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Modifying Your Console
by Jeremy Horwitz for Gamers Today
Over the course of the last 10 years, video gamers have been increasingly likely to make custom modifications to their game consoles - modifications which are likely to void the warranties of the consoles and carry relatively small risks of injuring either the console or the person performing the modification. Why would anyone want to take such a risk? Since the days of the Sega Genesis, physical modifications to game systems have enabled players to inexpensively play games imported from Japan, and in recent days, a number of companies have offered colored or transparent replacement console casings for various systems. Sony heightened consumer interest in customized consoles by offering developers a special blue-colored PlayStation that could play games from any region of the world. What follows is a list of some of the most popular modifications you can perform on your home game consoles, and the relevant pros and cons you might want to consider before making any purchase.
Notably, however, you can't make an American game system play European games. Whereas Japanese and American console games both use the NTSC video display standard, European games use either the PAL or SECAM video standards, which redraw the screen fewer times per second than a NTSC television. The practical meaning of this is that a European game inserted into an American or Japanese console system will not synchronize with your television and will endlessly roll on your screen. There's only one exception to this rule: current portable game consoles don't depend on any country's TV standard to display their images on their built-in screens, so you can use American, Japanese and European game cartridges on any other region's hardware.
Modifying Your Sony PlayStation: The first system to benefit from a "mod chip," an electronic implant which is added on to the PlayStation's internal circuit board to change the system's behavior. Relatively inexpensive (priced below $10, uninstalled, and upwards of $35 installed), PlayStation mod chips enable consoles to play imported games from Japan, effectively expanding the library of games available to American PlayStation console owners. Numerous games have only been released in Japan, and many games are released in Japan prior to release in the United States. A mod chip therefore allows players to get their hands on hot titles months before American release. On the down side, a mod chip requires some expertise to install - a basic knowledge of soldering and electronics is of benefit, so it might be better for the average person to find a reliable mod chip vendor who will inexpensively but reliably perform the installation, as well. Another issue: the mod chips are not endorsed or sold by Sony, and installing one will void your PlayStation's warranty. And finally, as there are a number of different revisions of the PlayStation hardware, you'll need to be sure that you're installing a chip that will work in your machine - ask your vendor about this before you go ahead and perform a modification on your own.
One other interesting PlayStation modification is the "colored case," a third-party response to Sony's blue PlayStation, Nintendo's successful marketing of Game Boy units in various colors, and Sony's subsequent sale of multi-colored PS controllers. Like the mod chips previously described, Sony doesn't make or endorse replacement PS cases, so installing one will void your warranty, but when you're done, you'll have a PlayStation that's as see-through or colorful as any Game Boy - perhaps a color that matches your multi-colored PS controllers. Prices are below $40 for the replacement cases, and like the mod chips, reliable vendors will install the cases for you. Installing one yourself has the slight potential for complications or damage to your PS hardware.
Modifying Your Nintendo 64: The Nintendo 64 can be modified to play Japanese games with relative ease, at the likely expense of the machine's warranty. Use of the appropriate custom screwdriver can remove the bolts on the system's undercarriage, and the inside top of the case contains a few standard screws that hold together the machine's cartridge slot. Removing the cartridge slot enclosure (and protective dust flaps) altogether is the easiest way to plug Japanese cartridges into the machine, but tinkering with the plastic (via strong scissors) could allow you to preserve the dust flaps while making small notches in the protective lower enclosure plastic. Some companies also make adapter cartridges that fit into the N64's cartridge slot and allow you to plug in Japanese games; this is a perfectly good (but more expensive) solution. Replacement plastic cases? No one bothered to make these for the Nintendo 64; now Nintendo has started to sell multi-colored N64 machines of its own, but you have to pay for both the casing and all the hardware inside.
Modifying Your Dreamcast: Like the PlayStation, mod chips are available for the Dreamcast, and they serve the same purpose: They let American Dreamcast systems play Japanese games and vice-versa. Priced from $10 to $25 for the chips, some chips are easier to install than others, with upwards of 20 wires for the installer to connect (cheaper chips) or as few as 3 wires (more expensive chips); the connections are challenging enough that users are strongly advised to rely on an expert for the installation. (There's a higher chance with Dreamcast chips of damaging your system if you perform the modification yourself.) Again, Sega does not endorse these modifications or provide the chips, so your warranty will be voided - be careful. Interestingly, Sega's Japanese arm itself offers multi-colored replacement Dreamcast casings, however, supplementing a set of third-party casings that other companies are offering.
Modifying Your PlayStation 2: Those who have imported Japanese PlayStation 2 systems already recognize that they can't use it to play their American PlayStation discs, and unless they have version 1.0 of the DVD Utility Disc, they can't play American DVDs, either. Without doubt, companies are already working on mod chips that will enable the Japanese and American versions of the PlayStation 2 to play each other's games and DVDs. No such chip has been announced yet, but expect one within four months of the release of the American PlayStation 2.
Modifying Your Game Boy or Game Boy Color: There's no need to modify the Game Boy or Game Boy Color to play games made in any region of the world; Japanese, American and European cartridges are physically interchangeable. And obviously, Nintendo makes their handhelds available in any number of colors, so there's no need to resort to a third-party enhancement to re-color your handheld.
What might we see in post-Dreamcast game console modifications? Present replacement cases simply mimic the exteriors of current game consoles; future cases will probably offer new shapes and more complex styling in addition to new colors. Future mod chips may add simple functions such as built-in cheat codes or a programmable cheating feature to consoles, or perhaps something as complex as a MP3 playback feature - we'll have to wait and see.
