Why not a region-free PS2?

[voodoolily]

Seriously, I want to know. Do you know how disenheartening it is to fall in love with say, Kuma uta, knowing all along that to fully experience the joy of an enka-singing polar bear I hafta order a new console? From a different continent?

Is there a real reason why a region-free PS2 hasn't been developed? For fuck's sake, region-free DVD players are only $35.

[HaemishM]

Sony likes it's money hats to be easily categorized for different regions on its profit statements.

[voodoolily]

Okay, then next question: if I were to drop the $200 on a Japanese PS2 would I even be able to plug it into my US outlets? Or would I also hafta buy an adapter?

[Signe]

I think you can actually use Japanese plugs in the US but you can't use US plugs in Japan.  Or is it the other way around.  I forget.

[Sairon]

I think you can make it region free if you chip it, it puts a lot more stress on the laser though.

[raydeen]

Okay, then next question: if I were to drop the $200 on a Japanese PS2 would I even be able to plug it into my US outlets? Or would I also hafta buy an adapter?

You'd most likely have to get an adapter and your TV/monitor would probably have to be able to accept a PAL signal unless the PS2 would allow you to change the output to NTSC. I'm pretty sure most of the rest of the world uses PAL for TV signals and display. Could be wrong though.

[voodoolily]

I have just come into the knowledge that I don't actually hafta buy a new console. It's a Christmas miracle! I will now use my google-fu to learn as much about mod chips as possible.

You'd most likely have to get an adapter and your TV/monitor would probably have to be able to accept a PAL signal unless the PS2 would allow you to change the output to NTSC. I'm pretty sure most of the rest of the world uses PAL for TV signals and display. Could be wrong though.

US and JPN are both NTSC.

[Kairos]

A Japanese PS2 will work just peachy in the US. Japanese appliances pretty much universally use the type-A two-prong plug that's familiar here in America (without polarization, so you sometimes can't fit US type-A plugs into Japanese sockets). The US uses of a voltage of 120V, while Japan uses 100V, but it's really a non-issue since appliances from both regions pretty much can accept anything in the 100~120V range. Frequency also does not matter, since Japan uses both 50 and 60 Hz in different parts of the country (good job, there) and everything is made to accept those two frequencies (USA uses 60 Hz, by the way). Both Japan and the US use NTSC, so no need to buy any converters.

[Pococurante]

So basically we should have conquered and rebuilt the rest of Europe and then we modern US types would have more appliances choices.

"Sherman, fire up the wayback machine."

[MorJadedThnU]

The difference between the DVD player and the PS2 is that in the case of region-free DVDs, the makers aren't the same as the makers of the media. In the PS2 case, Sony "owns" both the PS2 market, and the PS2 game market.

However, rumor has it the PS3 might end up region-free - like the PSP mostly is (for games) and how Nintendo tend to go for obvious manufacturing advantages of not having differences you need to put in. The Gamecube can play "fur'in" games by way of a boot disk available in shops at least here in Europe - very useful since we repeatedly get shafted for releases.

[schild]

If the PS3 does end up being region-free, I'll be one happy camper. Even though they're already localizing more and more shit for the US.

[voodoolily]

They are localizing more and more stuff, but not the wierd Japanese niche stuff like my aforementioned Kuma Uta, or Yoshinoya Beef Bowl. I don't really care about what I'm missing in the way of dating/fucking sims or games wherein you don't seem to do anything but control a camera to take a zoomed-in look at girls in bikinis, but there are lots of oddballs that I think are worth the extra $10 to experience.

[Nija]

http://www.clearxbox.com/site/pages/prods/ps2_swap.html

http://www.clearxbox.com/site/pages/prods/pstwo_gc.html

There's your region free PS2.

(ghost clips if you have the slim one. If you've got an old fat one, your dvd drive is probably seconds away from breaking, so buy a slim one.)

[Signe]

http://www.clearxbox.com/site/pages/prods/ps2_swap.html

http://www.clearxbox.com/site/pages/prods/pstwo_gc.html

There's your region free PS2.

(ghost clips if you have the slim one. If you've got an old fat one, your dvd drive is probably seconds away from breaking, so buy a slim one.)

Much better than the old way!  Thanks for that.  I used to chip the consoles I bought in the UK but haven't bothered with those I bought in the US... there doesn't seem to be much point.  I have a TV that uses both PAL and NTSC which I carry about from country to country, like a fool... but it's cool looking, like something George Jetson would have.  You can also get something like this if you travel as much as we used to.