PS3 needs adapter for PS2 memory cards?

Give the PlayStation 3 your PlayStation or PlayStation 2 games, your original gray PSX controller, or the first dual shock from back in the late '90s. But keep memory card to your damn self. Well, not really, but it does look like Sony will require an adapter on the PlayStation 3 to be able to read memory cards from previous PlayStation consoles, as specified by their site. Not, not really a big deal at all unless they act all, um, Sony on us and don't bundle the adapter with the console. But we'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt though, as we wouldn't want to unduly accuse them of preparing to gouge consumers on a yet-to-be-released console, right? Right, Sony? Ok, good, glad we've come to an understanding with one another.

[Via Joystiq]

[KawF @ Aug 6th 2006 6:20AM]

1) This has been known since E3 this year.
2) Yes, now I'll go play my Xbox 360 and stick in my Halo disc and play my old savegames. Luckily I got an adapter with my.... wait... no I didn't!

[Special_K @ Aug 6th 2006 6:26AM]

Umm... wow! First they stick an entire PS2 inside the damn thing because it can't emulate it; then they make you buy an adapter (yeah, they'll act all "Sony" on you, don't you worry!) to use your memory cards. Next they'll make it as big as the one in your (hilarious) picture, and not bundle a controller. It will eventually be so large, and so expensive, that only the five richest kings of Europe will be able to afford it (glavin!)

[Archijs @ Aug 6th 2006 6:28AM]

maybe they will use memory sticks(duo)?

[Andrew @ Aug 6th 2006 7:16AM]

The PS3 will be able to use memory sticks, just not for PS2 saves. Is it just me or is the PS3 getting all of the bad press latley?

[Tiago @ Aug 6th 2006 7:18AM]

There wouldn't be a problem if the ps2 allowed saves to usb pen drives -__-

[TC @ Aug 6th 2006 7:50AM]

Just to let you know, the adapter lets you copy your PS1 and PS2 save files to either the HDD or a USB storage device, so even if it does cost extra you can just buy one and share it around your mates.
More interestingly, there may also be a USB adapter for old game controllers coming out (To solve b/w compatability issues with games that require vibration) I wonder if you can control PS3 games with an old DualShock? I hope so, as the PS2 controller is my favourite at the moment - though it desperately needs the analog sticks improved (xbox360 and GameCube have great analog controls/xbox360 my 2nd favourite controller but D-pad is awful)

[Fabjabba @ Aug 6th 2006 7:52AM]

if it only needs to be uploaded to the HDD once, and all new PS2 games played can used the HDD for saves I'll likely borrow the USB reader from a friend to upload once.

Other then that glad to hear you can use the HDD for saves on the PS3.

[Darien @ Aug 6th 2006 8:26AM]

Gouge customers huh? Well let me go transfer my Xbox saves over to my 360...oh wait...

[theweaze @ Aug 6th 2006 8:28AM]

yeah you bet they will charge. just like how i got conned when buying the slim fit ps2 which does not work with normal ps2 multitaps.

sony are all for banging on about integration of digital media ladeda but when theyre own products dont fit together they keep it rather quiet.

[ben @ Aug 6th 2006 8:37AM]

hmm Darien and Kawf, barely anybody owns an xbox memory card because everyone just used the built in hard drive to save games, so you expect microsoft to spend money bundeling an adaptor when barely anyone will make use of it ?? whereas the ps2 needed a memory card for saved games (except the few that bought a hard drive). u can giv your xbox 360 your old xbox saves from the xbox hard drive using a pc i think nd a bit of know how or a helpful website.

[Alan Erickson @ Aug 6th 2006 8:46AM]

Slightly off topic, but shouldn't Sony be headed into manufacturing about now?

[Vpn @ Aug 6th 2006 8:53AM]

First of all, I just want to say that the Xbox fans on this and other websites and forums are getting out of control. Nobody wants to hear about your freaking Xbox. Don't you realize that every time I read another post by a fanatical user about how some console is worse than the xbox, I become that much LESS likely to buy the xbox ? It makes me think that XBOX is some sort of sick cult. Also, you are ruining the ratings for everybody else by dragging down the rating system needlessly. It seems like the better a product by another company is, the more you want to bring it down.

[LuckyT @ Aug 6th 2006 8:58AM]

Gotta love how this is being spun by some quarters of the online 'media' - "PS3 to require adaptor for PS2 memory saves! How dare it!". But then, they so often forget to note that to have the option at all is GOOD NEWS, since there's no such option on the Xbox 360, and with PS2, you needed to keep your old PSone memory cards. Now you can just dump your data onto your PS3 hard disk and forget about memory cards for your old games entirely. I certainly would not expect Sony to bundle the adaptor with the PS3 - again, that they're offering an option to transfer your old game saves at all is better than what others are doing (i.e. Microsoft) and what they did themselves in the past.

[Karen Manokian @ Aug 6th 2006 9:04AM]

Sorry, but is it only I who think the PS3 is F-*KING HUUGE!? It resembles our old Philips VCR videoplayer from the 80'ies :) Guess there must be some serious power under there just hope we won't be have to flip discs during gameplay.. ;)

[mcloki @ Aug 6th 2006 9:08AM]

Get over the price thing guys. Sony is just getting theirs since they know even with the high price the first million ps3's are going to hit Ebay at over a grand. Hell maybe they should just EBay the first million PS3's themselves. People paid PS3 prices for an 360. Just wonder how much the HDDVD accessory is going to be? I also wonder how long before 360 owners have to buy the XBox360 Blueray Accessory. As far as paying for an adapter to play old games. Surprise things cost money. Get over it.

[Karl Viklund @ Aug 6th 2006 9:15AM]

Is the PS3 HUUUUUUUUUGE or is it something wrong with that picture?

[Kenny @ Aug 6th 2006 9:28AM]

The picture is photoshopped ~_~.

[KawF @ Aug 6th 2006 10:12AM]

Ben, if you could find a way to do that in just a few easy steps and for free, I'd be gratefull, thanks!

I'll look forward to the link for more info!

[Darien @ Aug 6th 2006 10:18AM]

"u can giv your xbox 360 your old xbox saves from the xbox hard drive using a pc i think nd a bit of know how or a helpful website."

Hey Ben want to point me to that website? Or post your "know how" on how to do it?

[Nick @ Aug 6th 2006 10:54AM]

The ps3 wil be able to create virtual memory cards on the hdd, the adaptor, well u go buy it from target, upload all your saves from your other memorycards and then return it! that freaking simple!

[Justin Gehring @ Aug 6th 2006 11:10AM]

How did we go 20 posts without someone saying "Just one more reason to buy a Wii"

[Richard Lai @ Aug 6th 2006 11:39AM]

That PS3 is gonna be as tall as a two year old kid! And look at that Japanese guy - he's so proud of his big toy. I have a feeling that the Wii will be much more successful than this giant. Go Nintendo!

[Piddy @ Aug 6th 2006 12:01PM]

All my PS2 saves are backed on my PC's HD already (via SharkPort), I'd just have to transfer them over on a flash card :) I guess Sony could set something up to transfer your saves (PS2 to PS3) via Internet too.

[Kyle @ Aug 6th 2006 12:09PM]

I heard that the PS3 is going to use some new format that Sony invented that can ONLY be used on the PS3 and no other product in the world. I believe it's called a Blu-UMD-MicroMV-Duo. They'll cost about $80 bucks a pop and hold one game save per unit (assuming the game save is under 100kb).

::ahem::

Just one more reason to buy a Wii!

[AndrewNeo @ Aug 6th 2006 12:23PM]

Darien: You want a program called XboxHDM (from http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=244043)

[n2 @ Aug 6th 2006 1:46PM]

Guess this means the PS3 is not 100% backwards compatible with the PS2, even though Sony stated otherwise.

[chr0n1c @ Aug 6th 2006 2:03PM]

the ps3 better do my dishes and mow my grass and give better head than my gf if i am going to spend that much money on it... haha

[Robotron @ Aug 6th 2006 2:28PM]

Ben said "so you expect microsoft to spend money bundeling an adaptor when barely anyone will make use of it ?"

Well Ben they could have released a memory card with two different sides (one for the original Xbox and one for the 360 and sold it for the people that wanted it (like myself and my friends) or offered an online space on live to upload and then pull down the saves for your 360.....but they didn't.
I think we all see clearly the MS attitude on backward compatibility (like Mr. Moores comments...sure they were just misunderstood)

AndrewNeo have you looked at that link you posted? That's insane. I don't think most consumers want to do that and the 360 isn't even mentioned there. How do you get the saves over?


Bottom line: I own an original Xbox and a 360 and I am unhappy with how MS handle this whole thing.
I doubt that I am even going near the PS3. So far Sony has turned me away, but this adapter is a great idea and one of the smartest moves I've seen from them lately (which isn't saying much).
Do you think that we still need that ugly ps1/ps2 style slot on the PS3. It's time to move on....at least you'll get to keep your savegames (and be able to play your old games) while us 360 owners will be enjoying Barbie Horse Adventures.

[Bipedal @ Aug 6th 2006 2:52PM]

I'd just like to point out meekly that the Wii will have backwards compatability completely with gamecube . . . Except maybe it's modem and that gameboy player thing, but nobody got those anyway >_

[SwiftBlue @ Aug 6th 2006 3:05PM]

....Okay, for one, it hasn't been confirmed that you could EVER dump your old saves on to the hard drive. I think the adapter idea is stupid, but, if they can't fit it internally, what can you do?

Also, transfering saves from Xbox to the 360 is easy as hell....if you want to risk BOTH hard drives. All you basicly do is plug them into your computer, and move files. There are many programs nowadays that allow you to not only mount the xbox hard drive in a computer, but manipulate the files. No extra hardware required. Not even a modchip.

[Matt @ Aug 6th 2006 3:35PM]

Microsoft could've and should've had a way to network the Xbox to the Xbox 360 and copy the saves. That wouldn't have been too hard. In fact, couldn't Sony do the same thing? I'm not familliar with the PS3's online component.

[Robotron @ Aug 6th 2006 3:59PM]

Yeah they could Matt, but not everyone has a network adapter for the PS2.
In my circle of friends I'm the only one with a networked PS2.

Also good point Bipedal. I do plan to get the Wii (and yes I'm a sucker. I bought the network adapter and that "gameboy player thing"...it was fun for awhile).

[Guruboy @ Aug 6th 2006 4:45PM]

That picture is photoshopped, and that guy is wicked short in the first place. Look at the size of the Blu-Ray disc drive, it's the size of the guy's head! People can have small heads, but not THAT small. Comparison for size of all consoles out is here:
http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/05/31/console-size-comparison-xbox-360-playstation-3-wii-and-more.htm

They put a PS2 chipset (which hardly takes up any space, check out the PS2 slim) so that they could be absolutely sure that it would be %100 backwards compatible. Much better to be safe (Sony) then sorry (Microsoft) in this sense.

Xbox 360s were incredibly expensive on eBay simply because there weren't enough to go around. If Sony puts out their target amount by launch, there should hardly be an eBay scramble like so many times before.

Is there even an adaptor for memory sticks for 360? I can't find one. At least the Playstation 3 will definitely have one, and most likely on release day, and included in the package if we're lucky.

Engadget management need to have a talk with whoever wrote this article, it's so completely biased it's not even remotely funny or informative of the whole story, the whole story being there's no easy save game transfer between Xbox and 360, and I can't find news for one with Wii and GC.

[Stu @ Aug 6th 2006 4:52PM]

Does anyone have an NWA walkman? Have you seen the what you got with it? Do a Sony? I think they are great for bundling what you need, ie protective cases, headphones, inline remotes etc for their minidisks. Sony stands for quality.

[Dave @ Aug 6th 2006 4:56PM]

The PS3 is powered by a Corvette LS1 motor,mouse in a wheel and a monkey drawing the graphics. That's why the case is so big. Has to pass emissions in California before release. :-)

[kyle @ Aug 6th 2006 5:00PM]

sony is not going to meet the target launch. the cell processor yields are still very low and blu-ray, dont even get me started on blu-ray. and the ps3 is going to be at least $500 more than the 360, even with the 360's hd-dvd add-on. i spent roughly $800 on 360 premium, 3 more controllers, live points, lots of games and a memory card. you might have to spend upwards of $1100-$1300 to get everything for the ps3. and have fun shelling out more money for a 1080p hdtv, that really isnt going to matter until they start making better hd-dvd and blu-ray players.

[Robotron @ Aug 6th 2006 5:12PM]

Guruboy here's that link you're looking for. The Wii has Gamecube memory card slots built in.
http://wii.nintendo.com/hardware.html

[Guruboy @ Aug 6th 2006 5:25PM]

I don't even feel like explaining the significance of the Cell processor's role in graphics processing, and the load that the PhysX chipset takes off the Cell in the first place.

Sony has begun production of their console already, they've supposedly met their kick-off 200,000 units for the end of July, and since we aren't getting any more biased articles from Engadget, they're probably well on their way to the target 2,000,000 units for launch, which is signifantly larger than the 360 launch number.

MS started Xbox 360 production 69 days before launch, and Sony started roughly over 100 days before. (Check out the link below for a source). That gives them a lot more time, and if you know anything about industry, the longer you have to produce something, the exponentially greater the number of units you can produce.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/commentary/column_gaming/index.htm?section=money_latest

[Guruboy @ Aug 6th 2006 5:26PM]

Ok thanks Robotron, I guess I should look at the first-party support first huh? :)

[User203 @ Aug 6th 2006 5:52PM]

Pathetic xbox losers, PS3 can transfer SAVE DATA through different generation consoles....XBOX CANT.

So looks like the PS3 ONCE AGAIN shows greater features and functions....so sad for you losers.

[Rick @ Aug 6th 2006 6:40PM]

First of all, I just want to say that the Xbox fans on this and other websites and forums are getting out of control. Nobody wants to hear about your freaking Xbox. Don't you realize that every time I read another post by a fanatical user about how some console is worse than the xbox, I become that much LESS likely to buy the xbox ? It makes me think that XBOX is some sort of sick cult. Also, you are ruining the ratings for everybody else by dragging down the rating system needlessly. It seems like the better a product by another company is, the more you want to bring it down.

Posted at 8:53AM on Aug 6th 2006 by Vpn [ ! ]
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[roy @ Aug 6th 2006 6:52PM]

Adapter or not .. let's just hope that the PS3 will make less fan noise than the Xbox 360. I hate that 360 for the noiselevel and never use it because of it.

[User203 @ Aug 6th 2006 7:15PM]

Thats the problem with XBOX fans, attempting to bring down GREATER QUALITY products because they have NO confidence in their own.

Original XBOX lost its first console war, EVEN THOUGH it had better graphics...and they thought those graphics were gonna pull them through...guess not LOL.

This time around Microsoft's whole point of view is believing that their now in the PS2's place..."we may not have the best machine (though they would never admit it) but we have better support and a lead start".

Please....Sony PS2 will not be repeated by the pathetic 360...once PS3 destroys 360, well...we'll see how the fanboys react. : )

[Robotron @ Aug 6th 2006 7:40PM]

The faceless corporation loves you and is 100% loyal to you...the customer.
Where do these people come from? Why would anyone have blind loyalty to any company?
Oh right, sorry.....we're basically raised like cattle to feed from the corporate trough and oil the gears
of the machine.
Never have so many been so blinded by so few.

ok back on topic....good idea Sony, hopefully MS follows along and we know Nintendo is supporting their back catalog of 20 years. Let's not lower another thread fanboy fights.

[Tim @ Aug 6th 2006 7:48PM]

User203, you're more of a whore for PS3 from the way you take these comments so seriously. "XBOX versus Playstation: round 2!, ohmyfuckin god! PS3 is going to pwn XBox360"

Now just let the customer decide. We don't need your useless opinion because quite frankly, you're only 1 out of millions of consumer. Thanks.

[topspinserve @ Aug 6th 2006 8:42PM]

Both PS3 and XBOX 360 fanboys need to go away. Wii for the win!

[Desides @ Aug 6th 2006 10:41PM]

"First they stick an entire PS2 inside the damn thing because it can't emulate it;"

Hey, look at that--misinformation! On Engadget? Say it isn't so!

Buddy--Sony including the relevant PS2 hardware in the PS3 is the same method of backwards compatibility they used to get the PS2 to play PS1 games. There's nothing about this that indicates a technical shortcoming.

Now go back to believing your rumors about the PS3 originally using software emulation for backwards compatibility.

[User203 @ Aug 6th 2006 10:42PM]

"Tim" let me run this by you for the first AND last time, fool....

1: I AM the consumer, which makes me THE CUSTOMER.

2: This is a comment forum, where people state their OPINIONS on the topic at hand.

3: I make about as much in a week as you would make in 2 months (if you could even keep a job), so as stated...I AM MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU, as a consumer AND as a voice of the people. THANKS : )

[Blog The Internet @ Aug 7th 2006 12:33AM]

Makes you wonder if Sony is attempting to build a roof before constructing the building....

[TheProfessor @ Aug 7th 2006 12:44AM]

Why is that fake ridiculous picture being used on most PS3 post?

Oh yeah, Engadget loves to hate the PS3.