Determine if the PS2 version can perform the knife-trick:
It has been reported that the knife-trick will only work on older generation PS2 consoles. Sony has released several revisions of the hardware, and I've seen a number of reports saying the knife-trick only works on older PS2s. I did most of my knife-swap-trick research at Cousin Fizz's Page which was somewhat helpful.
To figure out which version PS2 I had, I found some helpful info at the Modchip.com PS2 FAQ. While I don't use a modchip, they have some very useful info on their site.
I know the knife trick successfully works on:
A version 1 PS2 (my personal machine)
I've read unconfirmed reports that the knife-trick works on any PS2 version 1-4, and will update this info if anyone can confirm it.
Order WE6: Once I was comfortable that my PS2 would be able to perform the knife-trick, I ordered an import copy of WE6. I ordered mine from BuyRite.net in North Carolina. I live in Washington DC and it took 8 days to arrive since they ship USPS. They provide tracking info which I liked, and they had the best price I could find on the net. I shopped online at several places including:
Order a GameShark 2 (GS2) Upgrade CD for the knife-trick (or rent a GS2): In order to boot up a backup import PS2 disc using the knife-trick, a GS2 is required (this is known as an ActionReplay in other countries). Now, I didn't want to buy a GS2 which retails for $40--the GS2 comes with a boot CD (which is what I needed to boot WE6) but it also somes with some additional custom GS2 hardware: a memory card which can be loaded up with cheat codes. I don't plan on using the cheat codes, I just wanted the boot disc, and I'd rather not spend $40 for the disc. Others may feel the same. The GameShark people sell an upgrade GS2 CD, which has special software for loading new codes onto the GS2 memory card, but it will also work to boot the PS2.
I went to the GameShark 2 Upgrade CD on Gameshark.com and bought a disc. It ran me $11 including shipping and took about 5 working days to get to me (FYI: Gameshark.com only ships the upgrade discs via USPS First Class mail). I did check around at all my local gaming stores (Funco, Electronic Boutique, etc.) for the GS2 Upgrade CDs, but no one had them, so my only option was the website. The GS2 upgrade CD I used is pictured below. I believe it is version 2.
I've seen GameShark2 Lite CDs at my local Hollywood Video, and I've tried them with the swap-trick. They work just fine. Actually, I rented the GS2 Lite from Hollywood ($0.99 for 5 days) before ordering the GS2 upgrade CD to make sure the knife-trick actually worked, and it does. The Lite CD is definitely inferior to the GS2 upgrade CD, because Lite doesn't spin down the disc when it prompts to insert the game. So when I knife the CD drive, the Lite disc makes all sorts of racket as it's still spinning when the tray pops out. It works fine, it's just a little annoying. The upgrade CD spins down before it prompts to swap discs, which I like.
Buy quality CD-Rs (Sony brand worked for me): This may sound obvious, but I had problems creating my backed-up copy of WE6 with generic media. I had bought a spindle of 50 CD-Rs from Staples, and they seemed to burn OK, but the PS2 wouldn't play them. I went to my local office supply store and bought some Sony-brand CD-R discs (700 MB/80 minute), and they work perfectly. Just goes to show I would have saved myself a headache if I had just spent $10 for 10 quality discs, so I wouldn't have ended up with coasters. I'm saving the cheap discs for backing up computer files, since PC CD drives are much better at reading a wide range of media.
Get the WE6 English patch (from Rh4ps0dy): The big English language patch was put out by Rh4ps0dy and can be found here. There is also an Italian patch here, but I'm concerned with English for use in North America. I downloaded the English patch from one of the mirrors. I also tried the modified Rh4ps0dy patch from Adrenaline Vault which is found here. Apparently this fixes a few additional translation items, and ultimately I ended up using this patch when I made my WE6 CD.
Get patching tools and eccregen: Now that I had the patch, I needed the tools that would let me apply the patch to an image of the CD. In addition, after patching the CD, I would need to regenerate some error correction codes on the disc. The English patches are in Playstation Patch File (PPF) format, so I needed PPF-O-Matic 3.0 which applys a PPF file to a PS2 disc image. I downloaded the "PPF-O-Matic 3.0 - Win" file from the PPF-O-Matic 3.0 page.
After patching the file, I would also need eccregen to regenerate error correction codes in the patched image, so I downloaded the latest version from the eccregen site.
Get disc reading/writing utility: Many people advocate using CDRWin from Golden Hawk Technologies for creating a disc image and then burning the modified image to a CD-R. I'm sure that works just fine, but I'm more of a CDRDAO guy myself. CDRWin has an unlimited demo which will only burn at 1x, but it has a graphical UI. CDRDAO is all command-line but I successfully burned my WE6 patched CD at 4x (I didn't try any faster). I grabbed both of these disc read/write utilities just for yucks:
Make patched backup CD: At this point, I was ready to create the patched disc. I had:
My WE6 CD
A GS2 CD (either Lite or the upgrade)
Quality CD-Rs
Rh4ps0dy English patch for WE6
PPF-O-Matic installed on my machine
eccregen installed on my machine
A CD read/write program (CDRWin or CDRDAO) installed and working on my machine
There are several steps to making the CD
Create WE6 CD image from original WE6 CD (Japanese)
Patch WE6 CD image with English language patch
Run eccregen to correct tidy up the image
Burn patched WE6 CD image to CD-R
Step 1: Create WE6 CD image from original WE6 CD (Japanese)
I threw my WE6 CD into the CD drive and typed the following for CDRDAO:
cdrdao read-cd -v 2 --device 2,4,0 --driver generic-mmc --read-raw --datafile we6_cdrdao.bin we6_cdrdao.cue
For more info on CDRDAO, check the manual on the website. This created two files with the following names and sizes:
we6_cdrdao.cue: size=121 bytes
we6_cdrdao.bin: size=705,762,288 bytes
NOTE: Due to the number of requests for a description of how to use CDRWin to create the CD image, I've included a link to the process for creating a CD image with CDRWin at ISSExtreme (which is a great site for Konami soccer gaming news).
Step 2: Patch WE6 CD image with English language patch
I fired up PPF-O-Matic3.exe. I set the ISO File parameter to the we6_cdrdao.bin file created in Step 1. Then I set the Patch parameter to the Adrenaline Vault patch file which should be named something like adr-we6t.ppf. I hit the Apply button to patch the WE6 CD image.
After patching, PPF-O-Matic gave the following dialog:
Step 3: Correct errors using eccregen
Before burning the patched image, I needed to correct any errors in the Error Correction Codes (ecc) which were introduced when applying the patch. I fired up eccregen. I opened the patched image (we6_cdrdao.bin) and hit Autodetect and then Scan.
I right-clicked on one of the list items and selected Check all from the menu. Then I hit the Regenerate button to generate valid error correction codes for the patched image. Green icons showed success.
Step 4: Burn patched WE6 CD image to CD-R
At this point, I needed to modify we6_cdrdao.cue a bit. I changed it using a text editor to have the following text:
FILE "we6_cdrdao.BIN" BINARY
TRACK 01 MODE2/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00
Then I just needed to blast we6_cdrdao.bin onto a CD-R. Using CDRDAO, it was a piece of cake:
cdrdao write -v 2 --speed 4 --device 2,4,0 --driver generic-mmc --eject f:\we6\we6_cdrdao.cue
CDRDAO fired up and burned the CD, ejecting the disc when it was completed. I now had my patched backup WE6 CD.
NOTE: Again, for using the CDRWin demo to burn the image, the info at ISSExtreme is quite helpful. The ISS Hack article tells how to burn an image to CD with CDRWin.
A few words about the "knife-trick": Now I had to pull off the front of the PS2 tray cover, in preparation for the knife trick. But first, some theory. This is a PS2, viewed with X-ray vision from above (assuming it is stored horizontally, not vertically).
The CD tray moves in and out of the console for loading and unloading discs. The CD tray has a little track on its underside which is drawn in red below:
If the PS2 is standing vertically and the tray is out, one can see this track on the underside of the CD tray, as hilited in the following photo.
The black dot in the diagram above is a little pin that locks the tray when it is closed. When the tray open button on the PS2 is pressed, the PS2 moves the lock pin to the right until it gets to the side rail, and the tray can then move out of the body of the console as shown below.
This is how the PS2 normally works. However, in the knife trick, I boot off the GS2 CD, and when prompted to switch discs, instead of ejecting the disc normally, I manually push the locking pin to the right until it gets to the side rail, at which point I can gently pull the tray out, switch the discs, push the tray back in, and then move the pin back to the left to re-lock the CD tray. It's time for me to boot WE6.
Make a "knife-tool" from the template and an old credit card or "frequent shopper" card: Knowing what needs to be done to successfully swap, making a "knife-tool" is pretty simple. I took an old Blockbuster Video membership card and cut in half lengthwise. Then, I cut the two notches numbered below as 1 and 2 into the card.
The actual knife-tool I used is photographed below.
Once the knife-tool was made, I needed to remove the front cover of the CD tray in order to be able to access the pin with the knife-tool while the drive was closed.
Remove the tray cover from the PS2: Cousin Fizz covers this on his site at length. Basically, I ejected the disc tray from the PS2, unplugged it, and flipped it over. Most models of the PS2 apparently have 1 or 2 screws holding the tray cover (the piece of plastic with the multi-colored PlayStation logo) in place. Mine had 1. I removed the screw and carefully pried the cover off the tray. There are little clips on each end of the tray cover that hold it on, and I used a paper clip to help get the tray cover off without breaking off the clips.
Once the cover was off, I flipped the PS2 so it was once again right-side up, plugged it in, and closed the CD tray.
Here's what my PS2 looks like without the tray cover.
Boot off the GS2 disc: I threw in the GS2 upgrade CD and powered up. I saw the standard GS2 "This product not endorsed by SCEA" screen.
Then I got to a screen where red text scrolled by at the bottom of the screen saying that the GS2 memory card hardware can not be found.
I pressed Start on the PS2 controller to get to the main menu.
I chose the Without Codes menu option, and hit X. The GS2 screen told me to eject the GS2 CD and put in a game CD, and then hit X.
This is the screen where I performed the knife-trick.
Use the knife-trick to swap discs: I took the knife-tool with the #1 notch facing to the right, and stuck it into the small gap right under the CD tray. I slowly moved it to the right until I hit the white locking pin. Slowly but firmly I pushed the pin to the right until the drive popped out slightly. I carefully removed the tool, and slowly pulled the drive door out. I switched discs and slowly pushed the drive door back in, and then used the #2 notch as a "hook" to pull the locking pin back to the left until it reached its original position. The swap was complete. I hit X to load the game.
Get chills as WE6 starts up: The disc booted and with the Adrenaline patch, I saw a modified "Playstation 2" logo along with the "PS2 sound" and then the game started. I watched the intro like a happy 12-year-old. Drool.
Additional notes and other goodies: A couple points of interest: #1: There is an alternate CD case cover for WE6 pictured below.
This is simply the image on the other side of the normal WE6 CD case cover insert. I just pulled it out and flipped it around. Looks great, and it's in English too. Item #2: You can boot original import PSX games on a PS2 using a GS Sampler CD ($0.99 US).
I've played an import copy of FFVIII and my beloved Metal Gear Solid: Integral import CDs using this method. I still have my old PSX, but it doesn't boot reliably. I keep it around for points in games where I have to switch discs, as the swap-trick doesn't work when going from disc 1 in MGS:I to disc 2. So I save the game right before it asks me to swap, fiddle with the PSX until it boots, get past the disc switch, save again to the memory card, and then move the CD and the memory card back to the PS2.
Running Winning Eleven 6 on a North American NTSC Playstation2 with an English language patch
Introduction: This page details my experiences gained while working to successfully play Winning Eleven 6 (WE6) on my North American Playstation2 (PS2). I spent quite a bit of time scouring various web forums for this info, and have credited the authors of various info where appropriate. I write this in order to help others in the USA and Canada share the joy of WE6 on their PS2 without the danger (and questionable legality) of modchips. I use the "knife-trick" method of booting the WE6 CD and hope this info will answer many of the questions which are being asked all over various soccer/football video gaming web forums (such as the ISS & PES forum at http://www.soccergaming.tv and the Konami Tokyo Soccer forum at http://www.evo-web-forums.co.uk/ikonboard.cgi) in a concise, easy to understand manner.
Author: I'm a happily married 27-year-old college graduate (computer science) who loves video games and occassionally lurks at the SoccerGaming.tv and Evo-Web forums as flamingwookie (Chewbacca doing the "stop-drop-and-roll" always struck me as comical for some reason). Please email any comments or suggestions to winning_eleven_knifer@yahoo.com.
Disclaimer: This information is presented for educational uses only. All liability for any damage that may result to any hardware or software as a result of attempting any procedure described in this document is solely the responsibility of the reader.
License: The author doesn't care if you copy, reference, or plagerize this document. Go ahead and copy this, and put your name at the top and tell your friends you wrote it and that you are "the man". I really don't care. Freely I have received this info, and freely this document is given.
Advertising Note: Konami, please bring WE6 to the USA. I bought MLS GameNight. It was great. I wanted a sequel to MLSGN for PS2 so much I imported WE6. I'd buy a version of WE6 if one was available in the states. Many others would as well. And if you do bring it to the USA, please include the FIFPro license. North Americans like football too. Thank you.
Summary of procedure
In short, this page aims to describe the author's efforts to extract an image of the WE6 disc, apply an English language patch to the image, reburn the image to a CD-R and then run the patched game on a NA PS2 using the knife-trick.
The steps used by the author for running a patched WE6 CD on a NA PS2 with the knife-trick are broken down as follows: