Modder creates lo-fi VR headset using N64 & it actually works

What do you get when you cross an Oculus DK1 with a Nintendo 64? A low-res VR system, which is an impressive feat.

YouTuber James Lambert proclaims that he has always been interested in virtual reality, as he pulls out his Oculus DK1 headset, a device originally released in 2013. Technology moves fast, and that decade-old device is now considered an ancient relic by VR enthusiasts. Lambert was ambitious, however. A plan to connect the Oculus DK1 to an even older piece of technology – the Nintendo 64.

Lambert had previously installed a USB port into his Nintendo 64, so when the launch of the Apple Vision Pro inspired him to do a project involving his long-neglected Oculus DK1, the idea occurred to him that he could connect the two systems together.

VR technology goes old-school

It was not quite as simple as just plugging a USB cable into both devices, of course. The first hurdle to overcome was the monitor the sensor data from the Oculus to see how it interpreted data. This part of the process was made marginally easier since Meta released the source code for the DK1, but it still was not a straightforward task.

The Oculus DK1 has three types of sensors, an Accelerometer, and Magnetometer, and a Gyroscope. These three are combined to provide an accurate position of where the headset is located, thus allowing the user to look around and travel through the virtual environment. Of course, the N64 was not designed to handle this kind of data, so it needed to be converted into a data type the console would be able to recognize. This was done by using an Arduino board to condition the signal between the N64 and the headset.

Finally, Lambert worked with his colleague Pyroxena, an expert in 3D modeling to create an environment that the N64 could run and Lambert could explore in VR. The result was a quite beautiful desert oasis. Though Lambert says the pixels were very visible, that doesn’t detract from this amazing achievement.