This Is the Nintendo 64 Game Table I Wish I Had as a Kid

As a child of the 90s, I have many fond memories of clutching that clunky Nintendo 64 controller in my grubby little hands, prodding away in pixelated glee. If I could have seen this custom game table 15 years ago, I may have died. Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration, but the craftsmanship that went into this build is still undeniably jaw-dropping.

The N64 has proven itself as a classic, evident by its continued presence in living and dorm rooms. Mark Haggett decided to immortalize his favorite console by giving it a hallowed place in his living room. He built a custom enclosure for the console in a coffee table that leaves little to be desired. His game table design is replete with cartridge shelving, hanging controller storage, conveniently extended controller ports, pipe legs, and a pixelated wooden mosaic of everyone’s favorite plumber.

Haggett clearly had to utilize both woodworking and electrical knowhow in order to pull off this build. He started by piecing together an 8-bit Mario out of small wooden blocks and allowing it to set in a glueing clamp. Once Mario was all settled and sanded down into the surface of the table, Haggett constructed ample shelving that appears to hold 20–30 games. Wooden pegs on the side provide a home for controllers when not in use (however rare that may be!).

I imagine the most delicate part of this project was disassembling the console. Haggett freed the innards from the console housing in order to place the wiring and motherboard directly within the game table. After some clever forethought, he cut grooves along the length of the table, allowing the controller ports to be mounted much closer to the couch and without messy dangling wires. After the electronics were sorted, Haggett put a nice finish on the wood and affixed some adorable pipe legs for support. He even finished it off with the Nintendo cube logo to protect the cartridge port!

Why am I still talking? Mario Kart, anyone?

[via The Chive]