Talk to me about region coding

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2008-05-09 11:29pm

After executing a coup de grâce on my opponent in a bidding war, I managed to acquire a bunch of NTSC games for the PS2. My problem is that I live in Australia, so I languish under the yoke of PAL. I'm not about to let this stop me (at this point nothing on this earth will stop me) so I'm looking for the easiest way to get around this. As I recall, back in 2005 the High Court of Australia ruled that mod-chipping is actually legal, and I'm wondering if this has not become superseded by new decisions or laws or what have you. And for that matter, who do you even go to for that sort of work?

I mean, I could probably pick up an American PS2 easily enough, but it would nice to have one console which is free of region locking, if it isn't illegal and thus too much trouble.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-05-09 11:33pm

I'm pretty sure our agreements with the US killed most of the rulings about region coding being nonsense. I haven't seen any public sale of mod chips in AU for years, so I figure they're illegal now.

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2008-05-10 12:39am

Nope, they're still totally legal. There was a court case on it only last year, IIRC. Sony tried to ream someone for installing modchips which they said bypassed their copy protection scheme, allowing people to play burnt copies of games. The defendant was able to point out that there's no way to disable the region locking without also busting the copy protection. The judge ended up dragging Sony over hot coals for it, basically telling them it was their own fault for not separating the two, or providing Australian customers with an official way to disable region locking.

Expect to pay only about $20 for the modchips themselves, but $100 or so if you want someone to install it for you. If you're in Brisbane, Blade Electronics in the Valley is probably the main supplier.

Post by **weemadando** » 2008-05-10 01:02am

No, there's plenty of modchipping places still around. AT least in Melbourne. And you can still order in the parts/software to mod a PS2.

It's just that they're no longer as prominent as modern consoles have shit like Live and PSN to fuck you over should you wish to abide by Australian law and have a region free device.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-05-10 02:53am

Archaic` wrote:Expect to pay only about $20 for the modchips themselves, but $100 or so if you want someone to install it for you. If you're in Brisbane, Blade Electronics in the Valley is probably the main supplier.

Whoa, Blade are still going? That's a blast from the past.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2008-05-10 03:39am

weemadando wrote:AT least in Melbourne.

There is a quote in my sig which is appropriate.

Typically, Tasmania proves itself to the ass end of Australia again, even if it is really pretty. Though if it's still a legitimate practice, then it shouldn't be so hard to get my hands on a modded PS2.

Archaic` · Post by **Archaic`** » 2008-05-10 07:32pm

weemadando wrote:It's just that they're no longer as prominent as modern consoles have shit like Live and PSN to fuck you over should you wish to abide by Australian law and have a region free device.

The latest generation of modchips for these new consoles tend to have on/off switches put into the side of your console, disabling your internet access when you have it on for region free games (and avoiding Live/PSN bans), and re-enabling everything when you just want to play local fare.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2008-05-10 10:13pm

What kooky black market do you even get these things from? Literally no one I know has any idea. I've had several conversations asking the question 'oh, do you know where I can find a modchip?' and everyone is all 'oh, sorry, no, I really have no idea'.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2008-05-13 08:22am

This might seem like a silly question, but I imagine it would be preferable to use one of the old style 'big' PS2s to put the chip in. Is this so, or just a misconception on my part?

Post by **weemadando** » 2008-05-13 08:27am

I think it's safe to assume that it's different internal architecture in the old chunky vs slimlines so a different chip design would be required.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2008-05-13 01:05pm

Get a network adaptor, stick a hard disk in and use HDAdvance.
Easier and better than any mod-chip.

Ryushikaze · Post by **Ryushikaze** » 2008-05-13 02:42pm

Or just get a boot disc and a pass system. I use Swap Magic Coder 3 and the magic key tools, which hasn't let me down and it comes in a PAL version, too.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2008-05-13 04:08pm

Ryushikaze wrote:Or just get a boot disc and a pass system. I use Swap Magic Coder 3 and the magic key tools, which hasn't let me down and it comes in a PAL version, too.

Problem with that is while the swap lid is fine, I found it annoying and effort after a while when I just wanted to quickly switch games. I know a couple of people who buggered they're CD tray in the end with the key as well.