PS2 HDD with Final Fantasy XI $49.99 at ShopKo - probably YMMV

intelligentidiot

intelligentidiot

CAGiversary!
Not sure if anyone is interested in this, but I was just at ShopKo in Marshall, MN and saw that their PS2 HDDs have been clearanced down to $49.99.

I'm not sure if I am going to buy one myself or not because I'm not aware of many games that utilize the HDD. They've had two HDD for that past 2+ years and they've been marked for $90 up until this past week.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
thats an awesome deal OP! i'll be sure to check the one in my area. Hard drives do have multiple uses, and we're not really supposed to talk about it, you can in theory "back-up" your games using the HD Loader software.
 
[quote name='Kerig']Has anyone figured out how to use the HDD with a Slim PSTwo as of yet?[/quote]

Is that even possible?
 
The Shopkos around La Crosse/Onalaska WI have them at $54.99. Each store has 3-4 in stock. Wait a week or two for another price drop.
 
Toys R Us have them for $39.98 (definitely YMMV). Is there any point in getting this if you don't want to play the game though?
 
I guess you can backup memory cards to and from it, too. At $40, it might actually be cheaper than buying memory cards if you needed a huge number of game saves for some reason. Other than that, I can't think of any real use for it.
 
[quote name='sandrokstar']the only games off the top of my head that utilize it (besides the obvious) are the Resident Evil Outbreak games[/QUOTE]

Are the Resident Evil Outbreak games any good?
 
[quote name='intelligentidiot']Are the Resident Evil Outbreak games any good?[/QUOTE]

They are just ok. Not the best but playable. As for the memory card idea, that is the main reason I picked up an hdd. Also you can load Street Fighter Alpha collection for fast loading and also store maps from Socom 2 & 3. I have an HD loader and it works well for some games, not so well for others. You can save hours off your game playing time with the fast loading though!
 
In NHL 2k6, you can use the hard drive for saving.
And in one NBA game and one NFL game you can see full replays instead of slideshows if you have the HDD.
 
[quote name='chunga']Is that even possible?[/quote]

It is possible to use the HDD with the PS2 Slim but it's only for the "not so legal" purposes. It's the HDAdvance program through USB connection. There is no "official" support of the HDD with the Slim.
 
There's a case mod for the slim out there that lets you turn it into a fat PS2 but it kinda defeats the purpose of having a slim. That said I prefer my Fat PS2 because I CAN use the HD... for Imports.

Sadly not many games in the US use it for it's intended purpose, In japan plenty of RPGs use it for faster loading but the option is removed for US versions.
 
a list of games pulled from here:
This list isn't guaranteed to be complete.

Final Fantasy X - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. dsxgate supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Final Fantasy X International - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Takes up 1,664 megabytes.

Kingdom Hearts - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Takes up1,280 megabytes.

Xenosaga Episode 1 - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Allows you to save your game and load it to and from the HDD directly so that you don't need a memory card. Takes up 1,792 megabytes.

PlayOnline - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated. Used to boot Final Fantasy XI. Takes up 1,024 megabytes.

Tetra Master - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated. Comes with Final Fantasy XI. Takes up 128 megabytes.

JongHowLo - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated. Comes with Final Fantasy XI. Takes up 256 megabytes.

Final Fantasy XI (and the Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia expansions) - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated. Takes up 8,192 megabytes as of March 7th, 2005.

Unlimited SaGa - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Takes up 3,072 megabytes.

Wild Arms 3 - dsxgate supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Ace Combat 4 - SScorpio supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Virtua Fighter 4 - SScorpio supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Armored Core 3

Taito's Energy Airforce - Allows you to playback music that is stored on the HDD while playing the game instead of listening to the music that is built into the game. gouki13 supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix - dsxgate supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards

Winning Eleven 6 Final Evolution - Nanami supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

3D Fighting School 2 - Allows you to directly save to and load from the HDD. - www.ncsx.com

Dark Chronicle (aka Dark Cloud 2) - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Takes up 1,536 megabytes. The Asia version also supports the HDD.

Capcom Vs. SNK 2 - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times and allows direct saving and loading to and from the HDD. - gouki13 supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Zettai Zetsumai Toshi (aka Disaster Report) - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times and allows direct saving and loading to and from the HDD. - gouki13 supplied this information on the GameFAQs message boards.

Soul Caliber II - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. - I read about support on the back of the Japanese game case.

Star Ocean III: Till the End of Time - Installs to the HDD to decrease load times. Installation also reduces occurrences of a game crashing glitch that is known to happen on the first batch of discs when played on model 1x000 PS2s. - GameFAQs' Star Ocean III Message Board.

All-Star Pro Wrestling II - Markiss614 on the PS2Ownz.com forums.

Pop'n Taisen Puzzle-dama Online - Installation to the HDD is required to play. The game boots from PSBBN and does not require the disc or a registration code, making it a very unusual case of HDD support, as it has no anti-piracy protection to prevent the disc from being passed around in a group of people.

Net de Bomberman (aka Bomberman Online) - Installation to the HDD is required to play. Uses 1,024 MB on the HDD. The game boots from the disc, but loads most of the data from the HDD. A feega account is required to play, meaning you need PSBBN 0.30 or higher since you need it to access feega and make an account. The game has a monthly fee of a little over 500 yen.

SOCOM II (NTSC U/C version only) - Uses the HDD for three additional maps, which can only be installed from the discs that came with specific issues of OPM magazine.

The ESPN 2K5 sports series (all games) - Allows saving to the HDD instead of a Memory Card, and stores footage from gameplay for a halftime show with a movie instead of still images.

Nobunaga's Ambition Online (and its expansion) - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated.

King of Collisseum (both the Red and Green discs)

Front Mission Online - Fully installs to the HDD so that it can be patched/updated. Boots through PlayOnline Viewer once it is installed.
Click to expand...
 
Interesting. I have a modded PS2 (for playing Japanese games, not copies!) so getting a hard disk might actually be worthwhile. Do you think it would be possible to sell Final Fantasy XI on its own?
 
[quote name='chunga']Is that even possible?[/quote]

It's impossible. End of story. Unless you have an early model with the IDE solder pads you can add a harddrive but I don't know if it would allow you to play online games with it.
 
Regarding HD loaders and the slimlines - There is software developed by HD Advance called USBextreme and HDextreme. You use a PC to transfer games to an external HD (the PC kind) and then connect the external HD to the slimline via USB. You then use the software disc to boot up the program then select the game you want to play off the HD. The HD used in this and for the fat PS2 consoles do not have to be the Sony PS2 ones. Any old PC HD will do. Except for Sony PS2 games that have exclusive HD support. They need the PS2 HD and formatting software. Unless it's possible to format a PC HD with the Sony PS2 HD bootup disc.

Regarding the Sony HD - Only worth it if you're looking to play FFXI. Otherwise some games can uploaded to it for faster loading (SF alpah ant. that I know of) and Socom 2 and 3 have map downloads that are saved to the HD. Regular game saves cannot be put on the HD like an XBox.
 
they actually got games to work with USB extreme? I thought it was too slow for anything other than emulators. Also there was some controversy over whether the system had USB 2 ports which would have been required for decent transfer of full scale games. Ultimately people seemed to have proved it didn't.

As for the FF11 HD's worth, yeah if you have a modded-JP PS2 you probably would be able to install japanese games on it, but most of them seem to be RPGs, not the most import friendly of games. Also you can't format a regular HD to work as a PS2 HD so I wonder what the price of a standard 40 gb hd is because if it's more than 40 bucks this is still a nice deal. (for the record the FF11 HD is the only one you can back up your saves to, you can use regular HDs to play HDloader games but that's the only why the PS2 recognizes it.)
 
USB Extreme does work, but its compatibility is rather low and the only benefit is not having to keep disks on hand and of course, the longevitiy of the laser itself. Find yourself a ps2 that can't read dvds and you'll be set for HDLoader.
 
[quote name='APE992']USB Extreme does work, but its compatibility is rather low and the only benefit is not having to keep disks on hand and of course, the longevitiy of the laser itself. Find yourself a ps2 that can't read dvds and you'll be set for HDLoader.[/QUOTE]

Except for the fact that you must use the laser to scan the game onto your hard drive and use the laser to boot the HD Advance disc.
 
[quote name='Purkeynator']Except for the fact that you must use the laser to scan the game onto your hard drive and use the laser to boot the HD Advance disc.[/quote]

You don't have to use the PS2 laser. You load from computer instead. But in my opinion, having to turn a PSTwo into a fat PS2 defeats the purpose. Also, you will not get any load time benefits.
 
Yeah in order to play Imports without a mod chip you have to save the ISO of your game to PC and then transfer it to the HD. Then the only laser use is loading up the HDloader/advance disk to access the game. (thankfully they offer both a DVD and CD to boot with incase you suffer DREs with one format or the other.)
 
[quote name='subsidon']You don't have to use the PS2 laser. You load from computer instead. But in my opinion, having to turn a PSTwo into a fat PS2 defeats the purpose. Also, you will not get any load time benefits.[/QUOTE]


No thats not right. You do have to use the disc laser to read the HD Advance boot disc. You put the disc in, the PS2 reads the disc, then it goes to the HD Advance menu. I am sure of this because I have the HD Advance. Without reading the disc there is no way to boot HD Advance.
 
[quote name='Kerig']Has anyone figured out how to use the HDD with a Slim PSTwo as of yet?[/QUOTE]
V12_HDD_proof-of-work.jpg

thats how.
 
[quote name='icruise']$40-$50 isn't that great a deal for a $40GB 3.5" hard disk though.[/QUOTE]

This is true. But if you're in a bind and would have use for one... or decide to buy the game to try out FFXI, could be another use to it once you're finished with that.
 
[quote name='paddlefoot']I wonder if this game is going to keep dropping and then pull a (insert rpg game here) and start going for $150 over christmas.[/QUOTE]

I dont think any MMORPG has ever done that... EVER. especially one that comes with hardware.
 
[quote name='paddlefoot']I wonder if this game is going to keep dropping and then pull a (insert rpg game here) and start going for $150 over christmas.[/QUOTE]

hey,paddlefoot,
how about posting the receipt you supposedly got the ps2 hdd from the kmart sale for ten bucks? all of us cags could try for a price match at other stores.

thanks in advance. lol :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top