Current Events > From the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, PS1 and PS2 units were sold modded...

(+) Yeah! (+)

...in my home country. As a consequence, the consoles were more expensive but the games were much cheaper. Unmodded consoles are very rare and are usually bought during a US or Japan trip.

Has this happened in your country too?

No, just in my household

Fucking awesome story though

Naah, they were sold unmodded.
We did have stores where you could buy them chipped, or leave your console to get it chipped.

I just assumed this was true for all of Asia and Africa, maybe even Europe who knows. Boy those were certainly the days.

Until there was a game that wouldn't work so I ended up buying a ps2 from US because the actual game I had was the real original copy, not the modded and pirated games sold in bazaars. But by then ps2 was like what, 80 bucks? Literal pocket money. I think the wireless controller I bought cost more than the console lol.

saspa posted...

I just assumed this was true for all of Asia and Africa, maybe even Europe who knows. Boy those were certainly the days.

Until there was a game that wouldn't work so I ended up buying a ps2 from US because the actual game I had was the real original copy, not the modded and pirated games sold in bazaars. But by then ps2 was like what, 80 bucks? Literal pocket money. I think the wireless controller I bought cost more than the console lol.

In the UK there were people with modded consoles, especially PS1s, but it wasnt something that was traded openly. Generally, youd need to know a guy, or know a guy who knew a guy.

I lived in the UK back then and modded my own PS2 because I wanted to play KH2FM (this was before the remastered collections existed)

Glob posted...

In the UK there were people with modded consoles, especially PS1s, but it wasnt something that was traded openly. Generally, youd need to know a guy, or know a guy who knew a guy.

Very different from my experience. Modded PS1/2s were openly sold in department stores and video game shops.

mazingetter posted...

Very different from my experience. Modded PS1/2s were openly sold in department stores and video game shops.

And where was that?

Glob posted...

And where was that?

Philippines.

mazingetter posted...

Philippines.

Well, that would explain it.

Lots of parts of Asia arent really bothered by the legality of things like IPs. Theres loads of places near me where this is evident, whether its stolen slogans, likenesses or whatever. Add higher levels of poverty to that, and piracy will be the norm rather than the exception.

Most people here go to PS5 cafes if theyre gamers, because they cant afford to own their own console. Either that or theyre still on consoles from several generations back.

Here in Sweden we had ads from stores that chipped consoles in video game magazines.

Glob posted...

In the UK there were people with modded consoles, especially PS1s, but it wasnt something that was traded openly. Generally, youd need to know a guy, or know a guy who knew a guy.

This.

I had a friend whos dads friend would get him all the brand new games copied usually the day after release. He charged 10 per disc which was fine for single disc games but when FF9 cost 40 people were not happy.
They wouldnt have the proper game case either so my friend really struggled when he had to find out Meryls codec frequency on MGS

Glob posted...

Most people here go to PS5 cafes if theyre gamers, because they cant afford to own their own console. Either that or theyre still on consoles from several generations back.

Console rental shops used to be commonplace in the 1980s to 2000s, using the Famicom up to the PS2. Nearly every village and mall had at least one. Now, they are few in number and cater primarily to fighting game enthusiasts.

In contrast, PC rental shops are still going strong due to how inexpensive they are.

mazingetter posted...

Console rental shops used to be commonplace in the 1980s to 2000s, using the Famicom up to the PS2. Nearly every village and mall had at least one. Now, they are few in number and cater primarily to fighting game enthusiasts.

In contrast, PC rental shops are still going strong due to how inexpensive they are.

PS5 cafes are everywhere over here.

When I bought my PS5, they asked me how many I wanted. I think they assumed I was opening a cafe.

Honestly, I think there are actually more modded PS1 out there than non-modded, without the owner/the kids of that era ever knowing about it, because apparently "PS1 is region free/not region locked" is a very common assumption.

Like, kids in that era know NTSC and PAL, but from what I can remember usually we thought it's just a matter of where the CD came from and whether the gameshark code works on it or not, no relation to whether the PS1 can play it or not.

mazingetter posted...

Console rental shops used to be commonplace in the 1980s to 2000s, using the Famicom up to the PS2. Nearly every village and mall had at least one. Now, they are few in number and cater primarily to fighting game enthusiasts.

In contrast, PC rental shops are still going strong due to how inexpensive they are.

Lol did we live in the same place.

It's funny how those kinda ceased when gen 7 came to the picture though. I actually wonder why that is. Like personally, for me it's because I finally had my own money and could just buy my own console, but I don't know why it became a worldwide phenomenon.