MechaCon: PlayStation 2’s last secret revealed after 26 years
After more than two decades, the last hardware secret of the PlayStation 2 has been revealed. An engineer has now managed to completely crack the console’s MechaCon security chip. This opens new doors for obtaining hardware and software.
PlayStation 2 secret revealed
Even though the Nintendo Switch has almost caught up, Sony’s PlayStation 2 from 2000 is still the best-selling games console in the world with 160 million units. What is even more astonishing is the fact that one of the device’s security mechanisms has only now been completely cracked. 26 years after the release of the PS2, an engineer has now managed to completely dump the PlayStation 2’s legendary MechaCon chip.
The component known as CXP102064 dates back to 1999 and was the last unsolved hardware mystery of the first console models. Successful reading of the chip now opens up new possibilities for the long-term preservation of the old technology.
The chip controls the entire optical drive. He is responsible for focusing the laser, the motor and opening the drawer. He is also responsible for the security of the PlayStation 2, country locking and the authentication of original data carriers.
Complex reverse engineering
During production, the controller’s program code was firmly integrated into the silicon of a so-called mask ROM. A simple readout via conventional programming interfaces was therefore impossible. As DiscoStarslayer on X reported, massive physical intervention was absolutely necessary for success after more than two decades. In order to access the data, the chip’s casing had to be dissolved with chemicals. This exposed the bare silicon. The engineer then photographed the fine structures under a microscope.
By optically analyzing the circuits, he discovered a weak point that ultimately made it possible to read the data. Newer revisions of the device, which are based on an ARM architecture, have been outsmarted in the past using pure software tricks. However, the original model from the 10,000 to 35,000 series required the additional effort described. The project combines four years of research, optical transmission and the final programming of a suitable solution for the hardware.
Importance for preservation
Complete decryption brings positive aspects for the preservation of old technology. Defective console drives can be replaced more easily in the future. In addition, software emulation on computers is becoming more precise because the exact functionality of the encryption called MagicGate is now known. Old arcade machines like the Namco System 246 also benefit from this. These arcade machines used modified hardware from the Sony console and relied on the same firmware for authentication.
An additional effect is that the process theoretically also makes it easier to copy software. With such an old platform, for which Sony stopped supporting it in 2013, this has little economic relevance, but it should prove useful in the context of software archiving and game preservation.
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