantly surprised. More »

Gameport, The Emulator For Your Pocket

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 29 May 2007 17:40:17 EDT

Console modding champ Benjamin J. Heckendorn (aka Ben Heck) is not only teaming up with eDimensional for a mystery accessory, he's bringing his hardware know-how to Retrogames' Gameport, a handheld "portable multimedia gaming system." More »

Make The PS360 Controller

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 02 May 2007 02:00:50 EDT

Ah, to be console modder Ben Heckendorn (AKA Ben Heck). No, to be Ben Heck's buddy and get some of his amazing creations! The modder's recent project? Stuffing a PS3 SIXAXIS in an Xbox 360 controller, thereby giving birth to the PS360 controller. You don't just have to be BFF with Ben or pay him gobs of money for the PS360. Now Ben has put a how-to up, you can make it. So, if you know the difference between a Phillips screwdriver and a Small Torx screwdriver, they have a gander. Who knows, you might just be able to pull it off! That, or totally muck up controllers. Either way, good luck. Brian Ashcraft More »

Ben Heck Mystery Product Comin' At Ya

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:20:26 EDT

Console modder and guy who turns stuff into other stuff Benjamin J. Heckendorn, aka Ben Heck, has partnered with accessory manufacturer eDimensional to make... something. They won't say what it is exactly, because they're running a contest to let John Q. Gamer figure out exactly what the hell... er, heck their unannounced gaming accessory is. More »

Xbox 360 Laptop Redux

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 18:40:53 EDT

Professional console modder Benjamin J. Heckendorn (aka Ben Heck) has released pics and video of his latest custom hardware hack, the Xbox 360 Laptop 2. Better than his previous Xbox 360 laptop by a factor of two, this one ups the green like it was 2001 and uses an mind-boggling 60% less aluminum. If I were a religious man, I'd think this material goods reduction were some sort of witchcraft, nay, the work of Satan himself. It's that good. More »

Behold The Portable Wii

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:40:10 EST

It is a dream of mine to one day have the money to commission Ben Heckendorn to create a custom console all my own, but as it stands I am flying to New York next weekend to party with some of you people and don't own any socks without holes in them. Instead I daydream of owning something as awesome as the custom Wii laptop Ben has created for Engadget. This semi-sleek little number has everything you need to get your Wii on wherever you go. Imagine how much fun it would be to sit down in a crowded plane, whip this baby out and start swinging your arms about like a madman. More »

New Atari 2600 Hack Smacks Of DS

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 23:40:19 EST

Another day, another amazing Benjamin J. Heckendorn console mod. This time, Ben has churned out the Mark VII Atari 2600 (aka Atari VCSp Revision 7) portable with a cool clamshell design. More »