Purchase second hand Playstation 2?

I am travelling to Japan soon and I have discovered there are many PS2 games that were not released outside of Japan that I would like to play. They won't play on my current PS2 because of region differences. I know my TV can accept an NTSC-J signal, so I was wondering if it was easy to purchase a second hand Japanese PS2 to play the import games? Where would be the best place to go to buy second hand PS2 equipment/games?

I can use a mod-chip to do the same task, but I'd much rather have ''the real deal''.

Forgot to mention that I will be in Tokyo for the majority of my trip, but depending upon conditions, I will be travelling to Osaka as well.

Hope this isn't too late. You should just buy a swap disc. There are several discs out there that allow your NTSC US PS2 play NTSJ. Most are only $30 and you don't have to carry them!


Osaka's Den Den Town is the place for retro games. Prepare for 1000's of games and searching by picture! Post any questions about Den Den I love it there.

peace
drj

Hi!

Thanks for that information. I would buy a swap disc but I have a slim-line PS2, I heard it is not effective because the disc loading mechanism is different.

I definitely want to get a Japanese PS2 so that there will be no issue. I don't mind the cost of the PS2 even considering the cheaper alternatives (mod-chip, swap-tool + replacement disc cover etc).

If I go to Osaka I will definitely head to Den Den Town. I can't wait to look through all those games.

Do you know any place in Tokyo?

here's a link for a slim PS2 adaptor.

http://www.ps2cover.com/pstwofliplidswapmagic.shtml

As for Tokyo, just head to Akihabara. I wish specific store names helped, but if you are into games you will just lose it.

Shops like Softmap and Gamers are very mainstream and will have common games at fair rates but lack rare games and true deals. For that you must wander around and find the less mainstream gaming shops. Don't be afraid to look on 2nd and 3rd floors, thats where they are hiding.

BTW, SwapMagic 3 is amazing, no problems ever in my slimline PS2. i've got something like 30 NTSC-J games and they all work great.

More room for games on the plane :)

That's very, very good information. I have been to Akihabara before but I have never "explored". I went with my friend and we did not have a lot of time so we didn't really look around much.

I will take your advice too about the Swap Magic disc. I need to install some plastic parts, though, to prevent the PlayStation from detecting an open tray, is that right?

All you really have to do is remove the old lid and install the new one. You do have to add a little piece into the PS2 that the new lid "pushes down" to make it believe the lid is closing. It no more than sticking a piece of plastic into a hole. I'd say the install took 10 minutes. No real chance of damaging the machine.

Hope you have fun!