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"Chipping a PS2"

i was thinking about getting my soon to be PS2 chipped with the neo 4 chip (soon to be as i'm getting it for xmas) or maybe the messigh chip (think thats spelt wrong?)

anyway anyone here have a chipped PS2 and what are the pros and cons of playing jap and us imports?

Chipping the PS2 is indeed quite risky. If you are going to do it make sure the person doing it knows what they are doing, one slip with the soldering iron and you could kill your precious PS2 for good and Sony will not replace it at all as it does void your warrenty.

What you have to remember is that Sony didn't design the PS2 to take extra chips on board so just because it seems to run ok at first dosn't mean it will cope in the long run. It could cause serious overheating and cause a lot of internal damage. Make sure you are doing it for the right reason and not just because it is an option.

ADH wrote:
> Why would you want to run the risk? Surely it's in your better interests not to
> bother, and if completely neccessary wait until a cartridge or some such 'extra'
> is released.


There are more options...

One website has a chip that needs only one soldering...

Many independant companies will chip the console for you, and issue you with a guarantee that essentially replaces the warranty...

New gameshark-style carts are in development that don't even need you to chip the console! (as ADH pointed out)

Sonic

Hmmm i might hold out for the cart as it is safer. one of the reason i used a cart on my PS1 was all the horror story's of dead PS1's from chipping

First off, blimeyoreilly, I don't believe for one second you've chipped your own PS2 as the "solder points" vary in size not only on the one board, but also between varying versions of the console - the ones on the new V5 consoles are huge.

(Before I start, I AM NOT SUPPORTING GAMES PIRACY IN ANY WAY. YOU'LL NOTE THIS IF YOU READ THE WHOLE POST. I'm interested in everything to do with the games industry and read a number of the “history” books based on the industry – with one of the most interesting things from them being the various legal battles between the players. I am also currently studying for a Law and Accountancy degree, so I read about this sort of thing a lot and due to the legal knowledge look at it from a different angle than most gamers. However, I have formed my opinions based on a working knowledge of the facts and hope you'll at least appreciate that even if you don't actually agree with what my views)

Anyway, chipping your console is 100% legal in the UK at the moment. A very basic element of any sales contract is that title is passed and restrictions cannot be placed on the new owner without an express agreement, i.e. it's your PS2, you can mod it, take it apart or smash it into little bits if you want.

However, in the States there has been a modification to the law. It now illegal to distribute items that will aid piracy i.e. mod chips. The way actions against the chip manufactures used to go would be that Sony would claim the manufacturer had violated their ownership of the copyright to the console's BIOS. However, this was all disproved by Sony's case against Connectix when it was held that their modification of the Playstation BIOS didn't break any copyright laws. Now the chipmaker is knows the situation – you make a chip that can boot pirated games and you are a criminal. I agree with that to a point as it sets the ground – everyone knows the situation (you’ll see why this is important later)

If anyone has been keeping an eye on the news in the past few days you'll have noticed further developments in the UK with regard to PS2 chips. As the original poster noted, there has been a huge fuss kicked up about Neo Technologies latest chip, the NEO 4. It's the first directly booting PS2 chip i.e. you stick you're pirated game in and it will boot automatically, just like a proper game. With previous chips you had to disk swap, so you'd start with an Action Reply or DVD-X disk in the machine and you'd swap it over for the pirated game, with the chip telling the PS2 that all was fine. Anyway, NEO 4 sold well for a few weeks and then hit a HUGE brick wall. Sony embedded the BIOS chip into the main circuit board (new version board is called the V5) and the previous points used to solder the chip to were gone. No NEO 4 for the mean time as any console you pick up new now will be this new V5 version.

Not quite that simple though. Another company called Channel Technologies had been developing a direct boot chip named "Messiah" which claimed to do everything the wee gits who like pirated games ever wanted. Well, as you followed the chips process it under went all sorts of delays and features were removed etc, but they had a trump card - it was 100% compatible with the new "unchippable" V5 PS2s. They started taking orders sometime last week, but within hours Sony issued them, and NEO Technologies, with a Cease and Desist order. NEO gave up the fight straight away - they couldn't continue with their current chip anyway due to the V5 issues mentioned above, and with the nature of this "industry" they'll turn up with a new chip under a new name in a few months.

Channel Technologies wanted to fight, and if this thing actually goes to court they would win easily as they actually aren't breaking any UK law, but there's a problem. They don't have a hope of funding a legal battle with Sony. Not a hope. Sony will appeal this case up to the House of Lords if allowed, and that costs serious money. Channel Technology doesn’t have they funds to do that so have to give up.

Well, “slap those nasty chip makers wrists, it's what the filthy pirates deserve", I hear you say. Allow me to be a tad controversial here, but no, I don't agree. Yes, piracy is bad and Sony etc are perfectly within their rights to try and stop this and I 100% support that in theory. However, their actions here leave me lost for words, epically considering the Messiah chip is a 100% legal product.

You have to look at the situation a little closer. Channel Technologies had been developing the chip for months, openly and giving plenty of details along the way - all in the public. Sony knew exactly what was in the works and did nothing to stop them. Sony also allowed the NEO 4 chip to be sold openly throughout the web – mixed messages – you bet. Sony waited until the company had printed up the final chips before they took any actions, and in a callous move picked exactly the most business crippling time to move in (I should also point out that Channel Technologies do all sorts of other, less questionable, business too). They pointed out that their legal might would be too much for Channel Technologies to fight, even though Channel Technologies were acting 100% within the law. Sony basically said, we know you’re acting within the law, but we don’t like what you’re doing. This goes to court and we’ll take it all the way and bankrupt you through legal fees. Either stop selling the Messiah chip or we’ll attempt to ruin the rest of your business.

What should Sony do then? GO AFTER THE SOFTWARE GUYS!!! My goodness - these guys are the scum of the earth! They make money from other people’s hard work (i.e. the games developer/publishers) and often use the money from software to fund more shady deals. Here in N. Ireland it is accepted that huge amounts of the money made from selling illegal software goes straight to the Paramilitary Organizations. These are the bad men; these are the scum that Sony should fight. These are the bloody sucking, barely worth the privilege of life lawbreakers.

You might say "well without the chips they wouldn't be able to sell pirated software as no one would be able to play it" - yes, but how's that relevant? It's people who play illegal games, not the chips. The chips facilitate the law breaking, but do not in themselves break the law. The chips show unbelievable levels of technological brilliance and expertise and let's remember that they break no law - they are 100% legitimate businesses creating 100% legal products. If someone gets stabbed do we blame the attacker or the people who made the knife? Without the knife there would have been no stabbing, so should we start issuing legal proceedings against Kitchen Devil? Of course not!

I know I'm looking at the situation in a different light from most people, and being on a games retailers web site probably isn't the right place for this discussion. I'm not supporting piracy IN ANY WAY; I'm just saying Sony is really going after the wrong guys.

wrote:
> I know a guy who is in the middle of chipping his PS2, he reckons it is a pretty tough job and wouldn't recommend it (and he's good at that kind of thing). Anyway if you are really thinking of chipping your PS2 then you may not be able to get chips soon.... read on (article from other web site)...

Sony has sent letters to two UK companies telling them to stop selling modchips -- chips that let PlayStation2 owners play DVDs and games bought in other countries.
One site, Playstationmods.com, has complied with Sony's demands. On Tuesday the site posted a message saying; "Due to recent legal proceedings by Sony towards our sale of the NEO4 chip we have decided to close down all our modchip operations indefinitely." The company said, "At the end of the day we work hard on our main games and repairs businesses and it is simply not worth jeopardising our staffs' futures just to do modchips." The company said this is the first time it has been asked to stop supplying modchips by Sony, and added that it plans to comply without reservation and without prejudice.
Another site, Newport, Wales-based ChannelTechnology.com, is more vociferous about the legal action, and is accusing Sony of restricting the rights of consumers to create and run backup copies of software as guaranteed under the Copyright, Patents and Designs Act.
Channel Technology's Sony PlayStation2 DVD Multi-Region upgrade is an internal modification for PS2 consoles bought in Europe that use the PAL television standard. According to the company, Messiah was the world's first non-swap PlayStation2 modchip.
Messiah would allow a PlayStation and PlayStation2 to play games backed up onto CDR, and what are called Hong Kong Silvers -- factory-pressed disks that are usually silver-bottomed. Channel Technology acknowledges that HK Silvers have a reputation for being pirated software, but says this is not always the case by any means, as many "slide show" adult titles in Asia are sold in this format.
Channel Technology notes on its Web site that under UK law, individuals are allowed to make a backup copy of their software -- for most people this would mean using a CDR. It poses the question: "If the owner... tried to boot this 'where necessary' backup on an un-modified console, would the 'restrictions' imposed by the console actually be denying him of a legal right?"
Aside from allowing people to make backups of games, and play NTSC games on PAL consoles, the Messiah chip also allows PlayStation2 owners to play DVD disks from any region, and provides colour correction for PAL consoles.
The issue of whether people should be able to play a DVD bought in one country on a DVD player bought in another country is as old as the technology itself. When the DVD standard was being developed, the Motion Pictures Industry Association of America, of which Sony is a member, lobbied successfully to ensure that consumer DVD would be encoded according to the region in which they were manufactured. Hollywood divided the world into six regions: Region 1 is the US and Canada; Region 2 is Europe and Japan; Region 3 is the Orient; Region 4 is Australia and New Zealand; Region 5 is Asia and Africa; and all other areas fall into Region 6.
In theory, DVD players will only play DVDs encoded to the same region. But the practice has met such widespread opposition that hacks are readily and cheaply available for most DVD players and many manufacturer now sell multi-region players as a matter of course.
Sony did not return calls for comment.

Not quite true. For a start Channel Technologies haven't claimed to be the first with a direct booting chip for ages - since NEO 4 launched and became the first direct booting chip.

Second, the final version of Messiah had none of the DVD features. These had been proposed but were cut out at the last minute, with the hope that an updated chip would be available in the New Year to make the console multi-region and get rid of the RGB block.

ANything you did get correct has been coppied straight from www.channeltechnologies.com, if anyone wants their side of the story feel free to go and have a look at their owners statement on teh subject.

i heard that there were a devive called BOX a blue mod-chip converter with only one wire to solder for the PS2.

and the modchip for PS2 is supposed to have over 100 connections is this true?

can i get a mod-chip for PS2 with out opening up the PS2?

if or when can i get one?

thanxs

I'm not answering any of those questions, but just going to laugh a little at the 100 wires thing - there's nowhere near that many! 36 on the NEO 4 IIRC.

i'm gunna take a back seat for a while see what happens with the chips then decide.

Have to say some people on here really do there homework not mentioning any names (Dr Gonzo)