PS2 import help

[megatronbison]

Ok guys, this is a long shot but...I want to be able to play some of the USA only titles on the PS2...but only have a UK PS2. Oh, and mod chips are illegal over here...so asides from importing a USA PS2 what really are my options?

[roushimsx]

You can use a swap disc or you can install a hard drive and install the games that way. You may get hosed if your tv doesn't support NTSC-60, but I don't think that's really much of a problem these days, is it?

I'd recommend the hard drive route just because it's so fucking ridiculously convenient and awesome. I popped a 250gb in my PS2 and never looked back. Hell, I haven't even powered on my japanese PS2 in years because a vast majority of titles I want to play don't exhibit any issues when trying to play from the HD (and most actually run better).

[megatronbison]

hmm, what kind of hard drive set up would you need? I have no idea about it whatsoever!

[roushimsx]

You basically just need an IDE hard drive, a network adapter and a memory card with a good chunk of space available. The exploit works by copying a corrupted save file to the memory card (either with an Action Replay Max-like device or via someone else's exploited system) after which point (and depending on the configuration), the system will boot up to a menu and allow you to copy stuff to and run stuff from the hard drive.

The process looks a bit daunting initially, but it's really not bad at all. There's some additional nice side benefits from it, such as being able to dump all of your save games to a usb drive for backing them up.

For installing a US game, you'll most likely have to detach the drive and plug it into your PC. The most common method is to use an IDE -> USB adapter / enclosure and then run a program like HDLDump or WinHIIP. It's also possible to ftp the games over, but the USB route is much, much faster (removing the hard drive from the PS2 is a simple matter of loosening two screws on the network adapter).

Older methods of the exploit required you to build a title.db file for the exploited save file that list which PS1 "trigger" games you want to use. Basically, whenever you booted up your PS2, it would only kick into the menu with both the memory card inserted and a preidentified PS1 game in the drive. Now a days, the PS1 game isn't required, but I've never bothered to upgrade because, hey, what else am I going to do with this copy of Warhawk?

There's a healthy amount of information about the exploit here and like I said, while it seems daunting, it really isn't. If you plan to play import games more than a few times then it's a hell of a lot less annoying than a swap disc and it's extremely convenient for playing even your current euro games. It all really depends on what size drive you go for.

That said, compatibility is not 100% and you'll find issues with many music games and a few others (Tales of the Abyss and Jak 3 notably had game breaking bugs when trying to play from the HD). It's possible to patch many of them, but I never really bothered since, hey, I have the disc right here. For import stuff, the only time I've really been tripped up was with Gradius V (which was eventually fixed in a later release of the HDLoader executable)

Hell, what games are you looking at playing? May as well check compatibility before digging too deep (unless you're interested in installing a bunch of stuff anyway so that you don't have to fumble for discs)

[megatronbison]

I'm hoping to play the Xenosaga games and the US versions of the DMC games (the original at least is 50hz only in pal territory!). Is there any way of using the hard drive with a slimline ps2?

[Shellshock]

What if I still wanted to buy import games instead of playing them from the HDD? What's the best route without having to mod the machine? (I have an open PS2 without its ejecting tray, which would probably facilitate disc swapping).

[roushimsx]

May 24, 2009 17:43:52 GMT -5 Shellshock said:

What if I still wanted to buy import games instead of playing them from the HDD? What's the best route without having to mod the machine? (I have an open PS2 without its ejecting tray, which would probably facilitate disc swapping).

I don't quite get what you're asking. You take the game you bought and install it to the hard drive...that's all there really is to it. If you want to buy a swap disc, go for it. That shit got old for me back on the PS1 though and after briefly dabbling with it on the Dreamcast, I threw a modchip in the damn thing.

For the PS2, if you're not going to spring for an HDD setup (or if you're stuck with a slimline like bison) then you may as well just pick up a decent modchip solution (apparently ModBo v4 is the new hotness). Something like 20 solder points to hit up and then you'll never have to fumble with swap discs again.

Even with a modchip, some (like the DMS4) support installing ToxicOS, allowing another avenue to explore with installing games. Really, it can make a world of difference in a game's load times (or framerate, as is the case in the Grand Theft Auto games).

[Fletch02]

May 24, 2009 17:43:52 GMT -5 Shellshock said:

What if I still wanted to buy import games instead of playing them from the HDD? What's the best route without having to mod the machine? (I have an open PS2 without its ejecting tray, which would probably facilitate disc swapping).

I recommend Swap Magic, if you want to play the actual games. I have one and it works great, baring a few hiccups here and there.

I believe you have to buy the case mod separately if you want a flip top system, though the have one for both fat and slim PS2. They do require a bit of assembly, but it's nothing so major as wiring in a mod chip.

If you don't want to open up your system at all, I do believe the Swap Magic disc comes with a slide tool for fat PS2s. Slim ones can only use a flip top mod though.