Rumor about a possible HDD replacement.

[FriskyTanuki]

If you haven't read the new EGM, the Holiday 2004 issue, there's some interesting info in The Rumor Mill. The Q says "Sony plans on releasing a memory card that can store a ton more data than today's current crop. The company also hopes to make the card large enough so that you can download beefy content like new SOCOM II maps or play the massively multiplayer FFXI without having the expensive hard drive."

This would definitely give me a reason to move up to a PStwo, but then I'd still have the HDD, so I'm not sure about it then.

Would you get this new memory card if Sony does indeed decide to release it? Would it convince those of you sticking with the older models to move up to the PStwo if Sony releases it? Any other ideas or comments?

[bmulligan]

'bout friggin time.

[biggestinuyashafan]

i sold my old ps2 to go towards the new one, so yeah i would buy it (if it isn't like $40). there is no way i would pay that much for a memory card no matter what the size of it.

[epobirs]

It doesn't need to be anywhere near HDD capacities, just a few dozen megabytes is plenty for downloads of things like new levels that recycle existing textures and such from within the game.

All that is really needed is for Sony to bring the price they charge for flash memory in line with the open market. In Friday's Fry's ad they have a 1 gigabyte SD card for $50 after rebate. Compare that to what Sony charges for a mere 8 MB memory card. If Sony just released an adapter that allowed SD cards or someother major format to be used in the memory card slots it would solve the whole problem in a single stroke.

[willardhaven]

I want to play FF XI, so if it has enough for that, I'd get it if my current setup broke.

[CappyCobra]

All that is really needed is for Sony to bring the price they charge for flash memory in line with the open market. In Friday's Fry's ad they have a 1 gigabyte SD card for $50 after rebate. Compare that to what Sony charges for a mere 8 MB memory card. If Sony just released an adapter that allowed SD cards or someother major format to be used in the memory card slots it would solve the whole problem in a single stroke.

That my friend is crazy talk! Why would Sony want to loosen it grip on having you buy thier memory cards for a premium? Not to mention the licensing fees from 3rd parties.

While that is a novel idea, I can garantee that if it did ever come out, it would be a totally unoffical accessory

[bmulligan]

With the price of some flash memry today, I don't see why we can't get a 256 MB memory card. This 8MB crap for $20 is fucking bullshit, and has been for a while.

[WhipSmartBanky]

Xbox brings all the memory cards to the yard. Damn right, it's bigger than yours. (http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Mods/bet_my_xbox_memory_card_is_bigger.htm)

Not trolling, I just saw the memory card discussion and thought this was pretty fucking cool.

[FriskyTanuki]

Xbox brings all the memory cards to the yard. Damn right, it's bigger than yours. (http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Mods/bet_my_xbox_memory_card_is_bigger.htm)

Not trolling, I just saw the memory card discussion and thought this was pretty shaq-fuing cool.

Doesn't surprise me since Xbox is pretty much a PC, but cool none-the-less.

[Alpha2]

Actually it's make sense fo sony to revamp their cards as it's rediculous to be able to buy a 36mb card for a Digicam and only be able to get an 8mb memcard with a slower data transfer for the same price.

@56 sounds about right, I dont see them EVER putting out something as big as a HDD as a memcard though. maybe their gb Memsticks might drop to a decent price and become the defacto save device for the PS3.

[epobirs]

All that is really needed is for Sony to bring the price they charge for flash memory in line with the open market. In Friday's Fry's ad they have a 1 gigabyte SD card for $50 after rebate. Compare that to what Sony charges for a mere 8 MB memory card. If Sony just released an adapter that allowed SD cards or someother major format to be used in the memory card slots it would solve the whole problem in a single stroke.

That my friend is crazy talk! Why would Sony want to loosen it grip on having you buy thier memory cards for a premium? Not to mention the licensing fees from 3rd parties.

While that is a novel idea, I can garantee that if it did ever come out, it would be a totally unoffical accessory

Perhaps you've heard of the Sony Memory Stick? You know, the ones used as memory cards on the PSP and in any number of other Sony devices such as PDAs and cameras? They can quite readily keep people on the Sony plantation without utterly reaming them on price.

Since the PSP will essentially require its users to buy into the Memory Stick format, it would seem entirely likely that future PlayStation generations will also support it. The PS2 almost certainly would have if the spec have been more complete back then and they didn't need to also support PS1 memory cards without the expense of adding a new slot.

The Sony PSX in Japan already brings Memory Stick support to the PS2 line. Sony will almost certainly offer a software update that will format recorded video to the PSP's screen resolution for viewing from Memory Stick. Microsoft's portable media playback products are already offering this feature on Media Center PC systems.

[epobirs]

Actually it's make sense fo sony to revamp their cards as it's rediculous to be able to buy a 36mb card for a Digicam and only be able to get an 8mb memcard with a slower data transfer for the same price.

@56 sounds about right, I dont see them EVER putting out something as big as a HDD as a memcard though. maybe their gb Memsticks might drop to a decent price and become the defacto save device for the PS3.

There wasn't much they could do on the speed side while using the same slots. Adding a PS2 specific memory slot would have driven up cost. Even so, thanks to the newer forms of flash they were able to implement within those limits they were able to kick up the performance of PS2 saves quite a lot over its predecessor.

[CappyCobra]

Yes I have heard of the Sony Memory Stick, so what the shaq-fu is you point? The only PS2 system to use the memory stick is the PSX (WHich is something like $500 + Dollars and only in Japan) and that is used ONLY for digital photos.

Sony had time to intergrate Memory Stick technology, but they chose not to. The Memory Stick came out in 1998, PS2 year 2000. Given the Japen 6 - 12 month lead time, they still had a good year to incorporate it into the system but they CHOSE NOT TO. Why? Well why not have people spend $35 on 8MB of memory instead of 16 or 32MB they would get with a memory stick? It's all about economics. Sony is in the business to make money, not to make your life convenient.

[jmcc]

Is the memory card speed fast enough to do such a thing and if so, would this work for something like FFXI? I have doubts, so I'm declaring pre-emptive shenanigans.

[Wshakspear]

Thanks for the link Brodie! I mean...Banky! Very cool. Reminds me of all the fun stuff you could do near the end of the Dreamcast

[willardhaven]

Hey Wshakspear, where is that picture in your sig from?

[Scrubking]

Yes, the whole memory fiasco with videogame consoles is ridiculous. Flash memory is dirt cheap and if there isn't a flash drive in every future console with at least a gig of memory we should all revolt and lynch their asses.

Memory cards are a thing of the past. Memory should come standard with every console from now on with the ability to transfer our data via usb cable or drive.

And all consoles should be the size of the PStwo. There is no need for large bulky machines anymore - this is 2004 damnit.

[Tromack]

All that is really needed is for Sony to bring the price they charge for flash memory in line with the open market. In Friday's Fry's ad they have a 1 gigabyte SD card for $50 after rebate. Compare that to what Sony charges for a mere 8 MB memory card. If Sony just released an adapter that allowed SD cards or someother major format to be used in the memory card slots it would solve the whole problem in a single stroke.

That my friend is crazy talk! Why would Sony want to loosen it grip on having you buy thier memory cards for a premium? Not to mention the licensing fees from 3rd parties.

While that is a novel idea, I can garantee that if it did ever come out, it would be a totally unoffical accessory

Exactly. If you want to save your game, you have to buy their card. They want you to buy as many as possible, so why would they let you get around that? It would be nice of them, but businesses aren't built on nice.

[ArthurDigbySellers]

All that is really needed is for Sony to bring the price they charge for flash memory in line with the open market. In Friday's Fry's ad they have a 1 gigabyte SD card for $50 after rebate. Compare that to what Sony charges for a mere 8 MB memory card. If Sony just released an adapter that allowed SD cards or someother major format to be used in the memory card slots it would solve the whole problem in a single stroke.

That my friend is crazy talk! Why would Sony want to loosen it grip on having you buy thier memory cards for a premium? Not to mention the licensing fees from 3rd parties.

While that is a novel idea, I can garantee that if it did ever come out, it would be a totally unoffical accessory

Exactly. If you want to save your game, you have to buy their card. They want you to buy as many as possible, so why would they let you get around that? It would be nice of them, but businesses aren't built on nice.

True, but how hard would it be for Sony to develop a USB->MemoryStick adapter for use with the PS2? That way you have to buy a Sony MemoryStick as well as the adapter. We finally have a solution for our current storage problem and Sony keeps the stanglehold on the market. It's a win-win, right? ;)

[Kaijufan]

FFXI has to be installed on the HDD right? That would have to be one big memory card.

[Alpha2]

There's no such thing as a memory device as small as a memory card yet large enough to hold enough to store all of FF11 and be fast enough to off load info for you to play the game online.

Not unless you're serving on the starship Enterprise.

[Midnite]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

[jmcc]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

"Only" 8-9 gigs? Holy shitballs. Am I just getting old or is that a huge-ass install size?

[pimpinc333]

I would buy it only because my PS2 is a lauch model and the PStwo will be bettere with all the new enhancemnets they added to the PS2 throught the years and also it cool and small looking even though it has a flip top game insert thing lol

[willardhaven]

I would get 50001... can the HDD be transplanted to a new system with nothing other than physically moving it?

[legion_stxds]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

I believe the PS2 version takes a similar amount of space (though I will need to check on this for sure). Last I checked I think it was around 8 gb; however, FFXI is a dynamic playground and alot can change with new updates.

[alongx]

And all consoles should be the size of the PStwo. There is no need for large bulky machines anymore - this is 2004 damnit.

Sure there is. I really have no problem with the size of any of my consoles. As it is, I plan on purchasing a T-Rexbox (http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20041112l.jpg) when it's released.

[Nogib]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

? No way. PC version of FFXI (including expansions and POL) takes up just under 6.5GB. PS2 version is roughly the same size. The PS2 reserves and 8GB block on the HDD for itself but doesn't use up that entire space. That's so that it doesn't need to resize whenever it gets a new expansion or patches.

[FriskyTanuki]

And all consoles should be the size of the PStwo. There is no need for large bulky machines anymore - this is 2004 damnit.

Sure there is. I really have no problem with the size of any of my consoles. As it is, I plan on purchasing a T-Rexbox (http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2004/20041112l.jpg) when it's released.

I'm liking the Hexbox myself.

[Kaijufan]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

? No way. PC version of FFXI (including expansions and POL) takes up just under 6.5GB. PS2 version is roughly the same size. The PS2 reserves and 8GB block on the HDD for itself but doesn't use up that entire space. That's so that it doesn't need to resize whenever it gets a new expansion or patches.
You would think that the PS2 version would be less because all PS2s are the same, so they dont need different character models and textures for people with different systems like PC games do.

[Alpha2]

The geometry of the characters wouldnt change just the way the computer interpretes commands to display them dependnat on the graphics card and processor.

[legion_stxds]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

? No way. PC version of FFXI (including expansions and POL) takes up just under 6.5GB. PS2 version is roughly the same size. The PS2 reserves and 8GB block on the HDD for itself but doesn't use up that entire space. That's so that it doesn't need to resize whenever it gets a new expansion or patches.

Hmm... just curious... but how do you know this? I can see that reserving a dedicated space could be why my system shows FFXI using 8gb; though, if this is the case what happens if the game ever needs to expand beyond 8gb (which could happen given a long enough lifespan). Just curious... and I am not flaming you... just was wondering if your a SE employee or had a link to throw out.

[dpatel]

FFXI only takes up about 8-9 gbs currently with the new expansion. Thats for PC, I don't know about the PS2 version though.

I believe the PS2 version takes a similar amount of space (though I will need to check on this for sure). Last I checked I think it was around 8 gb; however, FFXI is a dynamic playground and alot can change with new updates.

Since FFXI is sold with the HDD, maybe the new mem card will be big enough for new downloads for other games, but you would still need the HDD for FFXI. It seems a little too late for this new mem card though.

I really hope the new system goes with the cheaper flash cards. The problem with playstations is backward compatability. I love it since my PS1 died on me, but that means that future consoles will have to somehow support the older mem cards.

[Nameless One]

Maybe it will be a USB DD. You know, like those small 128MB (up to 2GB now) that connect right to yoru USB drive? The new PSTwo have USB slots? I haven't kept up :p....no reason to get a new pstwo for any reason unless my PS2 breaks (again).

[Alpha2]

They could just allow you to hook up a memorystick reader via USB in the next system, or a USB thumbdrive, either way it dosent hold you back while still allowing sony to have their memory cards.

[ryanbph]

I don't understand why you would need to but a new ps2 for the new memory card...i read the article, and don't remeber anything saying that it would not be compatible with the older ps2 models...so why would anyone want to waste money on a new system, if their older system is working...and if you already have the HD, why the hell would you want a bigger memory card

[zewone]

I want a bigger memory card for my 50001+ because I don't want to spend more money on buying the 8MB ones and my HDD is used for the HD Loader, not memory managing.

[Alpha2]

The memory card slot is not fast enough to offload data for anything other than game saves, it's been said over and over again in the past. So this memory solution is either simply just a larger memory card,designed to take the place of the mass stroage aspect of the HDD, or EGM's "article" is full of fucking crap.

And based on alot of "quarterman's" past "articles" I'd more likely beleive it to be full of fucking crap.