Modchips and piracy are the only way to play some games that never make it to Europe. There's a huge amount of frustration among european gamers because most of the games only get a JP and US launch but never an EU launch. When we actually do get a release, it's usually almost a year or nearly two years after the initial release. Importing isn't an option for many gamers because of the possible incompatibilities between the PAL and NTSC signal (a distorted as flock black & white image at worst), and importers are usually forced to buy a US console if they don't mod their existing PAL system. Also, ordering a mod-chip online is a problem for some. No, I don't advocate piracy either, but I can understand the frustration.