Call it inspiration, call it a blatant ripoff, but seeing fellow Boing Boing writer and tech enthusiast Séamus' still-ongoing series about restoring and modernizing his PlayStation Vita has gotten me thinking about retro gaming too. I've already hacked a Vita of my own, unlocking the full power of this surprisingly potent handheld, but there are endless candidates for a similar transformation out there. The Switch, for instance, can be unlocked with nothing but a paper clip. If you're after a vast library, the Wii U has access to three whole generations with its built-in Wii emulator and its built-in GameCube emulator.
Really, though, there's only one console that embodies the retro gaming era for me: the PlayStation 2. (Feel old yet?) It's still the best-selling console in history, and one only has to look at its lineup to get a sense of why: Sons of Liberty. Snake Eater. Silent Hill 2. San Andreas. ICO. Shadow of the Colossus. God of War. Resident Evil 4. Okami. Chaos Theory. Blood Money. Every single one of this console's heavy hitters could reasonably be included on a list of the greatest games ever made, and that's without getting into the oddball stuff like the original Yakuza and its famously terrible English dub.
So, okay, the mission is clear: hack a PS2. The first step of that is, of course, getting one. Much like everything else attached to gaming, the price of retro consoles has jumped sharply lately, but the solution proved to be deceptively simple. Really, all of the problems facing Americans today, including this one, can be resolved by just leaving the country.
On a recent trip to Canada to visit family, I managed to find a PS2, its original cords, and its original controller for just about $100 USD in an unassuming secondhand store. That last one in particular is a big deal — the first-party PS2 controller featured pressure-sensitive face buttons, which, while very cool, were also infamously delicate. Surviving 20-year-old controllers are very few and far between, but a quick few minutes with the included copy of Vice City confirmed that yes, this one is indeed in excellent condition. Result!
Getting the hardware is only half the battle, though. Or, well, more like a third of the battle. Two objectives remain: getting the PS2 converted to HDMI output (difficult) and getting it to load digital game backups (very difficult). The console I picked up is the "slim" model, which has a much more appealing form factor at the cost of not being able to mount an internal hard drive. The workaround? Much like the PS Vita, it's possible to get yourself a spoofed memory card that contains a more traditional SD card, adding internal storage space without the console even realizing it. 256 gigabtyes of digital storage and unlimited saves on a console from 2000? Yes, please.
The needed components are on their way, and I'll update with a continuation when the hack is actually made. It'll be good practice for when the PlayStation 9 comes around.
