Video gamers have always spoken a language of their own. Words like frag, w00t, and other gamer terms, have always separated the casual fans from the gaming elite. Recently they’ve added a new word to the vocab — modding.

“It’s a strange universal term,” says Brandon Daiker, junior in English.

“I would define it as ‘a modification of some type.'”

One of the worst-kept secrets in the video game industry is the act of modding game consoles. Originally meant as a way to bypass regional lockouts among Japanese, North American and European regions, consoles today are much more customizable.

One of the most well-known systems for mod capabilities is the Microsoft Xbox.

Cosmetic mods to an Xbox include installing clear shell casings, while internal mods include placing bigger hard drives and mod chips.

With mod chips, users can play copied games, and with bigger hard drives, actually copy games.

Emulators, programs that play games of older systems, is also a popular application resulting from mods.

Chris Kohlhaas, junior in mathematics, says he is interested in acquiring a modded Xbox, but is unclear about the benefits.

“It would be nice to play emulators and watch DivX and other media files,” Kohlhaas says. “But I can do all that on a computer. I mean, I definitely wouldn’t mind owning a modded Xbox, but I can’t see myself paying that much for one either.”

He says the biggest benefit would be being able to play copied games.

“But going to all the trouble of finding a rip of a game makes me think renting might be easier,” Kohlhaas says.

Although modding may seem harmless, the three console companies — Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony — say they are strictly against modding.

All three state a console’s warranty is voided once its modded, and Microsoft has been particularly vigilant in its anti-mod policy.

Xbox Live, the online gaming service of Microsoft, actually checks individual Xbox systems to detect any sort of modification.

If a mod is detected, that particular system is banned from Xbox Live.

Daiker says the biggest reason he modded his consoles is not because of the intent to pirate games, but nostalgia.

“I own two modded systems,” Daiker says.

“I have a Sega Saturn that plays back-ups and a Sony Playstation that can play back-ups and imports.”

“Back when these systems were new, I didn’t have the money to buy the games. After I came to college, I wanted to go back and play what I missed.”

The difficult part was tracking down the games, Daiker says.

“Most stores didn’t carry the older games anymore,” Daiker says.

“There was eBay, but the rarer Saturn games would cost as much as $200. By modding my systems, I would have a way to play the games without having to pay a crazy price.”

Daiker says although piracy is common with modding, it’s also a viable way of trying out games impossible to acquire.

“Personally, I don’t feel it’s an issue of piracy,” Daiker says. “First of all, both my modded systems are discontinued; there’s really no more money companies can make with them. Second, I don’t think it’ll help game companies if I buy a $200 game from some guy on eBay.”

With the increasing capability and technology of game consoles, Daiker says modding is getting increasingly difficult.

“If you’re going to mod a system, you better have good soldering skills or a friend in electrical engineering,” Daiker says.

“Personally, I know nothing about soldering. Still, I managed to mod my Saturn and Playstation by myself.”

Unfortunately, Daiker was unable to transfer his success with his Sony Playstation 2.

“I was nervous from the beginning,” Daiker says. “With the PS2 and the Xbox, there are lots of complicated soldering. Still, I figured the enjoyment I would get from a modded PS2 would be worth the risk.”

During the soldering process, Daiker says the PS2 suffered from a de-soldered board and a snapped ribbon to the controller ports.

“In hindsight, it wasn’t the most intelligent thing to do,” Daiker says.

“The PS2 was junked; the system actually loaded, but there was no sound and no control.”

One of the systems Daiker says he is interested in modding is an Xbox.

“Sometime in the future, I’ll probably get an Xbox … and another PS2,” Daiker says. “I heard the Xbox is supposed to be great with emulation.”