Ultimately, I was successfully able to achieve my goal by exploiting the console's DVD player functionality. Is it possible to just burn our own homebrew games and launch them on an unmodified console the same way we would launch official discs (without going through any user interaction like disc swapping or triggering a network exploit in a game)? This leaves an interesting question which I've wanted to solve since I was a child:
But unlike say the Nintendo 64, where we don't really have any other choice but to resort to (shogihax.html), the PlayStation 2 has one key difference: its primary input is optical media (CD / DVD discs), a format which anyone can easily burn with readily available consumer hardware. The PlayStation 2 has other sources of untrusted input that we could attack games which support online multiplayer or USB storage could almost definitely be exploited. I decided to write-off that exploit as being impractical, and so the hunt continued for a better attack scenario for the PlayStation 2. Although I was successful at producing the first software based entry-point exploit that can be triggered using only hardware that came with the console, the attack was largely criticized due to the requirement of having to enter the payload manually through the controller or keyboard, and limitation of being PAL only. My initial attempt to solve this problem was to (ps2-yabasic.html) that came bundeld with early PAL region PS2s. For the best selling console of all time, it deserves better hacks.
You need to either purchase a memory card with an exploit pre-installed (or a memory card to USB adapter), a HDD expansion bay (not available to slim consoles), open up the console to block the disc tray sensors, or install a modchip. I've (ps2-yabasic.html) how the PlayStation 2 doesn't have any good entry-point software exploits for launching homebrew. FreeDVDBoot - Hacking the PlayStation 2 through its DVD player