HOW TO DEFEAT THE PLAYSTATION GEOGRAPHICAL PROTECTION
Mini FAQ --- Version 2.25 --- April 1996
(c) Copyright John Muir 1996
Latest version at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/4943
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Disclaimer:
I cannot be held for responsible for any damage caused through direct or
indirect use of the instructions detailed within this MFAQ. Got that
[email protected] and [email protected]?
> Why does this MFAQ exist?
Sony, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that you should only be
able to play officially released games for your area. European games
in Europe, Japanese games in Japan and so on. This MFAQ is for people
who wish to play "foreign" or "import" games.
> What? You mean I can't run Dragon Ball Z in my American machine!?
I'm afraid not. Try booting ANY Japanese CD in your US machine and it
won't work. You will get a message stating this is not a suitable CD
for your machine. Needless to say, this also applies to all other
possible combination of machines and software.
> Is the situation hopeless? Will I never be able to play "imports"?
Not at all. Datel UK *hope* to have a commercial adaptor ready soon
which will plug into the I/O slot at the back of your machine, this
will remove the regional boot-up protection and allow you to use ANY
title on ANY machine without reverting to any form of trick or kludge.
Check their Web page (there is a link to it at my URL above) for any
news.
Also, certain less-than-scrupulous dealers now have blue PlayStation
development ROMs which allow you boot ANY game without the need for a
boot CD (including pirate copies.) I have been quoted a price of 50 UKP
(US $75) plus shipping for this ROM so I think I will stick with the
humble swap trick for now (any warranty you have will also be invalidated
by this procedure, obviously.)
NB: Remember that ANY company offering these blue PlayStation ROMs could
well be subject to a law suit from Sony which would negate any warranty
you many have been given by them as they would be too busy staying out of
jail to fix your machine. How this ROM swap would affect your machine
with regard to running games in the future is unclear as I have been told
that a simple check can detect the blue ROMs and prevent software from
running.
Another modification exists which involves the fitting of a small
daughterboard inside your PlayStation but details are sketchy at the
present time. However, as far as I can ascertain this mod is legal.
> But I want to play imports NOW!
OK, since you asked here is how you can play most (if not all)
foreign CDs on your machine.
===========================================================================
Please check the table below to determine what Swap Method is best for
your particular machine. NB: the Double method will work on ALL models
of the PlayStation but is NOT very easy to do so I have only listed it
if your machine ONLY supports this method and no other.
Model Number Country of Origin Swap Trick?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SCPH-1000 [Initial batch] JAPAN Yes, all
SCPH-1000 [Second batch] JAPAN Yes, black
SCPH-3000 [Initial batch] JAPAN Yes, black
SCPH-3000 [Second batch] JAPAN Yes, double
SCPH-3500 [Third batch] JAPAN Not known
SCPH-1001 [Initial batch] USA Yes, all
SCPH-1001 [S/N 592xxx or higher] * USA Yes, double
SCPH-5501 [Initial batch] USA Not known
SCPH-1002 [Initial batch] PAL Yes, all
SCPH-1002 [Second batch] PAL Yes, double
SCPH-2000 [Development machine] N/A N/A
* S/N = serial number, importantly linked to date of manufacture.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
There are five methods which allow you to use almost ANY PlayStation CD
in ANY PlayStation, regardless of origin. I have yet to hear of any
hardware damage using these methods although this doesn't mean that it
hasn't happened. Please understand NOT all PlayStations are created the
same.
The five methods are detailed below (one very easy, three quite easy and
one difficult.) Various terms are used below, please be sure you know
exactly what they mean before attempting any of the swap methods:
LOCAL:
A CD which is intended for your region, most likely bought at a local
store. The pack-in demo CD is a "local" disc.
FOREIGN:
Any CD which contains territory information other than that of the host
machine. Japanese, European and Australian CDs are all foreign if you
have a US machine.
NTSC and PAL:
It is important to note that running a PAL (Australia, Europe) on your
NTSC machine (US, Japan) or vice versa can cause display problems.
Take this into consideration when buying/using imports. See below for
possible solutions.
ROM:
The Read Only Memory section of your PlayStation where the different
country protection routines are stored.
AUDIO MENU:
Designed for listening to audio CDs or the audio tracks stored on PS
CD-ROMs but also provides a handy backdoor for swap trick-ers.
LID SENSOR:
A small button shaped object located near the CD tray at the rear on the
right hand side. Indicates to the PlayStation whether the lid is open or
closed and essential for any swap trick.
BLACK and WHITE SCREENS:
The White screen is the initial screen that appears on bootup and the
Black screen is the first thing to appear when you boot a valid CD-ROM.
METHOD ONE: The Audio Menu [Safe and very easy]
------------------------------------------------
Works on : Very early Japanese, European and American machines.
Success : 80%
Problems : Music is often corrupted. The TOC (Table of Contents)
from the boot CD is always used which is less than ideal.
o Power up your PlayStation WITHOUT a game or demo CD in it.
o Select the CD Audio menu.
o Get a local CD that matches the country of the machine you
have. (ie a Japanese game for a Japanese PlayStation etc.)
o Find some tape, Blu-Tak or something similar. Several people I know
have found the corner from a cornflake packet works well .
o Open the lid and look at the top right of the bottom section,
near where the hinge is. See the small circle in the groove?
Good. This is the lid sensor.
o Insert your local CD.
o Put the tape, Blu-Tak or whatever over the sensor and *gently*
push it down. The CD will now spin for a few seconds.
o When the CD has finished spinning take it out and replace it
with the foreign game you wish to play.
o Now shut the lid and exit the CD Audio menu. The game should
now work fine (see above for exceptions.)
o When you have finished playing, open the lid and remove the
tape, Blu-Tak etc from the sensor. This will stop the CD.
Notes:
i Try and get a local CD with as many tracks on it as you can.
The local CD must have at least as many tracks as the foreign CD
or you won't get all the music. Depending on the boot CD the
foreign game may give poor results or even crash.
Unfortunately the number of music tracks is NOT the only deciding
factor (the length of the data track is another) and you may find
that you are unable to get your foreign game to work satisfactorily
with the choice of boot CDs you have. See the other methods, they
may give better results.
ii Owners of Japanese SCPH-1000 (later batch), SCPH-3000 machines and
later European/US models will find that this method does NOT
work. Sony has removed this particular loophole in the latest ROM
revision.
iii You can ONLY run PAL games on NTSC machines if you have an RGB
cable (not s-video, composite or ANYTHING else.) This also
applies to NTSC games on a PAL machine. In Europe this problem
is easily solved by investing in an import spec RGB/SCART cable
as sold for use with Japanese/US PlayStations. In North America,
Australia etc you will need to look into the options available to
you (an old or expensive monitor, probably.) I understand a cable
for 1084 monitors will shortly be available in the US.
METHOD TWO: The OLD Black Method [Fairly safe and easy]
--------------------------------------------------------
Works on : All early machines, see above for meaning of "early".
Success : 85%
Problems : Most games will work albeit sometimes with music glitches
or unexpected crashes.
o Follow the Audio method with a local CD in your machine. The lid
should be up and the lid sensor held down.
o When the black PlayStation screen appears (after the white Sony one)
QUICKLY lift the original game out and replace with the foreign one.
You have a few seconds to do this and it soon becomes second nature.
o If you must have the music working 100% or have a really stubborn
foreign game then try the NEW Black method detailed below.
METHOD THREE: The NEW Black Method [Fairly safe but tricky]
------------------------------------------------------------
Works on : The same machines that can do the OLD Black trick.
Success : 100%
Problems : Not supported by all models.
o This method is a variant on the White Audio menu method but involves
an extra step where you basically "piggy back" the OLD Black method
onto the White Audio menu hybrid.
o Try and get a local CD with lots of music tracks as this gives you a
little extra time to perform the first swap.
o Go to the Audio menu and press down the sensor, remove the local CD
just before the audio tracks pop up and replace with the foreign CD.
The foreign CD's tracks should appear and NOT those of the local CD.
o Replace the boot CD and exit the CD Audio menu.
o At the Black screen, replace the import CD as in the original method.
Note:
The territory information that normally appears before the TM at the
Black screen will be corrupted, this is normal.
METHOD FOUR: The White Method(s) [Fairly safe but tricky]
----------------------------------------------------------
Works on : The same very early models that can do the Audio method.
Success : 100%
Problems : Not supported by all models.
o Switch on your machine and count 1..2..3..4 and THEN swap discs. You
need to do this *JUST* before the white Sony screen appears. The
timing is tough, you want the PS to read the country code but NOT the
TOC so don't expect to get it right every time.
o Another variation is to use a hybrid Audio Menu swap trick: remove the
boot CD and replace it with the "foreign" game just after the original
country code is read and before the TOC. Many people find this method
easier then the original White method.
Note:
If you have performed the swap correctly then the import CD audio tracks
will be shown NOT those of the local CD.
METHOD FIVE: The Double Swap Method [Fairly safe but pretty tricky]
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Works on : All PlayStations to date, including the latest models.
Success : 100%
Problems : Do not kid yourself, this method IS difficult. The end
result is well worth it (especially if you have no other
options.)
I M P O R T A N T
I can NO LONGER accept any more questions on this method, everything you
need to know is here. Please, please do not e-mail me asking for help.
Note:
1x and 2x refer to the CD motor speed (single speed and double speed),
watch a few of your games boot up with the lid open and you can easily
see and hear the "gear changes". To get full music timing is highly
critical otherwise the original TOC is used.
o Insert your local CD.
o Remove the local CD when the motor changes to 2x and replace it
with your foreign CD.
[If you did this right, you *SHOULD* see the black PS screen now.]
o Watch and listen to the CD motor. It will slow down and then
speed back up to 2x.
o After a few seconds, the CD motor will slow down again. Replace
with your local CD once again.
o After another half second or so, the local CD will speed up again.
Finally replace your foreign CD.
C R E D I T S
Marty Chinn ....................... (for the SCPH-1000 and other info)
Joe @ Tronix ...................... (for the White method)
Tony in Hong Kong ................. (for the Audio and Black methods)
Nelson Fong ....................... (for the Double method)
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