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Portable gaming has come a long way in the last few years. Three-dimensional graphics are now the norm on the Sony PSP and to some extent on the Nintendo DS as well, and there are more than 2.5 million of the game platforms in the hands of Canadian consumers.

Many users are happy with their devices just the way they are, but a growing community of "modders" aren't content with the limitations imposed on the PSP and DS by Sony and Nintendo, and are investing considerable time and energy into transforming them with their own designs. Some of what they've created makes these devices seem almost unrecognizable.

Coolmods is an online retailer based in Britain, which sells new — and sometimes customized — shells for both the PSP and DS. Rather than have a casing that overlaps the existing form factor of those devices, some of these shells are actually meant to replace the original entirely. So, instead of a black or white PSP or a blue or pink DS, as is available in retail, you could have a clear see-thru case or a metallic red one.

To get the full effect requires taking out all the nuts and bolts from either platform and putting them back together again in a new body — something that carries certain risks should a mistake be made. But before they even get to that part, PSP and DS modders tinker with those very same nuts and bolts to get these devices to work in ways they aren't supposed to.

As a popular modder and administrator of the site AcidMods.com and its 10,000 active members, l0rdnic0 (as he prefers to be called) has created a hobby for himself and a following for others in tinkering with Sony's PSP. His exploits can be found on his own channel on YouTube, where he demonstrates his makeshift PSP mods.

A recent one he posted showed him taking the portable keyboard attachment meant for Microsoft's Xbox 360 controllers and connecting it to a Phat PSP (the original, thicker PSP model that first launched) to use with chat programs. Another involved installing tiny blue LED lights inside the newer Slim PSP's shoulder buttons so that they would light up continuously.

“Even though the newer Slim PSP is thinner than the original Phat PSP, it has so much more space available inside to install components,” l0rdnic0 explained. “I know people who have installed the Choto Shot (PSP digital camera attachment) inside the Slim. It's easier because the Slim uses a flexible circuit for the face buttons whereas the Phat uses a circuit board.”

A flexible circuit is usually found in most portable devices because it allows electronic components to be mounted on plastic that can be molded into a desired shape. Circuit boards are the more traditional flattened pieces that can't be molded. This is why the Slim PSP actually offers more space for modding on the inside than its predecessor.

But the most popular mod of all, he insists, is the “dual nub” on the Slim model that gives it a second analog stick. Some PSP owners who responded to that mod's video cheered the addition of a second analog stick on the right side of the device, suggesting that it would be easier to play certain games like, shooters and sports titles. ‘When Sony redesigned the Slim PSP, they really should've included the second (analog stick),” l0rdnic0 says.

Will Tuttle, a prominent gaming critic with GameSpy.com agrees with that assessment. “The second analog stick should've actually been on the PSP from the very beginning,” Tuttle says.

With admiration for what modders have been able to achieve, Tuttle is quick to point out that a majority of them do it for no other reason than to make improvements to the PSP and DS using their own time and money.

“These are people that just want to see what they can do to either make the system more user-friendly or to add features that they felt should have been included in the first place,” he explains. “Then there are the folks that just want to make their system look cooler, like the ones that made the gold, Zelda-themed DS, for example.”

The DS seems to be the device of choice for modders looking to relive their younger days. By turning the device into an emulator, they can essentially have Nintendo's vast library of NES and Super NES games at their disposal. One popular method uses a casing in the shape of a DS game cartridge with a slit in it for an SD memory card. A 2GB card would likely be able to fit the entire libraries of both the NES and Super NES combined. The emulator installed on the DS would then allow the modder to play any of the games freely.

TheModGods.com is a popular site “dedicated to those modifying the DS for all.” A bevy of postings and links to other modding sites dominates the pages of the site. A request for an interview with a representative from the site went unanswered.

A topic widely discussed is porting the Linux operating system over to the DS. Indeed, there's even a site devoted to the project called DS Linux . In it, members and developers go through forums to brainstorm ideas on how to improve the platform and make the unlikely DS/Linux marriage work as flawlessly as possible.

For Tuttle, the ideas and collaboration behind the modders' intentions for both platforms is largely centred on the curiosity toward what's possible. Modding on the consoles, particularly the Wii, has been fairly well-known. But the communities behind these portable gaming mods are relentless in their determination to tweak and tinker.

“These modders aren't going to see a single cent for their many hours of work, so their reward is the admiration of their peers and the feeling of being part of a passionate community,” Tuttle says.