This YouTuber Turned A Wi-Fi Router Into A Nintendo Switch Emulator

In July of 2023, YouTuber Taki Udon, who has over 300,000 subscribers, took his new Wi-Fi router and turned it into a video game emulator for his Nintendo Switch. Emulators are popular pieces of technology that let users play classic video games when the mood strikes. There are few options available to play retro games unless gamers own the original console for the desired game or there's an official re-release/remastered version. Unfortunately, re-released games aren't always the best (Exhibit A: Chrono Trigger), and remastered versions don't always hit the right spot.

An emulator makes everything easier by eliminating the need to hunt for a retro console. Emulators, whether it's software like some apps for Android or an additional device, imitate video game consoles, such as Nintendo and Sega, and run classic video games in their original state. Some emulators even come with add-ons that let gamers incorporate cheats or take screenshots. Not every console manufacturer condones installing emulators, but many people continue using them because sometimes playing classic "Doom" on an improvised console is necessary. Taki Udon shows his viewers that they can play Nintendo Switch games even when they don't own one.

In his video, Taki Udon promptly shows off his "beast" of a Wi-Fi router that contains 16GB of RAM and 256GB of physical storage, which is beefier than some laptops on the market. He notes that there is an abnormal number of HDMI ports on the router, causing him to believe that it desperately wants to become a gaming console. The YouTuber made it clear that the router he shows in the video is genuinely his router, and when he doesn't need it as a router, he wants to use it as a gaming device. So, he did just that.

After a quick teardown of the device to get a look at its internals for a better understanding of its capabilities, Taki Udon successfully downloaded a Linux distro. That allowed him to install "Free Doom" and "Minecraft" onto a wireless HDMI screen. Installing "Minecraft" took more time than he was comfortable with, but he broke down his process for getting it to run before moving on to his next goal: Downloading a Nintendo Switch emulator.

The first game he installed and successfully played is "Sonic Mania" with the second being "Bastion." He also installed and played "Skyrim" briefly but ran into graphical issues and a system crash shortly into the intro. However, "Persona 5" ran swimmingly for him without ever crashing, proving that with a little know-how, gamers don't need an actual console to play some of their favorite games.