Building the Ultimate PS2 for Under $60 

Jon has been KILLING IT on this channel.

Recently got into GVG and something that I absolutely appreciate is just how passionate Jon is about showing us and telling us about things he thinks are cool, exposing us to games and processes we might not have otherwise.

This is really fantastic, especially because I've got games like Xenosaga 3 that I've been worried about with how expensive it is nowadays.

I'm planning something similar to the GameCube, except a bit more elaborate and expensive - A HDMI port soldered into the motherboard - A Raspberry Pi Pico as a Picoboot Mod chip - An SD2SP adapter (Until I can get a legit GCLoader) - A new cooling fan - A Game Boy Player (So that I can use my Everdrive GBA cartridge) - The BlueRetro GameCube kit, a new controller port that allows me to use both regular GC controllers AND bluetooth controllers such as the DualShock 3, 4 and DualSense, Xbox One/Series controllers, Switch Controllers, Wii Remotes (For some reason), and even bluetooth keyboards so I can play Phantasy Star with a generic keyboard

The PS2 was the best era. Consoles were powerful enough to look good and have good gameplay but games weren't so expensive to make that companies didn't take risk or be innovative.

Jon is a TREASURE. I always learn so much in these videos. GVG as a whole is a treat.

Okay so Jon talking about the 50/60 hz difference on specifically pal consoles really helped me out, I thought that my pal ps2 couldn't handle ntsc games but it appears that my old EU CRT (that I took over for free some time ago) can't go past 50 hz and would just go nuts if I tried ntcs games on it.

Great timing with this one Jon! I just got into Wii U home brew and was starting to look into PS2 as well :)

Awesome video, you make such great. This in particular makes me want to get into retro gaming without having to do an absolute search of games and also spend a lot of money on something that’s a classic. Great work 👍

Already hacked my Wii and 3DS, but always wanted to know where to start with PS2. Thanks Jon!

I did this years ago with my original network adapter and an IDE HDD. Dragon Ball Z Budokai loaded so fast from HDD! These days I use a modified network adapter which has a SATA connector and added a 128GB SSD. Works great.

Jon videos are always SO good.

Enjoying the video, but wanted to say that Sega Superstars is one of the less common PS2 games that's on a CD instead of a DVD. I don't know if CD PS2 games are more prone to disc rot. But from experience and from what I've read, the PS2 laser lens having issues reading a CD game over the years is somewhat common and may show either early signs of failure or simple misalignment.

The Persona 3 background music warms my heart. Keep up the good work.

Really enjoyed that. Would love to see a video on something similar on the Wii.

Love this video, I subbed.

Thank you kind sir, I am doing the same thing right now and this is very easy to follow and encouraging.

Thank you Jon for making this. I was coincidentally planning on getting a PS2 to do all this stuff anyway, but this video is definitely a help for making sure what I need to do and get for all of this. Question though (and anyone else is welcome to answer), Are there any good ways of having PS1 Backups on the console?

There's a version of OPL that can read/write on FAT formatted drives. It removes the need for extra apps, you just need an external to usb adapter and file explorer. :)

This is really cool, thanks for this vid! I have a Slim PS2 but I might get a Fat so I can try this out

wow so much info, i've learn so much ad now i want to get a ps2 like i had back in the day.

Thank you John! I have a broken disc drive on my PS2, but I have a bunch of games on discs also, so my PS2 will be alive again soon.

For a simpler solution, there is the SD card adapter (either the MX4SIO or MC2ISO), with OPL BDM4. Allows the console to play games from an SD card through the Memory Card ports.

great video Jon! could you please elaborate on playing pal 50hz games at 60hz on this PS2? this has been an issue I've been struggling with for a while and I would love to know more about this

I am in love with the nostalgic smell of ps2 lately.

does this mod play ps1 games too? great video

Cool! Only thing missing is, it would've been great if you could've shown, how to rip your own discs using the modded console! =)

I, for one, am here for Jon's Homebrew Corner.

Good Vibes Gaming: If I was locked in a room and I could never leave I would choose the PS3. One of the early ones that was fully backwards compatible to PS1 and PS2 games with the same modifications that you did to your PS2 here, so therefore I would have the best of three worlds. Or I would choose a monster computer setup with two 16 TB hard drives full of emulators and games. 15:30

While WinHIIP works, there are more modern solutions out there that work better on modern Windows versions. I recommend HDL Batch Installer. It has a nice GUI, and can be used on Hard Drives connected to your PC and installing over the network

im sorry that ur house got broken into, and also thank you for this guide, this was one of the easiest “to-follow” guides

Great video that showed up in my suggested. Things have advanced a bit since I did my Free McBoot at least 8 years ago. I don't know if this was covered in the comments or a follow up, but you seem to have bypassed how you received a network adapter supporting SATA hard drives. The true adapters only have IDE and can only support IDE drives which only went to about 160GB in size as SATA had taken over the industry. There are videos on how to convert the adapter from IDE to SATA to hook up your shown 500GB or larger hard drive. I think I've seen eBay selling converted SATA adapters, but that is an important point to make people aware of.

reminds me of my homebrew'd wii u which can run gamecubes game natively, emulate the memory card and support original gamecube controllers via smash bros adapter

I might just have to do this. I've been emulating ps2 for like 15 years. But playing it on original hardware is so much better. Also I have the component cables and a hdmi converter so my ps2 is already looking great on a hd/4k TV.

I love this so much. I sadly only have a PS2 Slim so would I manage the hard drive? Would it have to be an external one? Also loved seeing Disgaea 1&2 I feel like 2 doesn’t get talked about enough. And it certainly hasn’t had a remaster!

Still have my fat PS2 and I've been thinking about doing this for a while. I own most of the must have games for the console already so I just never got around to it. Playing games that never left Japan like that 3D DQ5 remake is intriguing, though. If I mod, it'll most likely be for games like that.

Lol, bro doesn’t even have THE essential: Steambot Chronicles. For real though, great video! I’ll have to figure out how to dump the ISOs and save files from my pre-existing games

the ending is just proof that jon is on team fun for the upcoming splatfest

To homebrew mine, I didn't buy the freemcboot memory card, I just used the disc exploit Also having a ps2 slim, I stream games isos from my Pc via network

Been thinking of doing this myself - can you install PS1 games on the hard drive as well? Can you also keep adding games later on when you have already added them to the hard drive?

I've actually been looking for a decent emulator PC since my old rig died. I decided to get a Steam Deck and I put in the purchase for it! So I'm hoping it comes in next week because one of the uses for it will be storing all my PS2 and Gamecube roms on the device! Hoping everything works out!

I love Jon so much!

Danke!

I’m absolutely a noob at all this I truly am but with your help I will conquer this…✌️thank you

I made my own free mcboot memory card back in the day. Had to do the weird cut up card/disk swap trick to do it.

Thank you so much..🎉🎉🎉

I did a noctua fan mod for a fat PS2 on my channel. I def recommend looking into that process

Can you download on the mac this apps?

this is really good!

8:15 I was expecting a quick flash jpeg of Pops Maellard lmao

Isn't there a way to do this through the PS2 itself with mcboot and adding hdl to it?

I forget which system it was but I remember somebody replacing the disk reading laser with an SD card slot, I'd say if anybody perfects a method to do that with a PS2 Slim THAT would be the ultimate super optimal PS2 that could exist. Tiny, light, portable, and practically silent at all times compared to the bigger unit.

I got a question in regards of saving games that are off region can the US Memory card save games off region or do I need that respectable memory card region

Awesome, PS2 is greates console and thankfully nowadays the emulator thrives and alive both on windows and android so we wont lose it in the future

Just discovered this channel and I gotta say i fuck with it. Shoutout.

As a Secret Santa gift a few years ago, a good friend gifted me a fat PS2 and Persona 3: FES. I'll really have to look into these sometime!

Make a video talking about making the Ultimate Original Xbox next. It's a bit more involved to mod, but its just as worth it.

Man of culture with the Klonoa ost. ❤

I've done the exact same as thing as you but could you please tell me how to do the images part I can't seem to do that with the USB you didn't go into any detail. Please

Good video. One thing though: That's not a network adapter. It's a HDD adapter. There isn't even a Ethernet port on it. Calling it a network adapter can confuse your viewers as the original network adapter uses IDE not SATA like the one you have.

I just did this mod yesterday. You have been watching spawn wave

You should make more of these with other consoles. Like 3ds.

I should have never given away my ps2 that had laser issues. I have one still, but does doing any of this cause long term changes to the ps2 or is it as simple as just removing the hard drive and memory card

Another certified Jon banger

I'm just getting into retro gaming, I grew up with nes and ps1, then had a ps2 when I was in the navy. How do I get the games that were not released in the US?

Jon do you use an upscaler for your ps2?

PS2 games loading via LAN using OPL is even faster than the hard drive due to the bottleneck of the IDE interface of the PS2 itself. Even if you put a IDE to SATA converter and SSD drive in there, it won't be any faster than the mechanical hard drive you used in your video. If you do use a SSD, at least a SSD is less likely to fail like a mechanical hard drive can easily, which has happened to me twice with my PS2 collection over many years :)

Road trip for the PS2😁😁😁✨✨🎆🎆

Suddenly I no longer regret keeping my old fat PS2. This'll be fun...

Is this the same process with an SSD? Also, I had to format my HDD in the actual PS2 as it didn't let me do it with WINHIIP, even as Admin, I think that's because I used an external dock. Only issue I'm having is OPL telling me that the file names need to be shorter than 32 characters. When I rename them, it's still saying the same error message?

**me eying my fat ps2 on the shelf** "aw Yiss"

New splatfest: What would you bring to a deserted island? Gear, grub or Shadow of the Colossus?

Looking to pick up the retro fighters ps2 controller and my ultimate ps2 will be complete.

I LIVE FOR THIS SHIT

I can't get past the format process. I keep getting an error message saying "the selected hard drive does not have a valid PS2 master boot record" and then the format fails. I can't seem to find a solution to the problem

Okay, that was very good

Quick question, if you have a pal console do you need to use pal games as well?

Can you also put ps1 games on the hard drive?

$60 for a PS2 and the convenience of a hard drive. Thousands upon thousands for 150 games on disk.

I would personally go with the RAD2X PS2 adapter instead of that garbage "PS2 to HDMI" adapter. The RAD2X properly linedoubles the picture to 480p, whereas the PS2 to HDMI poorly upscales the image. It's a _little_ on the expensive side, but the RAD2X is worth it. Or at the very least, get the Hyperkin PS2 to HDMI.

I prefer HDboot for my personal ps2 and use memory cards just for save progress

Where do you get the games

I can't believe you filled half a tb without a single wrestling game

I wouldn't recommend using the gamestar adapter, you should use the official ps2 network adapter and the bitfunx sata adapter. HDL Batch is far better than WinHIIP too

Is this possible at all to do with a slim PS2?

"Modding your PS2 is surprisingly easy." ...sorry, I had to.

“I got all of the essentials” (No Sly Cooper) I’m sorry but this warrants the death penalty. Please line up against the wall

You forgot about the official Linux kit for the PS2. But outside of that yeah this is the ultimate PS2.

Bruh what is that mystery meat in the hello fresh ad ☠️

can i get the list of these essential games?

I was trying to do this but with a SSD and a Windows Emulator on Mac but the SSD wasn't being detected by the emulator So i gave up :(

We Love Katamari over Katamari Damacy means your priorities are in order I jest, it's just that the latter has been re-released on multiple occasions but never the former; making it still PS2-exclusive despite being a worthy sequel.

Is this better on PC or MAC ?

Why did you “lose” the expansion bag cover Jon?! 🤔 very suspicious 😆

Can't believe John took me out of the house against my will 😨😨😨

Can you put PS1 games on it as well?

This looks really dope… though it does make a few big assumptions. a) People have a tower PC b) That PC has a optical drive c) People still have their PS2 games (if they had them ever) I know, I know, there are plenty of work arounds and for people that have all of the items required in this video, this is great. Although, I thought the PS2 network adaptors cost more than 15 bucks…

My man not only looks like Jarvis (Agent Carter) but talks like him too!

Based video

FREE MCBOOT CHADS LETS GOOO