Best Way to Make PS1 and PS2 Region Free

[broken harbour]

Hey all,

Whats the best way to make my old PS1 region free? There's a little old information on the internetz but not much out there that's recent.

My PS1 has the parallel port on the back, and I know Gamesharks used to plug into it, but I don't know if every revision of the gameshark defeats the region encoding. If so great, I can just buy any version on ebay.

What's everyone else using?

Some input on my PS2 slimline would be great too.

[22point8]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Game-hu ... 2c605cf136 offer about £10

http://freemcboot.info/

[antron]

this works (except just partially for Toaplan Shooting Battle):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/180798953625?ss ... 1497.l2649
it's cheap, but won't work for PS1 games on the PS2.

there is another, Breaker Pro, that will (though I haven't tried it or this seller):
http://www.ps2cover.com/categories/Play ... gic-Discs/
(you need to choose PAL or NTSC)

[gabe]

I recently installed a Modbo 4.0 in my slimline PS2. It's a Matrix Infinity clone, which was cheap ($15usd shipped from a US seller) but was a pretty big pain in the ass to install (lots of tiny solder points). That said, after a Sunday afternoon of looking at my PS2 through a magnifying glass while holding my soldering iron, it now effortlessly plays DVD/PS1/PS2 media from any region. There are several different revisions of the PS2 slim, so your first step should be determining which version you have. From there you can research what mods and techniques are available. Here's my sloppy install. A Google image search will reveal lots of folks who were much more patient and meticulous than I.

[broken harbour]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Game-hu ... 2c605cf136 offer about £10

Description say for PAL PS1 only, but the box says for all regions, so I'm assuming this will work? I forgot to mention mine is a NTSC-U PS1

[22point8]

For pal you put in a real disc, it reads the region code, the motor stops and you put your backup in, it comes with a spring to make it think the door is closed. In the box there is a bit of paper with instructions for use on a ntsc playstation, I can't remember the details but it involves holding down buttons on the pad.

If you can find a memory card on ebay that has free mcboot on it that'll be the cheapest option for your ps2.

EDIT: Pictures

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Yep, I've got one of those slick Innovation Super Game Convertors. Hooks up to the PS1/PSX's parallel port on the back side. If you already have a modded PSX/PS1, then by using this device will open up more user accessable items such as:

*access to in-game JPEGs

*access to in-game MOV. files to play the FMVs (have to run decrypt function beforehand and it's good to go)

*Gain access/listen to in-game BGM audio files as well.

It's quite a versatile device indeed.

Just for fun, you can change an NTSC PSX console to output in PAL format with above Super Game Convertor if so desired (and vice versa). When I first got one back in 2000, it was displaying in PAL format upon initial boot up and had to reboot it to output in NTSC format to get it to working properly again. Easy as pie.

It's also listed under the name of "Gold Finger" PSX device as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[broken harbour]

Thanks for the help guys, looks like that innovation super game converter will do the trick for me, I'll try that.

I still have to look into mcboot or swapmagic for the PS2....

[Overkill]

Use swapmagic in certain PS2 models will kill him slowly, until it don't read nothing anymore. Free Mcboot its a very good option: Free, plenty of tutorials, easy to do.

[broken harbour]

Use swapmagic in certain PS2 models will kill him slowly, until it don't read nothing anymore. Free Mcboot its a very good option: Free, plenty of tutorials, easy to do.

Really... I hadn't heard that. I haven't really read up too much on freemcboot, it seems somewhat complicated and apparently I have to send out a memory card to have someone install it?

[Endymion]

Use swapmagic in certain PS2 models will kill him slowly, until it don't read nothing anymore. Free Mcboot its a very good option: Free, plenty of tutorials, easy to do.

Really... I hadn't heard that. I haven't really read up too much on freemcboot, it seems somewhat complicated and apparently I have to send out a memory card to have someone install it?

Absolutely not. FreeMCBoot is simple, easy, and only requires that you get some means of getting the exploit into your PS2 memory card. If you really want to send your memory card to another human being you may do so, but just an Action Replay Max or similar will get you what you want. You can probably pick these up dirt cheap at any game stop, or cheaper online. Amazon has one on offer for $12.99. Follow the noobie instructions here and you will be up and running in no time.

[antron]

Just so you know, the last revision or so of the PS2 Slim is immune to the FreeMCBoot exploit.

[broken harbour]

Hmmm... I'll have to check which revision of the PS2 slim I have...

[broken harbour]

Well my PS2 is a SCPH-77001 so I think free mcboot will work with it.

[broken harbour]

Use swapmagic in certain PS2 models will kill him slowly, until it don't read nothing anymore. Free Mcboot its a very good option: Free, plenty of tutorials, easy to do.

Can someone explain exactly why this happens?

It would seem swapping DVD's shouldn't hurt anything.

Just curious.

[hermit crab]

A good mod chip is the best way to play PS1 imports for both the PS1 and PS2, no disc swapping or any of that.

If you don't want to mod your system you don't need an action replay type cart anymore, though this was the case in the past. You can just use a disc: http://www.discoazul.co.uk/breaker-pro-v1-1.html

[broken harbour]

Thanks, my question is... why would disk swapping wear out the system?

I swap discs for both my PS1 and GC, they still work....

Just wondering.

[hermit crab]

Well it's got moving parts, they get wear and tear (even when used according to instructions). A disc swap at the start is an extra stop and and extra start every time. I think with the Swap Magic you somehow even forced it open with some kind of tool instead of a controlled stop by the drive, that's probably what he means? Not an issue with PS1... Also pirate copies are sometimes more tough on the laser due to various issues but that's not about imports.

[antron]

^ no, the program on the disc stops the drive.

[Overkill]

My post was not very helpfull as i don't explain myself to well. After all this years using PS2 consoles i think the problem is not on the swap magic itself, but in the use of cd-r/dvd-r in certain PS2 models. I can't be very precise, but if i remember well, a electronic technician, and consoles repair say to me that in some PS2 models the laser needs a fix on it to work well with backups, because if not, the CD/DVD drive control chip crashs and makes the LA6508 over drive the laser coils. This was some 8 years ago, so i can be saying a lot of bullshit nowadays, but at that time he told me that the majority of the consoles coming to repair was with dead lasers from swapmagic consoles, but maybe if in that time the swap magic was not so popular, maybe the majority of the consoles would be regular modchips consoles, or softmoded consoles, who knows?

So, resuming, i think the best is:

Check if the PS2 model is in the "black list" of the "defect" models, if so, ask to someone for a mod to fix the laser;
Use only original/import discs, or good CDR/DVDR brands like Verbatim or taiyo yuden.

PS: sorry my bad english

[speedlolita]

V9/V10 require the "romeo mod" or something to sustain a long life, in addition to the earlier slim machines. I wouldn't have thought Swap Magic would have affected this though - I used Swap Magic for years just fine on my SCPH-70003.

I have a SCPH-39003 myself for the above reason (long term lifespan etc), V9/V10 being SCPH-5000*.

OP would be best off getting an MM3, 7 point stealth chip installed in a PS1 and calling it a day if there is no desire to play PS2 games.

Personally I have a vanilla PS2 (SCPH-39003) with ESR and a SCPH-5552 PS1 with an MM3 modchip.

[ZellSF]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...

Free Mcboot does not make your PS2 region free for PS2 games by itself, you need to either:

A: Do the swap trick (Free Mcboot allows you to do this without a boot CD)
B: Patch the game and burn a new copy of it (so you will be playing DVD-Rs, wearing out the drive faster).

[pcb_revival]

@op

Your PlayStation has the parallel port so loading from SD card is possible with the ongoing PSIO project. http://ps-io.com/


Discussion at Assembler Games is teh drama until page 32 when the prototype under goes testing.

http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/sh ... ing/page32

[BazookaBen]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet...

Free Mcboot does not make your PS2 region free for PS2 games by itself, you need to either:

A: Do the swap trick (Free Mcboot allows you to do this without a boot CD)
B: Patch the game and burn a new copy of it (so you will be playing DVD-Rs, wearing out the drive faster).

Actually, the best way to use Free MCBoot is to load games on the hard drive. I original got it because I wanted to play Wipeout Pulse (PAL only) on my PS2. IDE hard drives and PS2 adapters are super cheap. Load times are way faster and you have zero wear on your lens.

[ZellSF]

I know, but both people asking about region free have slim PS2s.

Off-topic: The PS2 version of Wipeout Pulse is pretty bad, I would really recommend playing the PSP version.

[Thomago]

Off-topic #2: I played Wipeout Pules PSP and thought it was unbearable (low framerate, extreme tearing). How does Wipeout HD Fury hold up?

[lettuce]

Thanks for the help guys, looks like that innovation super game converter will do the trick for me, I'll try that.

I still have to look into mcboot or swapmagic for the PS2....

Just be aware if your playing a PS1 game that streams the audio from the CD the audio tracks wont play correctly with the super game converter device!

[ZellSF]

Off-topic #2: I played Wipeout Pules PSP and thought it was unbearable (low framerate, extreme tearing). How does Wipeout HD Fury hold up?

Wipeout Pulse runs at a MUCH better framerate if you install CFW and tell the PSP to run at highest CPU speed (doing that is ridiculously easy). Or if you run it on a Vita.

Wipeout HD is constant 60 FPS, some tearing and pretty good resolution (according to Digital Foundry, the lowest resolution it ever runs at is 1280x1080). It's also easily one of the best games this console generation if you're wondering about that

[broken harbour]

Would this allow me to do the disc swap to play Japan region games?

http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/PS2- ... 00306.aspx

It says it makes your DVD player region free, so I assume it means I can play import games as well, but I just want to make sure...

[BazookaBen]

I know, but both people asking about region free have slim PS2s.

Oh, ok. It is worth noting though that some early PS2 slims can attach to a sata drive with some soldering. I would just peruse craigslist for a fat PS2 though. Dime a dozen at this point.

Off-topic: The PS2 version of Wipeout Pulse is pretty bad, I would really recommend playing the PSP version.

It's framerate gets kinda bad sometimes but it still plays well, IMO. And the load times are fine when it's on a hard drive. Wipeout HD's spoiled me with custom soundtracks though. This did happen before I picked up a PC though.

And Thomago, you can't go wrong with Wipeout HD. I've seen very few Wipeout fans that don't enjoy it. I love it.