A modchip, or modification chip, is basically a chunk of circuitry used to circumnavigate around the factory restrictions of the hardware. Usually, the restrictions are in place to safeguard proprietary information but a lot modchips were also created to expand upon the hardware’s performance. Sometimes the installation of a modchip requires soldering. Other modchips are engineered to fit perfectly in a designated spot on the circuitry board. A less intrusive method is the ‘soft mods’ or software modifications. Currently, there is a great deal of excitement over the new ps3 modchip designs including the ps3 jailbreak which is more of a software modification than a physical hardware modification. While the ps3 modchip designs took awhile to come to fruition, pretty much every video game console on the market since the days of the first generation Sony Playstation have had modchips designed for them. The homebrew community is far too active and curious to let these things pass by without wondering if they can improve or modify the factory models.

In the early days of video game entertainment, the home console systems were cartridge based. Modchips may have been used to tweak performance but they were not common or used as they are today. Making backup files of game cartridges was unheard of and the only people who made homebrew cartridge software did so out of intellectual curiosity or fun. But the Sony Playstation soon changed all that. Since it used the same technology people were using to create backup copies of their musical CDs, it did not take long before curious engineers began to create their modifications. Interestingly enough, the first modchips for the Playstation were not used to make backup files of games. The USA gamers were jealous of the huge and varied Japanese game catalog. But unfortunately, they could not play Japanese media on Playstations manufactured for the USA audience. Rather than wait for Sony to release USA versions of the games, creative innovators designed modchips that bypassed Sony’s regional lockouts. 

Since then, every console from the Sega Dreamcast to the Nintendo Wii has had modchips created for them. Online collaborations in the homebrew community really sped up the designs for the ps2 modchip, xbox modchip and even the flashcarts available for the portable video game market. The homebrew movement got a huge boost in 2002 when Sony decided to try and sneak around a UK tax law by calling the Playstation 2 a personal computer. Sony justified this move by installing a Linux operating system for the ps2. They even included an Ethernet adapter, 40 GB hard drive, mouse and a keyboard. Unfortunately for Sony, they still had to pay taxes. But the Linux operating system gave the ps2 homebrew movement a huge turbo boost. Since then, nothing has been off limits. Even the tricky Nintendo Wii has modchips available for use. Naturally this has spawned a homebrew movement for the Wii. With the invention of the ps3 jailbreak method, we will soon start seeing a larger homebrew presence for the Playstation 3. 

While video game console security has vastly improved, the homebrew communities have grown in strength and seem to enjoy the challenge of changing something that is not meant to be changed. But the heart of the matter is not as simple as finding new ways to create backup files for games. The homebrew communities have expanded the functionality and shown the proprietary companies a thing or two about innovation and design. For example, the Nintendo DS has been almost completely overhauled by curious programmers in the homebrew community. A homebrew DS is not that much different than a smart phone except that it is much cheaper and you can play The Legend of Zelda on it. With the advent of the Sony ps3 jailbreak method and the Microsoft xbox modchip designs, it looks like the homebrew community is interested in turning console systems into something more than just video game machines. Think all in one. Your online needs, movies music and videogames all enjoyed through a fully customizable home theater. But instead of using a remote control or mouse to switch between email, games and movies, you will use a Dualshock 3 or a Wii Remote or a Nintendo DS, etc.