Memory Cards
While it's possible to play some games without a memory card, every type of game can be played with memory cards so you can save your progress, remember secrets you've unlocked, record records you've set, and save the options the way you want them set up. There is no memory card included with the PlayStation 2, so you'll have to choose from one of the following cards.
Developer: Sony
Price: $34.99
Release Date: 10/25/00
Sony's PS2 Memory Card is more expensive than previous PlayStation memory cards, but it offers a sizeable 8 megs of game information, while the original PS memory card only held around 1 meg. The data transfer rate between the card and the console is roughly 250 times faster than current memory cards, which means much faster saving and loading of data. Sony uses magic gate authentication and encryption to keep files transfers effective and clean. Since no memory card is included with the console, the sure-to-be-reliable first-party Sony 8MB card will be worth picking up.
Developer: Electro Source
Price: $34.99
Release Date: TBA
This third-party memory card seems to be identical to the official Sony card in every way, including price. Potential buyers should note that many third-party memory cards for the original PlayStation had reliability problems, but that doesn't mean the PS2 cards will have the same problems. We'll have reports on these cards once the system ships.
Developer: Interact
Price: $49.99
Release Date: TBA
Interact's Mega Memory Card holds 16 megabytes of RAM, twice as much as the standard card and with only a slight increase in price. This is most likely accomplished through compression technology. Maybe worth noting though is that so-called "Mega" memory cards for the original PlayStation were notorious for mysteriously being cleared of all their data.
PlayStation 2 Special Report: Peripherals
There may be a lot of talk about the power of the PlayStation 2, but as with any game system, it's designed to entertain you while you play games. It can also read DVDs so that you can go beyond interactive media and actually watch movies - something new for the consoles. But in order to take advantage of the system's main function, game playing, you'll need to have peripherals to make things happen.
