PlayStation 2 Memory Card (8MB) Reviews

• Clearing the confusion

  
  By A2I8V0M1TBVICT on 2001-09-18
  First of all, let me give my credentials so people understand that I know what I'm talking about:
  -I know a lot about computers, and take great interest in technology.
  -I have been a Playstation owner since 1997, and bought a PS2 just this year.
  -I have played MANY Playstation games, as well as PS2 games.
  -I have used several peripherals on both the PS1 and PS1, including the 128k and 8MB memory cards.

  So, hopefully you believe me when I say that I know what I'm talking about.

  With all of that out of the way, I would like to clear up a LOT of confusion. I have read many reviews on here. Most of them completely contradict the review that came right before it. Unfortunately, it seems that many people are just making things up off the top of their head, without having any real first-hand experience.

  So, just what is the PS2 memory card capable of, and what is it compatable with? That's what I'm here to tell you.

  First of all, the PS2 card has an 8MB capacity. It reportedly transfers data 200 times faster than the original PS memory card. Well, I haven't actually used a stopwatch, but it's true that the PS2 card saves and loads much faster.

  Does the PS2 card work for PS1 games? Absolutely not. I've tried this with several PS1 games, testing them in both my PS1 console and PS2 console. Not a single PS1 game was able to tell that a memory card was even inserted in the slot. So, please disregard anyone who tells you otherwise.

  Does the PS1 card work for PS2 games? Again, a big fat NO. Think about it. Forget about weather or not PS2 games is able to to use the card. The important issue is the size of the files versus the size of the card. Most of the files on my PS2 card range from 300 to 600k, which is 3-6 times the capacity of the card. Just forget about it.

  One point of clarification I would like to make: the PS2 DOES recognise PS1 cards, but only if you are playing a PS1 game.

  That should pretty much clear up any misconception.

  As for my opinion of the PS2 card, I'll give it to you short and sweet: It's an essential part of the Playstation. As I said, it is very fast with its saves and loads.

  My one problem with this peripheral is the price. I payed an easy $30 for one of these things in a discount store. COME ON! It's only 8 Megs! I know that Sony has to manufacture these things specially, but think about this: memory has gotten remarkably cheaper.
  If you were to try to sell 8 Megs of RAM, you'd be lucky to get a dollar for it.
  An 8 Meg hard drive? Forget about it. 50 cents, tops.
  7 floppy disks give about 8 megs, and 7 floppies cost around 4 dollars.

  See what I'm getting at? I'm sure that there is a way to make these things cost much less than they do.

  But, like I said, it's an essential part of the Playstation.
  
  

• Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes!

  
  By A34485FTG5P03F on 2000-10-28
  The other reviews here are confusing so let me set it straight. You can use your PS1 memory cards in the PS2. You can only use the PS1 memory cards to save PS1 games that you are playing in your PS2. You can't save any PS2 game data to a PS1 memory card.

  Now, on to the card itself. It's quick loading/saving and Sony isn't going to [take advantage of] you like Sega does with their VMU's. Saying that it holds 200 blocks of memory then you get NFL2k1 and to save a game takes up 190 blocks. Well, looks like you won't be saving anything else on that card. Not the case with the PS2 Cards. Madden 2001 only takes up around 300k of save space. Of course future games could take up more, but I don't think we'll ever see a season save in Madden taking up 7 megabytes. :)
  
  

• PS1 games use PS1 memory card, PS2 games use PS2 memory card

  
  By on 2000-10-30
  It's really quite simple.

  If you want to save a PS2 game, you need this PS2 memory card -- PS1 memory cards won't work. If you are playing a PS1 game on your PS2, you must also have a PS1 memory card; PS1 games can't be saved to a PS2 memory card.
  
  

• Small, but a lot of power!

  
  By A3LHCI48V99ZSQ on 2000-11-29
  This memory card should not be called an accessory because it is an essential. It will cost you a few extra dollars, but it will allow you to enjoy your games more fully since this device will enable you to go more into depth and get as much as you can out of each game. You do not have to restrict yourself to just 1 memory card per game since it hold 8 megs of memory (this is a whole lot of memory). The only games that will take a good chunk of that memory are sports games if you run a simulated season (they generally will take up around 1 to 1 1/2 megs of your memory). Besides that, if you are not into sports you could save files from a small library of PS2 games onto one card! Another great aspect is that the card is efficient. It is very fast, meaning that you will not have to wait long at all in order to load your saved files, save new files, and delete ones that you think you will no longer need. This is a must have if you have a PS2 because without it, you're missing out on a true gaming experience.
  
  

• You CAN'T save PS2 games on a PS1 memory card

  
  By AUWKF7Y3GRZMZ on 2000-10-17
  Okay. I don't know where some of these people are getting information, but the PS2 is NOT coming bundled with a memory card, and you will only be able to use your original memory card to save PSX games. In order to save PS2 games, you have to have the new 8MB memory card.
  
  
• straight and simple
  By A28M5RYOO8Y1YX on 2000-12-09
  If you want to save a PS2 game, you need this PS2 memory card -- PS1 memory cards won't work. If you are playing a PS1 game on your PS2, you must also have a PS1 memory card; PS1 games can't be saved to a PS2 memory card.
  
  
• Correction to Mr. Wizard down there....
  By on 2000-10-10
  Yes, you will be able to save games with your old memory card. The only thing though is that it wont save or load as fast as the newer one. Remember, all playstation equipment is compatible with the PS2. You don't really need the card at the launch if you do have an older card since I really don't think game saves will be using that much memory for saving as of yet. If ever there would be a game using alot of memory for saves, it would have to be Dead or Alive: Hardcore since you can save a battle it self. But hey, if you do have the money for it, by all means, buy it. It does save much faster than older memory cards.
  
  
• Don't go the cheaper route.... You'll be sorry later.
  By on 2000-12-11
  Don't buy the cheaper third party memory cards for the PS2 if you plan to go online in the future. SONY has a special chip containing encryption data that only exists in their cards called "Magic Gate". As far as I know this chip technology has not been licensed to anyone else, and I understand why. What Magic Gate does is basically protect your valuable information from being seen by others, such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, personal information, you name it. When SONY plans to go online, you WILL NEED to have memory cards that are Magic Gate encrypted to protect your personal info. If you do not plan on going the whole online route in the future, then you are fine... buy the cheaper memory cards. This message is only for those obsessed gamers out there that will be spending half their lives glued in front of their PS2 wheh the boradband modem hits the US. Even if you don't plan on going online in the future, I still suggest buying this card made by SONY. After all, it's the company that makes the PS2 machine hardware. It just makes sense to me.... Ya, it's a little bit more, but the assurance that my saved games will not get destroyed or corrupted is worth it. The Magic Gate chip is already missing from the other cheaper cards on the market, so what else is missing (to cut costs) that should have been in there? Who knows??? You get what you pay for. I say don't take the chance. The same goes for any PS2 controllers currently on the market. I haven't tried one that even nears the quality and sturdiness of the official SONY made PS2 Dual Shock Controller. BUY SONY!
  
  
• Add to the cost of a PS2
  By A1FLLVZQB8HI2Z on 2001-08-26
  Every game I've played requires a memory card to get the most out of it. One would think it should be included in the box. Since it isn't, you have to buy one of these. Its 8MB capacity is good--most games only require a couple hundred K, so I don't anticipate needing to buy another. My first card unfortunately died a week after I bought the system. After playing one game and loading another, it just stopped showing up... it was like it wasn't even plugged in. I replaced it and so far the replacement hasn't had any problems. It leaves me a little concerned about the card's reliability, though.
  
  
• A must buy and well worth the cost.
  By A1OULS186BXVGZ on 2001-05-24
  A very simple product. It's an 8 megabyte memory card for read/write capability for the Playstation 2 (PS2). This is an essential item for the PS2. When I initially got mine, I didn't buy one of these. A brain lapse, perhaps, but it was really annoying to have to throw away any progress I made in a game because I didn't have one of these.

  This is definitely more expensive than memory cards for other systems, but it is legitimately so. Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast cards have far less capacity to save game data than this. They describe them as "pages" rather than a standard measurment as MB (megabyte) is. But just to give you an example, NFL2K1 saved season take up 90% of ONE Dreamcast memory card. Madden on the PS2 takes up 300K out of the 8,192K available on this Sony memory card.

  When I originally ordered this, I bought 2 of them. I thought it would be just like the Dreamcast and N64 and that I'd need several. Not even close to filling the first card up so far with saved data (in some cases up to 8 separate saves in one game) from 8 different games.

  Aside from its performance, the card itself is small, light, and sturdy. There is even a place to put a label on.
  
  

• Best PS2 Memory Card Out There!
  By A2PINTT4BFN5TG on 2002-02-25
  I recently purchased a PS2 sometime in January. I also purchased InterAct's 16MB memory card. The card didn't work with any games I own, even after I used the Memory Manager disc. I returned the card and purchased the Sony brand 8MB memory card. I am totally satisfied with this memory card. It is fast, reliable, and the PS2 works great with it. I don't know why I bought a third party brand card. Nyko also makes an 8MB memory card that I have heard works very well with the PS2, but buy the Sony one and rest assured that you won't have to go through any trouble with it. This product is GREAT!
  
  
• It's fast, it has lots of space and it's really cool.
  By A3UO57RSDJ4B14 on 2001-08-12
  The Official 8MB Memory card is the best card of choice for the PS2. Although early Japanese productions of the card had some defects, reliability is far better now. Although other companies have official MagicGate technology memory cards, they are still not as good as the original Sony model. The MagicGate technology is the same as the Memory Sticks sony makes, so that explains the high price.

  **Frankly, there's a reason you can't save PSOne games on this card: the file format is different. It's like the difference between a CD-Rom and a DVD-Rom. The file structure is too different for PSOne games to save onto. It just doesn't work
  
  

• A MUST have one if you have a PS2
  By A2PL1SCQ38US2A on 2000-12-31
  If you plan on building your PS2 library, you MUST buy one of these to save games. These PS2 memory cards will only work with PS2 games, and you can't use the old memory cards to save PS2 games. In addition, it should be noted the premium price of this memory card (as opposed to other third party manufacturers or makers of PS2 memory cards) is well worth it. I found that I would run into problems (inconsistencies, lost files, etc.) when using memory cards made by others. Pay the extra and get the Sony.
  
  
• A must... period...
  By A1NOFP9JEXD5LJ on 2000-10-29
  This is not an optional piece of hardware. If you want to get anything done with a PS2 game, you have to have a PS2 memory card to save that game's data. Contrary to popular belief, PS2 games are not compatible with PSX memory cards. Bummer, eh? Of course, your old PSX cards work with your old PSX games, but it kind of screws up the whole idea of backwards compatibility, no? Anywho, this is a very good memory card nonetheless, with blasting load speeds and a whole lot of space. Its definitely a must buy for a PS2 gamer.
  
  
• The only memory card worth owning for your PS2
  By AJKWF4W7QD4NS on 2003-03-18
  Let's face it, when you first get a Playstation 2 and a few games, your going to need a memory card no matter what, and Sony's 8 MB card is the best one money can buy for the system. It has fast loading time when your saving your games, you don't need any kind of disc to boot it with (some other cards require one and they are a pain), and it is undoubtadly the best card on the market for a current supported system. True, you can't save your old PS1 games onto it (though you can still use your old PS1 cards on your PS2 for PS1 games), and it is the most expensive card for the system, but then again, it is the best money can buy. Do yourself a favor, no matter how cheap third party PS2 Memory Cards might be, don't give in, they don't work half the time, and Sony's is the most trouble free card on the market and is an essential buy if you own a PS2.
  
  
• It's just a memory card
  By on 2001-02-17
  But it's good at being a memory card. Heck, they're probably all named Bob or something as well. Note that this only works for saving PS2 games--no putting all your PS mem saves onto this one--but it has a fast load time and holds a lot of memory. You could probably chew up 8 megs pretty fast, though, as most games that I've seen take at least 100kb per save, and multiple saves of the same game will start to make a dent, even though it should still last for a while. You'll have to get one of these, as the North American PS2's do not come with a mem card. And stay away from those third-party cards that lose all your data.
  
  
• Neccesary but it cost more than you'd like it to.
  By A29BQ6B90Y1R5F on 2004-01-04
  When I say this is expensive I'm referring to the list price, not Amazon's price (some places even sell it for 40 bucks). Now that I've cleared that up let's talk about why this is not only essential for your PS2 but why it's so much better than the one we got on the PSOne.

  First, this memory card has 8,000KB of space! I don't know about you but that single memory card has lasted me longer than any PSOne memory card (which I had to buy four of because that was only 15 blocks!). The second best part is that some games can save more than one file without taking up any extra space! Some games create a file soley for the game on the memory card and I can save 15 different files no problem! So you won't have to purchase a second memory card anytime soon.

  Sports games (and Socom 2) can use quite a bit of space though. Some sports games can use up 1/4 of the memory card, so watch for that. Still, you'll only use that amount once. Socom 2...that's a different story. That takes up more than 3,000KB (just thought I'd warn ya).

  The problems. Well of course, there's the list price. I only need to pay $25 for my controller so why would I want to pay nearly $40 for the memory card? Again, I'm referring to the list price NOT Amazon's price. I think the price at Amazon is quite fair.

  The second problem is that you can't save PSOne data onto these cards. A PSOne game won't even read them! Yet you can still copy data from a PSOne memory card to this (NOT a good idea though because you can screw up your PS2 Memory Card).

  If you want to enjoy your PS2 you'll HAVE to buy this otherwise forget saving and all that stuff. It's a good investment at least.

  The Good
  +8,000KB of space and I'm still on my first one!
  +Games don't take up that much space

  The Bad
  -Doesn't save PSOne games
  -The List Price is kind of high
  
  

• Its just a Mamory Card
  By on 2000-11-05
  Some people reviewed this is a little below normal memory card. why? its just a memory card. If it saves your games and you have no trouble retrieving them from it I don't see why it is so bad. personally think it is the best memory card i have ever owned.so if you are looking at the reveiws to see if it is a good buy, buy it because on all playstation 2 games you need it to save your games.
  
  
• Great Piece of Hardware
  By A3VU8VZ0JVHOOC on 2001-11-23
  I bought a 16MB memory card thinking that there was little hassle to it and that I could use it with any game that I wanted. When I played Grand Theft Auto 3, I was proven wrong. I immediate made it my personal mission to pick up a 8MB Memory Card and I did not regret it. despite some disbelief it does hold a great deal of game saves and is quite easy to use in transfering data between cards and saving from PS2 games quite quickly. The Memory Card is a buy that is really worth it and I would rather buy this than a third party Memory Card that may crap out on me. SO I decided that this would be my best option and I still do think it is a great piece of hardware I bought.
  
  
• ps2 memory card
  By AXHJI3D1AHRO5 on 2000-10-14
  The new memory card is very good.It has 8 mb [mega bytes] but the old one old one had 1mb.If you are going to buy ps2 you dont have to buy a new 8mb memory card because it comes with it.
  
  
• The accesorie you NEED
  By A9NZBGLBV1IOZ on 2000-09-12
  This is an item you actualy need for the ps2. whithout it you cant't save which isn't much fun. Now I know it's a lot more expensive than past psx[playstation] memory cards but it is a whole bunch larger. 8mb of totally heart throbbing space for your saved games. Getting ps2,get this memory card!
  
  
• straight and simple
  By on 2000-11-23
  ok. you need a memory card to save your games. you can only save playstation 2 games to a playstation 2 memory card, you can only save playstation 1 games to a playstation 1 memory card. so if want to save your games this is a super important buy.
  
  
• Sony Memory Card is the best!
  By on 2002-03-21
  This card is the greatest... This card is certified to give you the most updated and quickest way to save and load your games. I heard the MadCatz and Nyko's 8MB memory card are also great, but not as great as Sony's. Some of my friends have them, but it's not quite as good as Sony's. If you buy a Sony 8MB memory card, you have a less of a chance of getting your files lost or corrupted. Plus, if the memory card doesn't work when you just bought it, you can call Sony's customer's service phone line and they'll get you a new one. The other third parties don't have that option. It works great, if Sony just came out with a 16MB memory card, then it will be better than the Sony 8MB memory card.
  
  
• A memory card, yes...but it gives you what you need!
  By A1AR8HYZ17T5H7 on 2002-05-04
  With the PS2's improvements in graphics, control, and, most importantly, gameplay, it makes sense that Sony would upgrade its console's memory storage to make the gaming experience even better. While the end result is a memory card and not a hard drive, the PS2's memory card is a vast improvement over the PSX's in many aspects.

  Because the PS2's games require more space to save than a few bytes, the PS2 memory card has 8MB of storage, which is FAR more than the PSX's. But one of the biggest improvements has to be that there are no more "blocks." With PSX memory cards, there was a predetermined number of blocks that games were saved in. One game was saved in one block, no matter how small the file was, and this wasted a lot of storage space. With the PS2 memory card, gamers can use ALL of the memory storage space; they can save as many games as they want until the memory card is full. Plus, the PS2 memory card loads data faster than the original PSX card, and if you want to play your saved game on another PS2, all you need is your memory card and the game disc, nothing else.

  Of course, there is one drawback to the memory card: it's space limitations. While 8MB is quite large, it's still a set amount of space, and hardcore gamers can eat up this space very quickly, which forces them to buy more memory cards. It would've been nice if the amount of space were bigger or if the cards were cheaper.

  But still, the PS2 memory card is a solid purchase, mainly because it's required to save games on the PS2. While it is a memory card, it does its job better than any other card on the market; other cards, like the infamously bad CD-loading 16MB card and third-party cards, are either a hassle to use or can easily get corrupted and lose data. The 8MB memory card made by Sony Computer Entertainment is the best there is.
  
  

• I Have Seventeen Different Files; OK, Seven Megs Left...
  By A3CFNVFTZHONG9 on 2001-12-05
  I honestly don't understand what people are complaining about...maybe I just have the perfect assortment of games to not take up any space, but I truly have over fifteen different game files, and I still have a TON of space left; I estimate about sixty games or so more! SIXTY MORE!! That is unless all of a sudden games like Final Fantasy X, Silent Hill 2 and Dynasty Warriors 3 take up most of a megabyte each file; if all stays the same and well, then I still have a large library to gather up before I need to buy another one.
  I usually right long reviews, but with a memory card just prevents it. Oh well. Trust me, this thing holds A LOT!! Not just 8,000,000 bytes of info, but dozens of complete files. You could quite possibly be a serious gamer, and still only need one! I am, and I do!!
  
  
• When in Rome, Save Constantly!
  By A96JD9312DHWC on 2002-09-09
  When I first purchased the PS2, I was thrown aback by the price of the memory card itself. In comparison, it was roughly 2.5 times more expensive than the original, a sum that I wasn't too thrilled about. Still, I knew I would have to pay if I wanted to save because not saving, as we all know, is a wonderful way to invoke self-wrought hostility. So, I bought it, took it home, and quickly learned that the memory card itself, besides being of great quality, held oceans of information that were, before, only possible with a handful of memory cards.

  Yes, in saving/game terms, 8MB will hold just about anything you want and provides that little push toward the top that you need to virtually succeed. I've now gotten into the habit of keeping multiple files to thwart the unexpected deletion of something I've been working on for sleepless days, something I rarely accomplished with the old 1MB cards. Also, it does away with the need to keep cards that like disappear when cornered down to a minimal number. To me, that's a plus because I hate trying to locate something in the "heat of the moment." Besides that, you don't have to worry about forgetting to pick up a card and then suddenly not being able to save at that crucial moment when you need it.

  Also, to note, when I say these things are high quality, I mean that they are (or at least one of mine is) indeed tough. I had an unfortunate incident where a chair was sat on top of my memory card and, strangely enough, it walked away needing on psychiatric help. Perhaps this isn't the best test to perform and wouldn't work all the time, mind you, but it does give and example of just how much punishment they can take.

  So, buy it because you need it, and because you know better than to buy generic. Unlike other mediums, the "memory card money conservation method" will bite you in many and many a bad way. You really do get what you pay for.
  
  

• Great memory card, highly overpriced
  By AYRBYPTQ56Z2K on 2005-11-25
  This memory card holds enough game files for any gamer to use but it is way overpriced. I didn't have to worry about this because mine came with my PS2. It can hold about 40 files, thats about 1 file for each game. If you have over 40 games, like me, you should consider getting the value pack that comes with 2 memory cards. If you buy two of the black ones, it will be very expensive and you will get the two memory cards confused. The value pack is a pretty good deal and you get a red and a blue memory card so its less confusng.
  
  
• A MUST HAVE
  By on 2000-10-29
  This is a must have, especially the Sony brand memory card. In the past for PS1, I had an Interact "Mega" Memory Card but in the middle of my seasons for sports games and saves for other games it screwed up, multiple times. Sony's memory card doesn't and is a definite have.
  
  
• A must for PS2 owners
  By A1DVJNARV44K8X on 2001-12-16
  If you've ever had a non-Sony card die on you in the final act of "Final Fantasy" like it did to me, you will buy a Sony card the next day. Expensive and reliable. You get what you pay for with PS memory. Spend the extra dough and have some peace of mind.
  
  
• Don't buy an imitator
  By on 2002-11-17
  Don't get an imitator, get the real deal, get the official Sony Computer Entertainment 8MB memory Card. Great deal I have it I have 5 games saved on it and I still have 7MB left. It is one of those things that are nearly impossible to fill up; I don't know a single person who has filled up one of these cards. It is a great buy and a must have if you have any games at all for the PlayStation2. It is not compatible with the original PlayStation. Over all it is a great buy and if you are thinking of getting it buy it.
  
  

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