One of the most obscure Nintendo consoles of all time was the China exclusive Nintendo iQue Player. Released in 2003, it was the first hardware Nintendo had seen release in the region since the NES, and debuted a couple of years into the era of the Nintendo GameCube.
But let’s say you have one of these and want to play it on a modern TV. What are your options? That’s what I’ll explore today, and whilst there are a couple of options available, the main one I’ll look at is a device called a Nintendo iQue Player Breakout Board.
The console was always one that I wanted to one day own, but it took me until very recently before I managed to get my hands on one. But then I got two of the things.
I recently did a deep dive into if the iQue Player is still awesome more than twenty years later, which you should totally check out, but one of the points I covered in that exploration was the Nintendo iQue Player Breakout Board. This little device is something that made the experience of using the iQue Player so much better in 2025, and it will be the main subject of today’s discussion.
The Breakout Board is something I was thrilled to get and I want to give a shout out to Electro Modder who makes and sells these things. It’s not an official Nintendo product, but it’s exactly what you need to get the most out of the Nintendo iQue Player should you have one of the quirky curiosities of a console.
I got my two iQue Players separately, a couple of months apart and when I got my first Nintendo iQue Player, it came without the cables that come with it.
And when I say cables, I mean cable, as the device has one propriety cable which acts as the classic AV cables which plug into your TV via a red, white and yellow cable, but then also has a fourth cable which you then attach a power lead to. So yeah, when I bought mine, the seller warned me that it didn’t come with the AV/power cable, but I figured it wouldn’t be hard to track down.
Oh boy, was I wrong.
Finding just the AV/power cable on its own was an impossibility, and this did present one big problem. With me getting the Nintendo iQue Player second hand, I’d have no way to test it to check that it even works. But the console was being to me from China, so in the few weeks I had to wait for it to get in my hands, I figured I’d surely find one, or find some modern solution.
As it turns out this wasn’t easy to do, and that is part of the reason that I want to shine a spotlight on the Breakout Board, because if anyone else out there ends up with a Nintendo iQue Player, this is an essential purpose for multiple reasons.
Just before we dig into the Breakout Board itself, I’ll tell you about the alternative options you have.
So, the connector on the iQue Player is apparently similar to the connector of the AV cable on the original Xbox. I was pleased when I found this out as my first thought was to attempt to mod one myself.
I didn’t end up doing this because 1, I found the Breakout Board, and 2, I realised quickly from the very loose guide I found online that modding the Xbox cable would have been way beyond me…but who knows, it may be easy for others.
The idea behind the Xbox cable, it that it would in some way need shaving down to actually physically fit into the iQue Player, but once the plastic was reshaped, the actual connectors themselves would be a match. This in theory wasn’t too scary, but the bigger issue is that the iQue Player also needs a power source and the Xbox AV cable doesn’t provide that. From what I found someone had managed to connect the right 5V power cable to the correct pin on the Xbox cable to make this work.
I’m certain that if I were to attempt this I would probably fry my iQue console and possibly even fry myself as well.
So I didn’t go that route.
Fortunately, I found the website for someone known as Electro Modder, and they offer what they call the iQue Breakout Board. This is a custom made part which is in a 3D printed case and it slots into the AV port on the Nintendo iQue Player.
It then allows you to plug in the same connection block that you would plug into a Nintendo 64. So, in effect, the Breakout Board brings the iQue Player a step closer to being even more of an actual Nintendo 64.
Not only that, but it also allows you to connect a USB Type C cable for the power source, so that means you don’t have to track down an old school style power lead, and then hope that it’s the correct one that will work outside of China.
As one quick warning, the console does want 5V of power, so be careful that you’re not plugging into the wall with a quick charge or more powerful brick that could you know, brick your console.
As a bonus tip, I’d recommend getting a N64 to HDMI connector and this replaces the original connection block that you’d use for AV on the original N64 hardware and is completely compatible with the iQue Player and the iQue Breakout Board. This meant that with the Breakout Board plugged in, I could connect the console up to my TV or game capture card via HDMI. And I was pleased to say that with this combination I gota really good picture on my TV.
I haven’t as yet tried the Breakout Board with the original oldschool Nintendo 64 AV block as mine would mean connecting via an old RF cable, and whilst I could do so easily enough it would be a pants picture on my modern TV’s and to use it on my CRT TV would be nostalgic, but would mean I couldn’t capture footage.
But so far in this discussion I have mainly focussed on the AV and power aspect of the Breakout Board. There is one more benefit of the Breakout Board.
The iQue Player was a plug and play device due to China’s law at the time that banned games consoles, and so that meant that the whole console is contained within the controller itself. This obviously didn’t lend itself to having multiplayer games as you would on the N64 games that were featured on the iQue Player.
Imagine being restricted to Mario Kart 64 or Smash Bros as a single player game only. Fortunately, Nintendo released the multiplayer box, which was also known as the Swim Box, and this was a multitap which allowed you to plug extra controllers in for up to four player games.
I have a Swim box, but have not tested as yet if you can plug two iQue Players into it for two player games. My understanding currently is that you cannot, so even though I have two iQue Players, and the multitap Swim Box, there is no way for me to do multiplayer games.
But there is thanks to the Breakout Board.
The little box that is the Breakout Board not only allows you to plug in the original standard Nintendo 64 (and GameCube) AV Box, and a USB type C lead for power, but Electro Modder has added an N64 controller port.
So, yes, you can actually now plug one of your original N64 controllers into the iQue Player and play 2 player games. Now, for clarity, the device only allows you to plug in one N64 controller so you are limited to 2 player games, but realistically, who is planning to play four player Mario Kart 64 on the iQue Player in 2025?
So, my review of the iQue Player Breakout Board is that it is an essential purchase for anyone who has a Nintendo iQue Player in this day and age. It lets you connect up original N64 AV boxes, and therefore modern HDMI based solutions, it powers the unit via the same USB Type C power cables we all probably have a dozen of laying around, and then actually lets you use an original N64 Controller on the system for 2 player fun.
The device was made by Electro Modder, so if you want to check out this for yourself, search the name Electro Modder and iQue Breakout Board. They’re in the UK which was handy for me also being in the UK, and there seems to be a couple of other products he offers for the Wii.
I don’t know who Electro Modder is other than my ordering a Breakout Board from him…and I’m not even certain it’s a him, but the point is, that I just wanted to give the shout out for the good job on this product and clarify that this video is in no way sponsored or associated with them. I was just someone who needed a solution to use my iQue Player and found Electro Modder online.
Now one thing to be aware of is that it would seem these are made to order and it did take me a couple of weeks to get in touch and get my order in. At £34.99 I think it was reasonably priced for a custom part and not out of line with the N64 AV box that I got from Kaico off of Amazon. If you’re thinking of getting an iQue Player or have one and want to get a Breakout Board I have no idea how long they’ll still be available so I’d suggest you get one if they’re listed as in stock, or reach out to see if more can be made. That was what I did and it worked.
And now I can enjoy the likes of Super Mario 64, Smash Bros and Wave Race 64 in Chinese…because for some reason that has been a dream of mine for 22 years.
Do make sure you check out my deep dive of the iQue Player itself and also of upcoming videos where I’ll dive into the eight unique games I have across my two iQue Player devices. There were only fourteen games available for it in total, so when my iQue Player series of videos is done, it should be relatively complete.
You can get loads more Video Game articles in the Gaming section of the site, and don’t forget to check out all our gaming videos on the Geek Battle YouTube Channel and the Geek Battle comedy panel show on the Extreme Improv XStreamed YouTube Channel
