News PS2 mod chips legal

Should people have the right to buy games in any country they want, or can Sony impose any restrictions they like on their own hardware?

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2005/10/06/legal_ps2_mod_chips/

 

If I could get full functionality out of my console without a chip then I wouldn't need one. As it stands I need to play imported games to get high definition graphics out of my xbox and also ps2 (GT4). Then there are the games that aren't available in this region (Katamari Damacy etc).

There are always the soft-mod options but they are such a massive pain in the arse, and I refuse to buy two consoles from different regions just so I can play the games I want, how I want.

Unfortunately there will always be people who will use the same methods to selfishly pirate material without putting anything back into the industry.

 

I literally 5 minutes ago had a mate of mine gush about Karamari Damacy via MSN. I'd never heard of it, but assumed it was Japanese. However, I didn't realise he was running an import.

The message is pretty simple: copy protection = fair enough; region restrictions = pointless.

 

Absolutley. Just because one developer a) cant be bothered to translate it (subs are fine!) or b) just think it wont sell then we never see this game. Admittidly it probably wont sell as well, but you're stuffing EVERYONE from the potential realease. And i understand that sometimes a manufacturer cant produce enough of a game to supply the whole world market but that's not my problem, the world is smaller because of the internet and people are more likely to pirate it the sooner they can get their hands on it, especially if they have to wait months.

 

Am I imagining things, or didn't the EU say that DVD region protection was illegal (something to do with the film companies exerting cabalistic/monopolistic/unfair control over the market by limiting discs to certain regions)? Hence the reason why we can legally buy region-free DVD players in Europe.
If that is the case, why is it still allowed in consoles?

 

Maybe in the short term, but after a couple of years HD DVD/Blu-ray burners and blanks will be as cheap as DVD burners and blanks are now, and internet connections will be fast enough that no-one will blink an eye about a 50 gig download.

Put yourself back 5 or 6 years to the days when we were anxiously anticipating PS2 and Xbox - who then would have considered a 5 gig game download? Very few people had the bandwidth to make that a realistic option. Now, with broadband everywhere and tools like bit-torrent, 5 gigs is trivial. An ADSL2+ service has just opened its doors in London offering 24 Mbit/sec, and in parts of the world you can get faster access than that. 50 gigs over a fully maxed out 24 Mbit line would take about 4 hours 40 mins, so you could easily and realistically download 50 gig file. And it's only going to get faster.

 

By region locking games the games makers are shooting themselves in the foot from a legal standpoint. UK legislation typically permits a device to be made which enables one to copy something, if a legitimate use for the device can be shown. So, for example, VCRs are legal regardless of the fact that they can be used for copying VHS tapes or DVDs or for archiving TV footage, because they can legitimately be used for 'time-shifting' TV programmes for watching later.

If there was no region locking, then the only reason to have a mod-chip in a PS2 would be to play pirated games. (The situation with Xbox is different, as mod-chips are required for users of certain non-pirated but non-MS-sanctioned software such as Xbox Linux etc.) If this was the case, then Sony could quite rightly shut down the chip-makers and installers on the basis that the only purpose for the chips was to facilitate copyright infringement. So long as they perpetuate the region locking nonsense, the chip-makers have an out.

 

I take it you never heard of the ps2 linux project, or the gamecube linux project... if it has a processor in it, stick linux on it... With the xbox it's more prevalent because of A) the microsoft side to it and the love of bill gates and B) it is bassically a pc so not much work has to be done to the code. and tbh Who wouldn't say no to a tripple core 3Ghz linux box for a measly $300?

 

Fair enough. Can't say I'd ever considered the merits of having a PS2 booting linux of a DVD or a gamecube booting linux at all. I guess the other reason it's prevalent on xbox is the fact that the controller ports are effectively USB ports and so you can connect a regular keyboard and mouse with little effort.

Still, though, it would weaken the chippers' case a lot if there was no region locking. Courts generally are fairly set against such practices, considering them anti-competitive.

 

katamari damacy and its sequal we (heart) katamari are both released in the USA. does the UK not play US games?

both greeeaaat games by the way

 

The only games I've purchased have been priceless ones like the GTA and MGS series.

I play the rest of them with my swap magic which doesn't alter the electronics of the console, it simply adds a lid and allows you to play copied games with a swap disc

 

Just another time the EU (UK) gets screwed over, yet again.

 

i feel that if you buy a console it is totally up to you wheather you want to put a mod chip in i have a chipped xbox and i know that without that i would definatly not be getting the most out of my console so i think that mod chips should be legal

 

but only if you are going to play backups

 

It's a games machine first and foremost. Unless you only justified the expense of buying one on the fact that you could chip it to make it do "more-than-a-games-console", then this kind of statement is rubbish.

When it first came out, the games were good, and the graphics suitably next generation... I don't recall hearing any complaints that you couldn't use it as a divx home media server... suddenly you give uses are sniff that it might be able to do something else other than what was originally intended, and they automatically think it's their right to do what they want.

Don't get me wrong - if you pay for something, you should be free to take it apart etc. But talk along the lines of 'Xbox isn't worth it unless you can chip it' - especially at today's dirt cheap prices - is just an insult to all us law-abiding gamers.

 

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but Bit-Tech was shown on G4 Tech TV, while they discussed this on one of their shows. They showed your article on the screen!

So now possibly millions of G4 watchers have seen bit-tech. They didn't mention the name though, so don't expect a huge surge of traffic.