So I am embarking upon a new project following the same concept as Ben Heck's raspberry pi game pad, but instead using a Wii U gamepad as a case. I found this case on ebay which was perfect since is still had all the buttons...
So now here is my rough plan...
As you can see I plan on using an Xbox 360 controller which I will solder all the existing buttons from the Wii U gamepad to. I'm choosing an Xbox controller because it just seems simpler to solder the buttons from as opposed to any other controller I've seen. My one question is the fact that both the d-pad and abxy buttons on the wii u all run through a blue ribbon connector... not sure if I will have to scrape away some of the blue to reveal a solder point or what??
If the Xbox controller doesn't work as the game controller that Ben Heck used didn't work, I may also have to go the route of using a teensy like he did. It would be smaller and I wouldn't have the issue of running out of space inside the case as I might with the Xbox controller. Yet I'm not sure what the pins will be for both analog sticks and back trigger buttons and bumpers?
The other issue I'm struggling with is the screen. Should I use an actual 6.2 inch Wii U screen? I believe the ribbon connector on their screen is a 60 pin and therefore in order to connect it to the pi, I would have to find maybe a 60 to 40 pin converter??? (Really I haven't found any information online of anyone even attempting to connect a Wii U gamepad screen to a raspberry pi... so I would be doing this blindly.) OR... I just get a backup TFT LCD either a 5" or 7" (which would mean I need to trim the screen opening on the wii u gamepad case if its 7"... which could get tricky if I don't do it right.)
I did find this image of what this guy tried to do with a 5" TFT LCD screen and its not horrible... but a bigger screen would be really awesome!!
Going this route would also mean having to go with a higher volt battery supply like Ben Heck did. As he discovered, those backup LCD's take about 12v to run and dies at about 6v, so I would just have to add a 5v regulator power supply onto the 7.4v lipo battery to lessen the voltage for the pi.
Anywho, this is where I am at so far, just trying to concept and pull all the parts together that I need. I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions on how to further make this work. I haven't found a lot of people online doing this... so I wanna make it happen one way or another and maybe I will be the first to post this! I think if I just go down the same path as other raspberry pi gamepad or gameboy designs, it should work... I just have to add more buttons and a bigger screen.
