Backwards compatibility and region for Playstations

Post by **Ack** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:23 am

Hey guys, I've got a few questions concerning region on PS1 and PS2s. First, I'm assuming PAL is its own region, and Australia is the same region as Japan. Is this true? I've been interested lately in picking up a game that was only released in Japan and Australia, so I'm wondering what region the Aussies are in.

Second, will a PS2 from the US run a PS1 game from another region, or do I need to mod it...or is it not possible, and I should worry about importing a foreign PS1?

Third, are there modchips for PS2s that enable an American PS2 to run both PAL and Japanese games?

I figure if anybody would know, it would be you guys. I've never really been into importing, so I don't know much about foreign regions. I appreciate the help.

Post by **Mozgus** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 1:10 am

Pretty sure Australia is a PAL region. Also pretty sure, PS2s region check PS1 games. Yes most of the later PS2 mod chips beat all forms of region protection as well as offer on the fly Hz patching, meaning it converts the video signal to your display, however sometimes this results in an offcentered image, or its too tall or too short, and it might have some flickering. I've seen all of the above, depending on the game being converted.

Post by **Droid party** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 3:12 am

Mozgus wrote:Pretty sure Australia is a PAL region.

We are indeed.

Post by **Niode** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:06 am

Isn't Japan NTSC?

Post by **Doctor Fugue** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:43 am

Niode wrote:Isn't Japan NTSC?

Yes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PAL-NTSC-SECAM.svg

Post by **Niode** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:34 am

Thought so...

So japan games won't work on a PAL console... I'm intrigued as to where you got the idea that the games would work on a PAL console to be honest.

Post by **Ack** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 2:21 pm

I've just noticed a couple of games that were Australia and Japan only, so I figured they were the same region. I'd also seen a lot of mention about folks having to mod consoles to run Japanese games, so I didn't think the US was in the same region. I guess they were speaking of the cartridge consoles only, but again, I have not done any importing, so I don't know much about it.

Thanks for the help, everyone. I really appreciate it.

Post by **ZenLogikos** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:36 am

NTSC and PAL are TV conformation standards (they differ in their refresh rates and resolution), which are observed in their respective countries as shown in the Doc's post. A device must be the same standard (NTSC PS2 ---> NTSC TV or PAL PS2 ---PAL TV) to work properly. I believe a mod chip can work around these inherent differences(I usually obtain the corresponding regional console to play it's respective games on, so I have no hands-on with them). A completely separate issue is territorial lockout, which is imposed by Sony(or Nintendo or MS, by choice), whereby for example, a US PS2 won't play JAP PS2 games and vice versa. This can be done in software or hardware(in fact earlier consoles used simple differences in form factor to prevent carts from being inserted)and is an artificial block, and a mod chip will certainly remove this obstruction.