Swap Magic For Slim
Playstation 2
by:
Jeromy
Recently my Japanese PS2 that I got way
back at the Japan launch died on me. Seeing as
I need to have a machine that plays Japanese
PS2 games I went looking around at prices for
a new one and unfortunately found the price
tags to be in the $180 range. With that in
mind I set out to find a more cost effective
method of playing import games. I’ve always
been fond of tinkering with my consoles which
is evidenced by my blue see through modified
Dreamcast and the mod switch on the side of my
Gamecube, so I looked around at the current
PS2 mod options since I already own a Slim US
PS2.
I’m absolutely terrible at soldering and
I’m not a fan of the PS2 modchip scene seeing
as it’s rampant with piracy so I didn’t want
to install a modchip. After searching a bit I
came across the Swap Magic product. It looked
interesting but upon further inspection I
realized that it required opening up the
console to install. I looked a little further
and found a new version of the product which
required zero modification to the console.
This looked to be the solution to my problems.
Luckily I had the PS2 version it supported,
the Slim PS2, so I took the plunge and ordered
it up from
ModChip.Com.
Then I got to play the waiting game. I
waited for weeks for this thing to be
delivered before I finally gave up on it. I
also tried many times to find and e-mail the
staff of this website store but their support
e-mail is so well hidden, if existent, on
their website that I could never find it. So
with one scam under my belt I looked for a
more reliable store. I found that store at
modchipstore.com. It took less than three
days to arrive and the product was in perfect
condition. With the import enabler in hand, I
set out to play some Japanese PS2 games on my
US Slim PS2.
The kit comes with a CD, for CD based
games, a DVD, for DVD based games, and three
small plastic parts which are to be inserted
into crevices under the popup cover of the
Slim PS2. There were no instructions included
in the package so I headed over to the website
in search of directions but came up with only
a dead link. After about a half hour of
searching the web I finally found a PDF with
instructions that were very detailed and
contained great pictures of the installation
process. With instructions in hand, so to
speak, I give the installation a try.
The first thing I had to do is install the
three small plastic pieces. The first plastic
piece required that it be pushed into a small
hole. My fingers alone didn’t do the job so I
had to grab a screw driver and shove it into
position. After quite a bit of fiddling, it
finally stayed in place. The next piece had to
be slid in between a latch of some sort and
was somewhat difficult to make stay in place.
The third piece slipped into place easily.
With all the plastic pieces installed the
physical work was done. Unfortunately I
dropped the PS2 after this and all the pieces
flew out. I tracked them all down, reinstalled
them, and was ready to go once again.
When all the plastic pieces are in place
the next step is to go ahead and boot up the
swap CD or DVD. The game I was testing with
was a CD so I popped in the swap CD and turned
on the PS2. With the plastic bits in place you
don’t have to keep the flip top closed, so I
left it open. A flash screen appears followed
by a second screen that allows you to adjust
the video mode. If you are using a US PS2 set
the video mode to NTSC and not the default
“Normal” mode otherwise it won’t boot the game
you’re trying to play.
Playing
Next the swap CD or DVD will stop spinning
and you’re ready to swap in your import PS2
game. With the import game placed in the PS2
all you have to do execute the load command
from the menu on screen and the game will
start up spinning and load. Once I had the
game loaded it played and looked perfect.
Another big plus is that you don’t have to buy
another memory card just for import games due
to the fact that you can save all different
regions of save games on one memory card.
Swap Magic for Slim PS2 has allowed me to
play import PS2 games for a fraction of the
price of a new Japanese PS2 and I have to say
it works great. I have yet to come across a
game that doesn’t work using this product.
That said, it’s not something for the lazy out
there as it does require swapping discs every
time you want to play a game. So if you’re
short on cash and already have a USA or PAL
Slim PS2 then get this product but if not and
you have the cash go ahead and grab a Japanese
PS2.
Pros
* Relatively Easy Install
* Low price
Cons
* Requires Some Effort
* Requires A Slim PS2
Overall Score
9.2
