Platinum Chip

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

Background
The chip was printed for Robert House at great expense in Sunnyvale on October 22, 2077, a day before the Great War, but it became lost in the nuclear holocaust. Mr. House spent thousands of caps (according to Yes Man, over 890,000 caps in 2280 alone) to find it and once it was located, he had it sent to New Vegas via the Mojave Express. Carried by the Courier, it was intercepted by Benny, who intended to use it to gain control of the New Vegas Strip and install the Chairmen as the ruling family with the help of Yes Man.

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, most notably drivers for an auto-repair system and grenade & missile launcher weapons that all Securitrons are equipped with but unable to use.

Besides being a Casino and the HQ of Mr. House, the Lucky 38 is also armed with an automated defense system. During the Great War, these weapons prevented most of the Nuclear Warheads (70 of 77) from destroying Las Vegas. This explains why the New Vegas area (specifically The Strip) is more preserved and notably less radioactive than the rest of the Mojave Wasteland. Mr. House claims that the chip also contains upgraded software for the Lucky 38's defensive systems, and that the loss of the chip forced him to rely on an older, buggy version to control those systems during the attack, going so far as to boast that with the Chip he could have stopped every single one of the incoming missiles.

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 of the developers for the 10/19/2281.
 * The chip being made in Sunnyvale, CA is an homage to the movie War Games.

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. You should arrive with two Platinum chips.
 * If you kill Benny and obtain the Platinum chip and then proceeded to talk to Caesar the chip will be taken from your 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. You will receive another Platinum Chip.
 * It is possible to end up losing the platinum chip, thus preventing you from finishing the game's main story line. This will occur if you enter Caesar's legion as an enemy and then slaughter 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 you cannot loot it from his corpse. Paradoxically, even though the chip will not appear in your inventory, you 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 you to return to Caesar's fort and open the secret bunker. For PC, you can just use console commands to get the Platinum Chip to appear in your inventory.