Platinum Chip

The platinum chip is a quest item in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background
The platinum chip was designed by Robert House and was printed at great expense in Sunnyvale on October 22, 2077, a day before the Great War, but it became lost in the following nuclear holocaust. After regaining consciousness from his coma after saving Las Vegas from full nuclear destruction, Mr. House spent millions of caps (812,545 in 2280 alone) to find it. Around late 2281, the platinum chip was finally located by one of these scavenger teams. Cautious about its arrival, Mr. House first had paths screened avenues and routes and then had it sent to New Vegas via the Mojave Express along with five other dummy packages of various novelty items so as not to convey its importance to anyone like raiders or the Brotherhood of Steel.

Carried by the Courier from southern NCR, through the Hub, to New Vegas, the chip was intercepted by Benny around Goodsprings after attaining the exact route through Yes Man. House's protégé intended to use it to gain control of the New Vegas Strip and make it an independent power in the wasteland, free of his employer's machinations. The only locations on Earth that have the computer hardware necessary to read the chip are inside the Lucky 38 casino and a weather monitoring station on Fortification Hill.

Characteristics
The chip is a sophisticated, high-density data storage device. In addition to opening otherwise locked facilities controlled by the Lucky 38 casino's computers, the chip contains the Mark II operating system for securitron robots. The Mark II operating system has numerous features that the Mark I system lacks, such as drivers for an auto-repair system as well as the correct drivers for the grenade and missile launcher weapons that all Securitrons are equipped with but unable to use.

Though a proprietary format, the platinum chip also contains software upgrades for the Lucky 38's systems. Besides being a casino and the headquarters for Mr. House's endeavors, the Lucky 38 is also armed with a missile defense grid. During the Great War, these weapons were used to prevent most of the nuclear warheads from destroying Las Vegas and the surrounding area, and, if the platinum chip had reached House in time, would have prevented all of the warheads from hitting the Vegas area. Despite its name, it is not made of platinum, rather it refers to the data itself.

Location
The platinum chip can be obtained by killing Benny. It is also possible to obtain the chip by either working with or killing Caesar.

Behind the scenes

 * A replica platinum chip is included in every copy of the Collector's Edition of Fallout: New Vegas. The Collector's Edition chip has Morse code numbers on each of its sides. The 200 side reads "112281," while the Lucky 38 side reads "232077." Also on the 200 side, there is a symbol of a roulette ball in a 7 slot, while the Lucky 38 side shows a roulette ball in a 10 slot. When presented in MM/DD/YYYY format, the date ascertained from the Lucky 38 side is, in fact, 10/23/2077, the day of the Great War, and the day the chip was to be delivered to Mr. House. The significance of the date obtained from the 200 side, 07/11/2281, was the date the events of Fallout: New Vegas began before the change for 10/19/2281.
 * The chip being made in Sunnyvale, CA is an homage to the movie WarGames.
 * The platinum chip was originally planned to trade hands much more frequently in the second half of the game. This was changed early on in development when Joshua Sawyer asked John Gonzalez to focus more on the interactions of factions and their motivations. Remnants of this original design can still be found in the GECK with the most prominent being the unfinished script.

Bugs

 * It's possible to obtain 2 platinum chips. First, obtain the first one from Benny. Then visit Caesar. Then exit the premises of The Fort and become vilified by Caesar's Legion (or any reputation that makes them hostile). Then pay another visit to Caesar and kill him. The second platinum chip can now be looted from his corpse.
 * Alternatively, allow Benny's capture by the Legion, and complete the quest of choice in Mr. House's bunker. Afterward, pickpocket the chip from Caesar and then leave the camp, returning to Cottonwood Cove. One should arrive with two platinum chips.
 * Another way to obtain 2 platinum chips is to go to the Fort without encountering Benny at the Tops. Speak with Caesar, he will give the player a Platinum Chip so one can destroy (or not) Mr. House's bunker. Then, go to The Tops and visit Benny at his suite (Average Lock on the door), one can loot a platinum chip from his body after the player character murders him.
 * If the player kills Benny and obtains the platinum chip and then proceeds to talk to Caesar the chip will be taken from one's inventory once entering The Fort. To obtain another chip return to The Tops and start the Yes Man quests. Go to the Lucky 38 and kill Mr. House. One will receive another platinum chip.
 * It is possible to end up losing the platinum chip, thus preventing one from finishing the game's main storyline. This will occur if the courier enters Caesar's legion as an enemy and then slaughters Caesar and his guards, and then choose to let Benny live. Since Caesar is already dead, the chip will not appear in his inventory, and if Benny escapes, he will disappear from the game and one cannot loot it from his corpse. Paradoxically, even though the chip will not appear in one's inventory, the player can return to Mr. House and he will act as though you have and have handed over the chip, even upgrading his Securitrons and inviting one to return to Caesar's fort and open the secret bunker. For PC, one can just use console commands to get the platinum chip to appear in your inventory.