modding/chipping a PS2 to play Jap/US games...

murphyebass

I have two PS2's sitting at home. I have the phat one which I have under the telly and then I bought a slim one recently as a back up which is currently collecting dust in the spare room.

I want to mod one of them to play Jap/US games.

I particularly want to be able to play Sega Rally 95 for example and unfortunately it wasnt given a pal release.

I'm concerned if I do have one of the consoles modded/chipped that it'll lead to the console failing.

So firstly is it safe? If yes, how safe?

Secondly how much does it cost to do?

And lastly anyone on here that does it?

thanks

Myrddin

murphyebass wrote: »

So firstly is it safe? If yes, how safe?

Safe in terms of console lifespan? Apart from lasers burning out, which they do on non modded system easily anyway, there should be no difference.

Secondly how much does it cost to do?

Chipping a PS2 is tricky, prob not the cheapest thing a modder will do.

And lastly anyone on here that does it?

thanks

TouchingVirus has done one before, not sure if he offers it as a service though. Prob depends on his availability etc.

TouchingVirus

Do you want a hardware mod or a software mod?

murphyebass

TouchingVirus wrote: »

Do you want a hardware mod or a software mod?

I dont really know to be honest.

What would you recommend?

Is there positives and negatives of each?

Sorry for the questions but I dont know a lot about it.

thanks.

TouchingVirus

The software mod doesn't require soldering so there's little risk you'll end up with a paperweight. You can play from non-disc media like a Hard Drive. Disc-based games must be patched, this includes your import originals.

The hardware mod means you don't need to mess about with patches but it is obviously riskier since the soldering is so delicate. I'm pretty sure you still get the HD Loader features though, but I could be wrong on that as it's been a while since I used a PS2

murphyebass

TouchingVirus wrote: »

The software mod doesn't require soldering so there's little risk you'll end up with a paperweight. You can play from non-disc media like a Hard Drive. Disc-based games must be patched, this includes your import originals.

The hardware mod means you don't need to mess about with patches but it is obviously riskier since the soldering is so delicate. I'm pretty sure you still get the HD Loader features though, but I could be wrong on that as it's been a while since I used a PS2

I think I'd take the risk with the soldering. It'd be a nightmare for me to have mess with patches etc..

Basically I want it be as little fuss as possible. Buy the imported disc, insert and play.

Can you do the soldering/chipping etc? And if so what are we talking price wise?

thanks

Retr0gamer

I'd advise getting a hardware and software mod in that case. You can install a HD Loader then and save on laser wear. I've lost 2 modded PS2s due to laser wear before I got the HD Loader mode. One thing about this is that you can't load foreign region discs to the HD from the PS2, only games the same region as the PS2. However you can hook the HD to a PC and install the games on it using WinHIIP. It's a great utility.

A very small handful of games won't work on a HD loader, Kingdom Hearts 2 for instance, so just be aware of it.

Myrddin

Retr0gamer wrote: »

However you can hook the HD to a PC and install the games on it using WinHIIP. It's a great utility.

Just to note, that proggie is very fussy about the BUS that the connected hdd is on, it has to be a native IDE bus as far as I remember, not sure if these are getting harder to come by on more modern mainboards or not.

Alternatively, you can rip, patch, & reburn the game...then use one of the FmcB tools to launch the disc {tricks the ps2 into thinking its loading a dvd movie}