Any real point in having a PS2 hard drive?

[tpugmire]

Today, I found a used 40GB PS2 hard drive at a local game store for $10. I don't necessarily want to mod my console to play backups or anything like that. Am I correct in assuming that it would act like a giant memory card?  Is that the only benefit in having one?

[matt]

I don't even think it acts as a memory card. Someone can confirm but I think you still have to write to a memory card but you can backup your saves to the HD.

[foxhack]

A few games support using it to save games. Most use it to speed up load times, and this feature was used much more often in Japanese releases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2_Expansion_Bay#Hard_disk_drive

[ffxik]

Two games in my collection actually supported the thing is Final Fantasy XI which eats around 20 gigs and Metal Saga which you still need a memory card to save your game.  Outside that the only reason I use mine is that I own 200+ games and only about six memory cards.  So it comes in handy to shuttle games saves back and forth.  I would like to note that thing is probably useless with out the utility disc it was packed with.  It was used to format the thing.

Little bit of history I still have the magazine that stated all the features that this thing was supposed to come with.  Storing pictures, music, ability to save games straight to the drive, and web browser.  It had none of it.  Come to find out those were only available in Japan and even then it was a very small number that actually came with the installation disc for those features.

I felt really bad paying $100 on release for this just to have it marked down to $25 not even a month later.

[tpugmire]

Gotcha, so for my purposes, it would be useless. Good thing I passed on it.

[scott]

Not to mention, you also need a network adapter for PS2 in order to install the thing. It screw's right to it and is what help hold it in place, if I remember correctly.

I use mine mostly for save files, and played FFXI a shit ton on my PS2. But ya, prolly not worth much now a days since little to know games or hardware makes use of it.

[ffxik]

Not to mention, you also need a network adapter for PS2 in order to install the thing. It screw's right to it and is what help hold it in place, if I remember correctly.

I use mine mostly for save files, and played FFXI a shit ton on my PS2. But ya, prolly not worth much now a days since little to know games or hardware makes use of it.

You're correct.  I completely forgot about that.

[teck]

I still have my original FFXI box and even though it is mostly dust covered, I use the HDD in order to save money on memory cards....  I have enough saves to fill like 8 or 9 cards, but I just rotate what is used most from the drive so I only actually own 2....

[scott]

Ya I have my FFXI box and everything and I started doing the same thing w/ my saves. Hell I even found an old save file for NFS: Underground on my HDD that I thought vanished. Kinda relieved too I had some really cool cars on that file.

[teck]

Ya I have my FFXI box and everything and I started doing the same thing w/ my saves. Hell I even found an old save file for NFS: Underground on my HDD that I thought vanished. Kinda relieved too I had some really cool cars on that file.

I've done this a couple times, but recently I have been considering moving everything to my backwards compatible PS3 and retiring the drive into its box to collect dust and acquire "value" over time....