There are some people who modify their own consoles so they can play imported games. That's fine. There are others, however, who do so for reasons of piracy and commercial gain. Those people are not fine.
27 year-old Matthew Crippen, who is a student at California State University, sounds like he might (might!) be one of those not fine people. He was released on Monday night on bail facing charges relating to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; specifically, that he has modified "Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles". If he's found guilty, he could face up to ten years behind bars.
Since he was arrested after an investigation from the Electronic Software Association - serious stuff - the chances of him having modded the consoles just so he could play Super Dimensional Fortress Macross on the PS2 seem slim.
OC man charged with modifying video game consoles [AP]