South Florida gamers ‘mod’ their retro consoles – creating work for local experts who renew old hardware

May 1, 2026 - 18:07

By Giancarlo Diago Cevallos and Camila Amieva

Brian Largaespada pulls out his soldering kit and gets to work at his workstation, performing what enthusiasts call "modding" -- the installation of custom hardware and software into old video game consoles. He is part of a growing community in South Florida that refuses to let classic gaming hardware die.

Instead of tossing out their aging Nintendo, Sega, or PlayStation systems, these gamers are turning to local experts who specialize in renewing old hardware. The trend has created a steady stream of work for technicians who can replace capacitors, install modern HDMI ports, or add internal storage to machines from the 1980s and 1990s.

Many retro consoles suffer from failing components. Old plastic shells crack, disc drives stop spinning, and original power supplies can become dangerous. Modding offers a way to fix these issues while also upgrading the system's performance. A modded console can output crisp video to a modern flat-screen TV, load games from a memory card, or even play titles from different regions.

Local repair shops report a surge in requests for these services. Customers bring in consoles they kept in storage for decades, hoping to relive childhood memories. Others are younger players discovering retro games for the first time. The work requires patience and precision. A single misplaced solder joint can ruin a motherboard.

For the technicians, it is a labor of love. They spend hours researching old schematics and sourcing rare parts. The payoff comes when a dusty, non-working console boots up for the first time in years. As long as gamers want to play the classics, these experts will have work to do.