Recently, a member of my family discovered my long LONG lost PlayStation 2. I first got it as a gift for my birthday when I was 4! Which looking back on it now, that's pretty young! So as a result, one of the first "core" memories I have, is of me playing Tekken 5 on it.

Oh Tekken 5, my beloved...

But ever since I moved out, I have been desperately searching for it every time I return. And lucky me! The PS2 was resting in an attic for 10+ years, along with my games and a pair of controllers. I never had a memory card so I treated the games like arcade machines, since it wiped my progress every time I turned the console off.

So while the PS2 is in transit, and me being slightly older and more "tech-literate" then child me, I researched more about the console and the differences between models. These are some of the things that caught my interest.

MechaCon Crash

The first thing that caught my eye was the "MechaCon crash" or "DSP crash". This is a crash that can occur on PS2 FAT models and early SLIM models involving the DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The DSP can receive bad error code data from discs that are either scratched or poorly burned. And if the DSP crashes while its sending a pulse to the laser diode, it can burn up and stop working.

A class action case was potentially caused by this technical fault. What is more interesting is that people speculate Sony implemented this fault on purpose as a form of anti-piracy/deterrent of burnt discs.

Emotion Engine

The new Sony CPU that supposedly "synthesized emotions" was called the "Emotion Engine". The new CPU was marketed heavily by Sony, but it depends on who you ask whatever it actually lived up to the hype. "Emotion Engine" is also a name I really vibe with and is the name of a song that IMO fits with the PS2 era vibe.

For more technical details you can read this great article!

Models

From the pictures I got sent, I am not sure of the exact model of console I have, but I have narrowed it down to these.

• SCPH-700XX (2004-2005)
• SCPH-750XX (2005-2006)
• SCPH-770XX (2006-2007)
• SCPH-790XX (2007-2008)

Lucky me, the SPHC-90XX patched the update mechanism that FreeMcBoot used as its entry point.

homebrewwwww timeeee

The only console not fixed for the DSP crash is the SCPH-700XX. So what I am hoping for is anything above that or the 790XX, since it is the smallest struchturly and it has a design that fixes the issue with the ribbon cable that scratches the disk. (but for some reason that fix is not present in the 90XX???)

I’ll be writing more blog updates after I receive the console and tinker with it. Thanks for reading!

Sources

• PS2 Models
• MechaCon crash