PS2 Hard Drive Discussion Thread

[Danji]

I think it's well past when the PS2 should've received it's american debut. But the final word on that is the developers. As seen in my other thread/poll about the PS2 HDD, many people want a good game or some new features or something with the HDD before they buy. I'm content with the fact I can no longer worry about memory on my PS2 or Computer (the HDD can store and play MP3s.) What do you people want the HDD to be able to do or what game do you want to support/need this attachment before you'll buy it?

(Also on this thread I'll try to answer any questions you have about the HDD.)

update - The PS2 HDD holds 40 gigs of information that can be game saves, MP3s, or maybe even MPEGs. Some games will install on it but others will just support downloading for extra content.

[gaming ultima]

i think sony r hopeing u buy the psx instead
and if u got the money u should so.....

[Kiwi]

Don't you get the HDD with the Linux Kit though?

[Danji]

No, though I have read that it is possible to order one with the lynux kit online. The HDD comes with 40 gigs of space and with FF XI installation disc.

[Kiwi]

According to the PlayStation site where you can buy the kit, the HDD that comes with it can only be used with the Linux Kit.

[GodZeRo]

i think sony r hopeing u buy the psx instead
and if u got the money u should so.....
Naw, I hate to break wih gu, but psx is for ppl with too much cash I think.

Matt said:

According to the PlayStation site where you can buy the kit, the HDD that comes with it can only be used with the Linux Kit.
Sorry, but the linux kits is different format AFAIKT.

[Kiwi]

I did say that the HDD that comes with the Linux Kit can only be used with the Linux Kit.

[GodZeRo]

Sorry, you were right (actually we both are right)... I gotta work less hours (60+), brain pooped out on me. I'm a first shift office type of guy, but I'm doing third shift setup work right now...eyes so tired... Take anything I say in that context, sorry.

[Danji]

:idea: I wonder if the HDD will have really anal anti-CD-r measures. Like not letting you put mp3s on there that aren't from an official disc. Though it doesn't matter, I have the ZOE2 soundtrack and that's good enough to last me until I buy the Soul Calibur II soundtrack. (I apologize for my english right now, I haven't been getting enough sleep)

[Kiwi]

Don't worry about it, a lot of people on the forum use Engrish regularly. :)

[Danji]

It's been posted elsewhere that the HDD comes with a free 30 day trial of FF XI. Does anyone have a link that supports this or should I just dismiss it as hopeful thinking?

[GodZeRo]

From a now dead thread:


Stores like EBgames have the "PS2 HDD + FF XI" bundle in there computers so it is now possible to put a reservation on it. I put $60 down on mine today. Also the HDD comes with a disc that you can reinstall FF XI with. Just in case there was any confusion. (which I read an earlier post in another topic where it was asked if it would)

but they look internal so how is the Online Adapter gonna fit on it? i want one but only if i dont need to buy a diffrent adapter
If you remove the online adapter, it will reveal a big ol' gaping hole right under the DVD drive, that's where the HDD will end up. You can see the connections for it on the normally hidden face of the online/HDD adapter.
(and you thought you only bought a network card with a modem, nope, IDE drive interface too...)

[gamingmonkey2004]

The game does come with the 30 day trial of FFXI check out http://www.playonline.com thats the offical square-enix/ Final Fantasy XI site.. it takes some searching but you can find where it say that the HDD comes with the FFXI 30 day trail or you can go on google or something and type in FFXI or something and all the sites say so. or you can go to playstation online and look up the HDD(40 gig one) and it says and it also comes with a socom 2 demo (if im not mistaking) :) :D :lol:

[GQ_PIMP]

so i wont be able to run my network addaptor at the same time as the HDD!?!?!?!?!

[GodZeRo]

All functions are concurrent (can run at the same time).
The only reason you can't use the modem at the same time as the ethernet port is the software guys realised noone would want to.

[Omega Blue]

From a now dead thread:


Stores like EBgames have the "PS2 HDD + FF XI" bundle in there computers so it is now possible to put a reservation on it. I put $60 down on mine today. Also the HDD comes with a disc that you can reinstall FF XI with. Just in case there was any confusion. (which I read an earlier post in another topic where it was asked if it would)

but they look internal so how is the Online Adapter gonna fit on it? i want one but only if i dont need to buy a diffrent adapter
If you remove the online adapter, it will reveal a big ol' gaping hole right under the DVD drive, that's where the HDD will end up. You can see the connections for it on the normally hidden face of the online/HDD adapter.
(and you thought you only bought a network card with a modem, nope, IDE drive interface too...)

yeah yesterday i took off my Adapter and looked, i was like "DOH" i forgot that the Adapter doesn't take any room inside of the HDD chamber, i dont even know my own Ps2 i feel ashamed. but yes to clear it up again for GQ pimp you can and will have to use both the HDD and Adapter at the same time.

[Danji]

Yes, you also have to have the Network Adapter in order to use the HDD which I have friends that that pissed off. It kinda is upsetting that you need to buy something in order to use something else. Sure the HDD might be a lot more useful if you have the network adapter, but some people can't hook up the internet to their PS2 and don't want to buy a useless Network Adapter so they can get a HDD that some of their games might need. Hopefully if the HDD has a positive enough response Sony will make an alternative for hooking it up. But that might just be wishful thinking..

[Ress Cor]

Is Sony genious or what? That's brilliant marketing!

[Omega Blue]

Is Sony genious or what? That's brilliant marketing!

exactly

[axia777]

I am already got the network adapter and the HD is definatly on my list to get. It is only logical to get the most out of your PS2. On-line gaming rules, but with the HD, well, it is gonna be heavenly!!

[Ibanez32]

You say that but you have to buy a ps2 to make use of either the HD or network adapter :D

[Danji]

umm, that may be true but some people simply CANNOT get an internet connection but they want the HDD. They can't buy the HDD without getting the network adapter and getting the network adapter would be a waste of $40 if it's so you can use an HDD which would cost another $100. Can't any of you sympathize??

[GodZeRo]

yep, I can... maybe Sony will relase a HDD only interface for $10, but I highly doubt.

[Omega Blue]

Can't any of you sympathize??

:: sits back...lowers head...raises head quickly and laughs:: no HAHA :twisted:

[PSXer]

I'm going to get the HHD when it comes out does anybody know when it does though?

[Danji]

March 10th. It comes with FF XI so you should expect to get a giant box with some pictures of that on it too.

[Omega Blue]

yup its a big white box with FXII printed on it. the box it self looks koo-el

[Ibanez32]

Couldn't they just import a jap hard drive as its external doesn't it connect in a different way?
Can you get a HD without buying FXII?

[Danji]

The Jap. ext. HDD wouldn't work with the american games and the answer to the second question is no. Sony really wants to pitch this as "Buy FF XI and get a HDD free!" which is silly in my oppinion. I want a HDD more than I want that game and paying for the game to be there when you don't want it is ridiculous. Maybe they'll release a HDD without FF XI eventually.

[Pumster]

On the subject of MP3's, I don't think Sony will care since, after all, these are the guys that made a portable MP3 Player. Plus, the PS2 already allows the use of CD-R's, and none of the previous installation discs (That come with peripherals like the DVD Remote.) have put anything on the console to prevent their use. Hell, anything that encourages the use of these extra features, such as the CD Player, is probably ok in Sony's book. :lol:

[kev4]

i would like some info on the ps2 hdd please if any of you know any good info...

whens it released in the uk (if unknown (release date for usa?)) and what will the price of it be

[Danji]

The PS2 HDD holds 40 GBs and comes with FF XI pre-installed on it. It also should have a PS2 media player that will play MP3s and maybe MPEGs. The HDD will be needed for games like Killzone and will reduce load times for games like Resident Evil: Outbreak. In the US it is going to cost $100 and in the UK..I don't know. Sorry.

[the legendary ice man]

As far as my knowledge of sony's previous press statements etc goes - You in america are extremely lucky! - apparently the FFXI idea has been scrapped in the uk but we are supposedly getting 60gb drive, if you do indeed live the uk your best bet would be wrting to OPSM2 - i'd imagine they will have tonnes of info on this


Because there are SCEx facilities in the UK the price will specific to the UK so it will not be a dumbed down version of the USD - i believe it will retail at around £50-60 and be released christmas this year or early next year

[indiekid4]

March 10th. It comes with FF XI so you should expect to get a giant box with some pictures of that on it too.

I thought the HDD with FF: XI was coming out March 23??

here is a link: http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/index.shtml

[gamingmonkey2004]

can not wait until it comes out im going to get it as soon as possible because my friend moved to canada and he is getting it for PC and im gettting it for PS2 and we are going to clan up and fight feinds together...yea! its no long one person control 3 people!

[Danji]

I was using the old release date. Sorry, the new one is the 23rd.

I'm gettin it the day it gets here too so I'll see you on FF XI. Maybe we should have a site contest to see who can get to level 65 first. But that would just be a "who has less of a life" contest. Hahaha

[indiekid4]

I was using the old release date. Sorry, the new one is the 23rd.

I'm gettin it the day it gets here too so I'll see you on FF XI. Maybe we should have a site contest to see who can get to level 65 first. But that would just be a "who has less of a life" contest. Hahaha

Know what we should do. We should start up a Final Fantasy XI clan, like the SOCOM II clan on this site. I am definitely getting FF 11 for the PS2 when it comes out. What do you say? Let's start a clan.

[Danji]

Sounds good to me. We just need enough people to play it. I'm only going to be able to play it for the 30-day free trial but after that i'm not sure. But a clan sounds like a good thing for the people who want play it. People in the clans could band up to go on adventures and stuff and that would be pretty neat.

[The Frail]

i got a question. you said that the hard drive can save mpeg files, so can i get a cd-r with music videos and save them on the hdd and then play them directly from there?

... or what about dvds? can you do that if you own the official dvd?

(edit by Danji: don't double post)

[stanDarsh]

i got a question. you said that the hard drive can save mpeg files, so can i get a cd-r with music videos and save them on the hdd and then play them directly from there?... or what about dvds? can you do that if you own the official dvd?

I'm sure there's someway to do it! What I do know is there is a mod-chip you can buy called the DMS3 that will let you do a lot of things, including letting you play DivX and MP3 files! Might wanna check it out if your interested.

[Danji]

StanDarsh is right, it might be possible with some sort of mod-chip but that would void your warranty. Sony is now obligated to fix your PS2 due to a lawsuit agains them, that is unless the PS2 been opened by the owner. I doubt, though, that Sony would include the feature to save movies on it from DVD's, that would just make it so people could save movies they rent on it and then return them. Thusly they would own the movies illegally easily and Sony wouldn't want to provide an easy way to do that.

[indiekid4]

Sounds good to me. We just need enough people to play it. I'm only going to be able to play it for the 30-day free trial but after that i'm not sure. But a clan sounds like a good thing for the people who want play it. People in the clans could band up to go on adventures and stuff and that would be pretty neat.

Wait, so the game is only a 30 day trial, it's not the actual game on the hard drive? If that is true, then why does this hard drive cost 100 bucks?

wait, i'm stupid, you have to pay a monthly fee to play this game....doh! What is it, 15 bucks a month?

[The Frail]

would i need to mod my ps2 to save whole games in there and play them off the hdd? not that im going to borrow an awesome game and save it then return it :wink: more like backing up mine incase they mess up. you can do that right? i mean if you do own the official copy then its legal. and if so what chip does that? i dunno just thought i should ask.

[bbb_young_pistol]

yo i heard on previous posts that ffxi and the HDD come with a 30-day trial so after that you have to pay? And how much is it?

[GT4 RULZ]

i think i read some where that it was $12.95 a month

[Danji]

I think I read about that price but I can't confirm a location of where I saw it.

[KlawHammer]

Anyone know when its coming out in Australia/New Zealand?

[stanDarsh]

Anyone know when its coming out in Australia/New Zealand?

Not sure, but I'm wondering whether it would matter if the hard drive was American, if it didn't I personally will be thinking about buying another PS2 ( I got the japanese PS2 that only allows for an external hdd and they are very rare these days and expensive! ) and importing a hard drive from the US.

[GT4 RULZ]

i think i read some where that sometime between OCT or NOV but i could be wrong :?

[Infant Finite]

i got a question. you said that the hard drive can save mpeg files, so can i get a cd-r with music videos and save them on the hdd and then play them directly from there?... or what about dvds? can you do that if you own the official dvd?

I'm sure there's someway to do it! What I do know is there is a mod-chip you can buy called the DMS3 that will let you do a lot of things, including letting you play DivX and MP3 files! Might wanna check it out if your interested.

You can't do that...the PS2 can only read DVD movies, Music CD's and PSX/PS2 games.

Read here for more info

http://playstation2-linux.com/faq.php#Is_the_PlayStation_2_specific_hardware

[KlawHammer]

You can make it read other formats.

[stanDarsh]

i got a question. you said that the hard drive can save mpeg files, so can i get a cd-r with music videos and save them on the hdd and then play them directly from there?... or what about dvds? can you do that if you own the official dvd?

I'm sure there's someway to do it! What I do know is there is a mod-chip you can buy called the DMS3 that will let you do a lot of things, including letting you play DivX and MP3 files! Might wanna check it out if your interested.

You can't do that...the PS2 can only read DVD movies, Music CD's and PSX/PS2 games.

Read here for more info

http://playstation2-linux.com/faq.php#Is_the_PlayStation_2_specific_hardware

Yes you are right the PS2 can only read DVD movies, Music CDs and Playstation 1 and 2 games WITHOUT A DMS3 MOD-CHIP! But WITH a DMS3 Mod-chip you can install new software that allows you to play: DIVX files, MP3s, and other cool stuff like a SNES and Mega Drive (Genesis) Emulator!

In short, if you read my original post better, you would have understood I was talking about the DMS3 Mod-Chip for PS2.

www.dms3.com

[Infant Finite]

Sorry I didn't read your original post.

[thewall]

This hard drive is going to be just like the one for Xbox. Some one will put it in their PS2 and crack it and allow you to put a new 250 gig hard rive in and put games from the interent on the hard drive so there is no need for purchasing games any more Just like Xbox

[GT4 RULZ]

relli i can do that i wanna try this on my xbox :shock:

[stanDarsh]

This hard drive is going to be just like the one for Xbox. Some one will put it in their PS2 and crack it and allow you to put a new 250 gig hard rive in and put games from the interent on the hard drive so there is no need for purchasing games any more Just like Xbox

There already is a way to put in a regular IDE hard-drive, as for ripping games onto the hard-drive, i'm not sure if its been done yet, wouldnt surprise me if it has!


relli i can do that i wanna try this on my xbox :shock:
I Don't condone this, but you will need a modchip such as an Apple V to do it, and youll have to hunt down some illegal software on the net!

If you really must do it, thats how you do it, but there are factors to consider such as it will void your warrantee ( if you still have one ) if opened, and also the mod you buy doesn't have the ability to turn the mod off, then if you decide to go online with xbox live, most of your online games will not work!

[GT4 RULZ]

1.dont worry my cozin is a electronics freak i am sure he can get the apple V if not he already has it.

2. my warranty has already expired (i think)

3. i have 2 xbox and one for me and my brother

soo this will be great :D

[thewall]

Yea my friend has put a mod chip, 250 gig hd, and a new OS called EVOx. All this allows you to put Emulators, tv shows, music, movies, and games all on the hard drive. I cuts the loading time in like half. I just hope some one figures out how to do this with PS2 i would be all up on that.

[gamingmonkey2004]

HOLY CRAP! where did he get a 250 Gig harddrive!?

[thewall]

Best buy

[KlawHammer]

O i did that with my PS2. It plays MP3s and RAR files now. I dont have a hdd i just put stuff on the RAM.

[thewall]

Well what you did is not the same. With Xbox the hard drive allowed you to play Mp3's when you first got hte system. But with a new OS on the Xbox it allowed you to play games from the hard drive that you can either use the old 8 gig or add your own. Having the games on the hard drive cuts loading time in half at least. You never need to buy another game unless you like the case. You could also rent games and rip them to the hard drive.

[stanDarsh]

Well what you did is not the same. With Xbox the hard drive allowed you to play Mp3's when you first got hte system. But with a new OS on the Xbox it allowed you to play games from the hard drive that you can either use the old 8 gig or add your own. Having the games on the hard drive cuts loading time in half at least. You never need to buy another game unless you like the case. You could also rent games and rip them to the hard drive.

Are you sure Xbox can play MP3s straight out of the box? Because without a mod-chip Xbox can't even play burnt music cd's that you've made!

[Ress Cor]

I personally hate the idea of HD's in consoles, it takes the fun out of them and turns them into PC's (*x-block *cough)

And I hate it when people say MS innovated gaming by adding an HD, when it was Sony's plan all along to have one for the PS2, except Sony is making money off the machine and the HD, while S-block is losing brickloads.

Anyway, I don't mind them having an HD to store some sort of data, but if they dare make it so Developers can get lazy and release patches for new games 6 months later like they do on PC, that would suck big time. Also an HD in a console should only be used for gaming purposes, like I said, why would I want another PC? The one I have is top of the line, so for next gen I want to see consoles, not PC's behind a mask with a PS3/X-Brick2 logo.

Cheers!

[KlawHammer]

Interesting post there. What the Xblock cant play MP3s?Why the hell do they go on about using your own soundtracks then?

Anyway, consoles are becoming PCs, face it.

[stanDarsh]

Interesting post there. What the Xblock cant play MP3s?Why the hell do they go on about using your own soundtracks then?

Anyway, consoles are becoming PCs, face it.

Just because you can rip Music CD originals to the hard drive does not necessarily mean that the machine can play MP3s straight out of the box. Ripping the music CDs to the hard drive, just makes the tracks into audio files of some sort not necessarily MP3s. I highly doubt if you burnt MP3s onto a CD, that the XBox would be able to play them without the means of a mod-chip!

[thewall]

Well Xbox comes with random DVD drives and hard drives. Certain ones can play Mp3s and others cant even play burnt cds. There are different hard drives in the Xbox too. It can but you are lucky if you get the right drives and dvd drives.

[GT4 RULZ]

Uncovered: The HDD
We look inside SCEA's hard-disc drive: The box, the kit, the interface and more.

March 19, 2004 - On Tuesday, March 30, Sony Computer Entertainment America will ship the long-awaited Hard-Disc Drive (HDD) to retail stores across North America. IGN has an early look at the unit itself, the packaging, Final Fantasy XI, which comes pre-installed in the 40-GIG unit, and an overall perspective on what you get when you purchase the HDD.

The oft-delayed peripheral, originally announced in 2001 for North America, will ship next Tuesday for $99.99. It includes the hard drive itself, a copy of Final Fantasy XI (again, pre-installed), a utility disc, and a PlayOnline disc. And of course, manuals for both. The white box package is simple yet elegant in design, showing Square Enix's FFXI online emblem at the very top, a horizontal band of screenshots wrapping the box from left to right, and the HDD logo below. Final Fantasy XI is rated T or teen. The HDD is bundled exclusively with Square's game, or vice versa if you like, so in order to acquire FFXI, you have to buy the HDD. There is no other package, alternative or bundle for the peripheral.

What's the big deal? The Microsoft Xbox has a hard drive as part of the standard package, right? A PC has a hard drive too. Well, let's just say that the Network Adaptor was the first step for players to get online, and the HDD is the next step. They're both part of Sony's bigger picture, which is to give gamers the ability to play online, and to download content of many kinds, and to be able to store huge chunks of data on something bigger than the 8 MB memory card permits. That in itself is a relief.

But in the short run, the HDD really only has one main purpose, which is to get players online playing Square Enix's potentially enormous MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), and to further establish Sony's online presence. SCEA's Hard Disc Drive is important for PlayStation 2 for several reasons. In the long run, the HDD and Network Adaptor combined give both developers and consumers the ability to do more with their game systems. If you like Final Fantasy XI, then you'll be able to get online, chat with other like-minded folks on PlayOnline (Square Enix's online community/service, which has been functioning quite well in Japan for some time now), and play the never-ending game whenever you want. The first month of play is free, and then after, players have the choice of continuing playing for a monthly subscription fee of $12.99.

After that, players will soon be able to use their HDD with other games. SCEA has officially stated that Syphon Filter Omega Strain and SOCOM II: US Navy SEALs will both offer downloadable content, such as skins, patches, and game locales. Capcom's Resident Evil Outbreak, which ships March 30, also uses the HDD. Its main purpose is to quicken load times. Further out, we suspect later this year, several game companies will introduce their own HDD-compatible games. Expect developers to use the HDD to store music, textures, movies and more on the system, so that games can load faster, using data not only from the DVD, but from the HDD, and to include future plans we're not even sure of just yet.

The HDD (model number SCPH-20401e) is approximately 122w x 27h x 154d mm, weighing 0.7 kg, or about 1 lb 9 oz. The 40 GB hard drive offers a maximum transfer speed of 66 MB per second, and fits into the back port of the PS2, attaching to the Network Adaptor, which secures and locks the system safely into the console. It's quite a heavy little thing for its size, and it feels valuable. The kind of valuable that makes one decides not to drop it, for instance.

For those who own the Network Adaptor, the unit easily attaches to that online peripheral, and once secured, it slips into the port on the back of the PlayStation 2. To connect the two, players line up the pins on the back of the HDD into those in the Network Adaptor. There is a larger set with about 30 pins and beside it, a second set with four larger pins. Once connected, with the screws of the Network Adaptor lined up in the holes of the HDD, then consumers can insert the HDD into the PS2. The whole process of unwrapping it, attaching it, inserting it, and screwing the Network Adaptor on again takes less than five minutes. And hey! All you need is a nickel! Woot!

The HDD Utility Disc gives consumers the ability to install HDD software, which has some benefits. The Disc includes the HDD compatible browser, additional system configuration settings, and CD software. For those of you who own a PS2 remote controller, the Utility disc upgrades that software. For those who didn't have DVD playback settings, the Utility Disc will install it.

The Utility Disc does some other things too. Players manage their data using folders, so you can copy, move, or rename folders on the HDD, and you can copy data from the (SCPH-10020u) memory card to a folder on the HDD. You can also change configuration settings for both mouse and keyboard. But can you use the HDD to save game data in the future, bypassing the memory card altogether? FFXI instantly saves to the HDD, SCEA officials said. But with regard to other games, SCEA officials said "we haven't made any announcements about that."

What does that mean? Given the financial revenue of memory cards in general, we would think that SCEA would not permit the HDD to replace the memory card. Plus, not all gamers will own the HDD, and not all games require the use of the HDD. So, this is speculation of course, but SCEA might give gamers the choice to save data with games that require HDD use to either device. And it's possible in the future that an upgradeable memory manager software interface will permit gamers to choose whether to save to the memory card or the HDD, though of course, that's just a guess. Nothing official.

Gamers are given two discs with the unit, a HDD Utility Disc (version 1.10), and the game box of FFXI. Once the drive is physically installed, the HDD shows up on the PS2 interface alongside the memory card and the software disc images. Players can click on the HDD and from there, they have several options. They can optimize the HDD, diagnose and repair it, format the HDD, install the HDD software, and install the DVD player (version 3.02). The installation of the HDD Utility software is quick and painless, and takes about two to three minutes. Pop in the FFXI disc and a few options also show up. Players can check out Tetra Master (a mini game from Final Fantasy IX), or connect to PlayOnline. Just as a side note, the manual for FFXI is 160 pages long. To go straight to FFXI, players click on the HDD icon, press X and the game will load up.

Unfortunately, we were unable to talk about or show much more. Square Enix doesn't want to reveal the upgraded version of PlayOnline until launch, and for similar reasons we were unable to capture any of the footage from the US build of Final Fantasy XI. That shouldn't be too much of a bummer, considering that we've already posted an enormous amount of impressions already (see this).

These are our initial findings with the HDD. As the system comes closer to launch, we'll continue our coverage. In fact, next week at the Metreon in San Francisco, interested parties can attend the HDD/FFXI launch event, which commences at 7 pm and really gets going at midnight when the units begin selling. (Oh, and yes, there are some movies for you to see, but don't laugh too hard at the movies of the HDD interface..., we were't able to show much

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/500/500522p1.html

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/hddkit_031904_004.jpg

http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/hddkit_031904_009.jpg

Edited by Matt: Links fixed.
Edited by Danji: image link fixed.

[BigBoss1978]

Hey "stanDarsh" The XBOXl play burnt music cds no problem. I just for some reason, recently upgraded my XBOX and it plays all of my burnt cds perfectly, can rip them and all.

[ultimategamer2004]

Can you buy the hard drive without final fantasy.

[Danji]

Can you buy the hard drive without final fantasy.
No, but I hear that you can buy FF XI without the HDD for $45. But, that sounds like you would have to order it and already have an external HDD or something..

That is everything I wanted from the HDD and more. I only have to wait 4 more days to get it. This is going to incredible stuff. *laughs maniacal then becomes uprubtly sober* But because I live on the east coast I have to wait an extra day to get it.

[Ress Cor]

Sony is freaking genius, not only are they now making huge profits off PS2 and memory cards, but now if you buy the HD, you will just have get the online adapter, all of wich will boost their profits on a major scale, plus the 12.99 subsciption to Final Fantasy, who ever is behind their marketing should be given a nobel prize. And hell if you have the hD, online adapter and your subscription, why not get the official Sony Mouse and Keyboard as well!!!
You've just blown over $220, and hell maybe you're tired of your old PS2 and want the new model that features progressive scan! Hell if I didn't have to pay so much money to go to school, I'd buy the PS2 all over again.

With that kind of marketing plan, no wander X-Box and Gamecube got screwed.

[Danji]

Hahaha, I don't think I would go as far as to say that. But I do support most PS2 Accessories and the HDD is much better than most of the previous attachments. It really does complete the Online experience of the PS2. I wonder how much support it will get from the developers in the next 2 months though..probably not much..but I heard that 60% of all developers, when asked, said that they would support the HDD in some way in there games this year.

[Kiwi]

Well I'm sure as time goes along there will be more use for it. Otherwise it would've been pointless releasing the thing.

[Danji]

Yes, I'm sure of that too. I'm just hoping more good games will utilize it this year. Like THUG 2 with support for playlist on HDD. I would like that enough to get that game.

My friend was about to get a third memory card but I convinced him to hold back on that because I could easily fit both of his memory cards on my HDD and if he needed his data (which he has very old game saves on his cards) then he can just get it from me. I plan to give another friend one of my memory cards after I get the HDD because I don't see any purpose in keeping an extra (i have 2 mem. cards) mem. card around when I have the HDD with relative (to the mem. card) near inexhaustible space.

[Kiwi]

I haven't managed to get online with the PS2 yet, but is there anything that you can think of that could make use of the HDD other than games?

[Danji]

No, not really. The Network Adapter comes with a disc to install the NA driver onto your mem. card and the disc also has demos. That's all it is, there's no browser or other software with it. Though in Japan they have internet browsers for it. Future software from Sony will come out though, with the abiltiy to send files, do video conferencing, and send e-mail. Don't know when that'll come out though.

[Ress Cor]

Basically it will become a cheap PC, tisk tisk, did I warn you people or what, all consoles will turn into PC's

[Kiwi]

No, not really. The Network Adapter comes with a disc to install the NA driver onto your mem. card and the disc also has demos. That's all it is, there's no browser or other software with it. Though in Japan they have internet browsers for it. Future software from Sony will come out though, with the abiltiy to send files, do video conferencing, and send e-mail. Don't know when that'll come out though.

The Network Adaptor disk takes you to Central Station as well yea? Isn't there even anything on there?

[Danji]

Nope, just a couple of demos and the installation. Well, that's what's on the disc for the American Network Adapter. I don't know what you PAL people got but that is what I have.

[stanDarsh]

I haven't managed to get online with the PS2 yet, but is there anything that you can think of that could make use of the HDD other than games?

That really depends. Back in the Mod-chip discussion here http://playstation3insider.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=177 I spoke about how you could play DivX and MP3 files on you PS2 using a DMS3 modchip. Well you could store those files on your hard drive along with SNES and Megadrive (genesis) roms.

Still its just as easy to burn those files to a CD.

[KlawHammer]

About the PCs turning into consoles thing - I stressed that out so much as well. We're using console PCs now.

[Kiwi]

I tried the disc yesterday, and it was going on about how you could get news and reviews on Central Station. Is there anyone in Europe or a PAL region who can confirm that?

[Mitri]

i heard that on the ps2 hdd we won't be able to do anything but load new boards off of the internet for newer games. i also heard that since the ps2 didn't have one before the games that can download things must still save it to the memory card or wherever you save it (my station isn't online)

but that is what i heard im getting one tommorow because that is when it is released but i just heard that stuff and was wondering if anyone else heard it.

[CloudANDTidus]

i heard that on the ps2 hdd we won't be able to do anything but load new boards off of the internet for newer games. i also heard that since the ps2 didn't have one before the games that can download things must still save it to the memory card or wherever you save it (my station isn't online)

but that is what i heard im getting one tommorow because that is when it is released but i just heard that stuff and was wondering if anyone else heard it.

Is there a reason for useing hardly any punctuation.

I heared there was reviews and stuff from a magazine but as I don't have online I carn't help.

[Danji]

i heard that on the ps2 hdd we won't be able to do anything but load new boards off of the internet for newer games. i also heard that since the ps2 didn't have one before the games that can download things must still save it to the memory card or wherever you save it (my station isn't online)

but that is what i heard im getting one tommorow because that is when it is released but i just heard that stuff and was wondering if anyone else heard it.
Not to be mean, but I can't help because I have no idea what you're talking about ^^;; But it's probably a PAL thing, right?

[Mitri]

Is there a reason for useing hardly any punctuation.

I heared there was reviews and stuff from a magazine but as I don't have online I carn't help.


is there a reason to worry about my punctuation? i asked a question i didn't want u 2 explain about my english. if you don't have a reply to my question don't worry bout it aight

and you spelled can't wrong (carn't)

[NickSCFC]

Because it makes your posts very difficualt to read.

[gamingmonkey2004]

hey guys can we talk about the HDD please? unless the HDD has a spell checker then i see no reason to be talking about this back to topic
to topic: the HDD was released today and well NO DELAYS!

[Mitri]

Well then can you tell me what all the hdd can do before i buy it?

i was going to buy it today but i decided not to because i don't know of any of the features that it does, so can you tell me?

[Omega Blue]

why dont you look around a bit for soem info on the HDD, sorry but we should not have to pay for your lazyness. not to mention with sites like ign.com around that have given information about the HDD, plus countless other sites.

[Mitri]

i did read around and if you would have paid attention to what i said earlier I HAVE HEARD THAT THE HDD WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE GAMES THAT ARE ALREADY OUT AND THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LOAD OUR OWN MUSIC LIKE ON THE XBOX I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WAS TRUE BEFORE I SPENT $100.00 ON IT FOR IT NOTTO DO ANYTHING ELSE!!

[Omega Blue]

i did read around and if you would have paid attention to what i said earlier I HAVE HEARD THAT THE HDD WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE GAMES THAT ARE ALREADY OUT AND THAT WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO LOAD OUR OWN MUSIC LIKE ON THE XBOX I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WAS TRUE BEFORE I SPENT $100.00 ON IT FOR IT NOTTO DO ANYTHING ELSE!!
turn off your caps button, learn at least 6'th grade grammer, and start using spaces/ then you might start getting answers.

[gamingmonkey2004]

accually you can put music on it its called the internet and you can dowload patches and save them on the HDD how bout you move your lazy hand and move the mouse and type a couple things in and find out why the hDD is good and how it will revultionize gaming

[Omega Blue]

accually you can put music on it its called the internet and you can dowload patches and save them on the HDD how bout you move your lazy hand and move the mouse and type a couple things in and find out why the hDD is good and how it will revultionize gaming

yes im pretty sure of this aswell. it wasn't long till the X-Box was hacked using the HDD and a simple network setup and FTP Program.

[Danji]

I will be getting the HDD today in about 6 hours so I will be able to elaborate more on what features it can and cannot do out of the box.

[Mitri]

why dont you look around a bit for soem info on the HDD, sorry but we should not have to pay for your lazyness. not to mention with sites like ign.com around that have given information about the HDD, plus countless other sites.

i did read around for some information and i know about the internet how do you think im talking with you :?:

and i don't want to load it off the internet i want to load it offr of my CD like on the xbox. that is what i was wondering.

NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND

[gamingmonkey2004]

load what? what could you possibly be talking about? the HDD is a real object and not an inanimate object so how could you possibly load it? does your printer build things? do you type "load specs of HDD for PS2" then hit print and poof there it is? please elaberate some so i can understand?

[Mitri]

load what? what could you possibly be talking about? the HDD is a real object and not an inanimate object so how could you possibly load it? does your printer build things? do you type "load specs of HDD for PS2" then hit print and poof there it is? please elaberate some so i can understand?


i was asking like is it possible to download your own music from your own CD's not the songs that the server decides to put on that day.

[gamingmonkey2004]

why are you quote yourself? and why are you writing the same thing i did? and yes the HDD can have music on it..i think ask someone who already has it.

[ibrooklyn]

umm, that may be true but some people simply CANNOT get an internet connection but they want the HDD. They can't buy the HDD without getting the network adapter and getting the network adapter would be a waste of $40 if it's so you can use an HDD which would cost another $100. Can't any of you sympathize??

why the hell would u want the HDD if u aint got Network ADApter? makes no sence....all the dloadable content comes from ONLINE, from the games servers =\

AND NO U CANT get mp3s on the HDD, at least not yet

so i dont see why the hell would u need the HDD without NA.

[gamingmonkey2004]

you cant even plug in the HDD without the network adapter

[Danji]

No more flaming from here on, otherwise me and the other mods will be tempted to lock this or just close it..

The HDD can't rip MP3s like I was hoping it could. There are some very definite negative things about having the HDD. Here's a quick list:
Starting up your ps2 will now take seconds longer.

You have to put your PS2 into Standby mode before turning off the power switch otherwise you risk losing data.

After the extra 5 or so seconds you have to wait for your PS2 to go to the browser it kinda messes up the shiny effect in the background. It flickers when the menu loads.

The HDD states that it can hold 26,496 MB of data when first started..but it is false. I have put several new Megs of data onto it and it still reads that it has 26,496 MB free space. I have enough saves on there to knock it down at least 7 megs but it hasn't done anything.

The browser interface now has a different button scheme. They gave the 'X' button no use and now you press triangle and it will bring you to a mini menu (like the "copy or Delete" menu that you have normally) on files on the mem. cards and you can, from this menu, choose 1 of 5 different options. "move, delete, copy, rename, information" are the options listed. You cannot rename on the memory card files though..I still haven't used that yet. The new control scheme doesn't quite make sense and I ended up hitting 'X' about 30 times (with no results) the night I got it.

Installing the new DVD player froze my PS2 at the very last percent, but I tried it out and it works. Though it takes up 2 MB space.

Those are the bad, the good ones are pretty obvious so no need to list them. The new version of the browser and everything is istantly updated to when it finds the HDD. The first time you boot up the HDD it goes comatose (or so it seems) for about 20 seconds. I was utterly frightened that I fried my PS2/HDD somehow while I was sitting there looking at a black screen.

Now onto the earlier posts..


you cant even plug in the HDD without the network adapter
I pointed that out in my original post, read it again. It's, in fact, the main point of my post.


why the hell would u want the HDD if u aint got Network ADApter? makes no sence....all the dloadable content comes from ONLINE, from the games servers =\

AND NO U CANT get mp3s on the HDD, at least not yet

so i dont see why the hell would u need the HDD without NA.
People might want to use the HDD without the Network Adapter for games like Killzone. My friend cannot connect to the internet with his PS2 (yet) so he would have no use for the Network Adapter other than to read his HDD.

I will reply to any questions here out as best as I can but don't expect the replies to be quick, I am trying to find a way to play FF XI.[/list]

[gamingmonkey2004]

dang im very jealous....i need to get money fast! i want the HDD o yea and thanks for warning me about things to expect from the HDD so i dont go crazy and jump off my balconey

[Danji]

Yea, the comatose thing really scared me. Hahaha

[gamingmonkey2004]

yea i bet cause if it did mess up and blow up or w/e you would have to buy a new HDD and PS2 NA and whatever else you have in/on it not to mention game data

[KlawHammer]

Would you really jump off your balcony? I would jump off the 15 meter cliff outside my house if the PS2 died on me. I've had too many motherboard/hardware fryings to take any more.

[gamingmonkey2004]

yea i would but i would survive...maybe ruin my knees for life or something of that nature. but yes i would go insane...but before that i would bash the head of the manger of the store i bought it from then dont stop until he gives me another one (PS2/ NA/ HDD)

[Ress Cor]

I went to the local retailer, up here in Vancouver the HD costs $140 Canadian dollars, the network adapter is $60, plus %14 tax, comes out to about $220 Canadian dollars, considering we get paid less than people do in the US and UK, this price is very expensive for most people. Sadly I gave up on trying to sell my PS2 because everyone already has one, but I need to get rid of it so I can get everything new again (PS2 with progressive scan, new controllers, new dvd remote etc. So I'm still trying to sell it, arg.

But yea i see now how brilliant Sony is at making money, I love them so much. Frankly just their marketing alone can make buy their stuff because the way they make money is just godlike when you compare them to Nintendo and X-Box.

[Mitri]

i went on ebay and bought my hdd for $30.00(US)

[CloudANDTidus]

i went on ebay and bought my hdd for $30.00(US)

you luck <censored> <censored> <censored>!!!!!!!!

[Omega Blue]

anyone know if they have hacked the HDD so you can store games on the Ps2 and play them like you can on the X-Box? :twisted:

[NickSCFC]

I wonder if the PlayStation Online service (Central Station is it) will let you download videos and music, any ideas?

[gamingmonkey2004]

i know that you can go on the internet but i dunno about illegal downloading but if it was legal then yea

[ultimategamer2004]

anyone know if they have hacked the HDD so you can store games on the Ps2 and play them like you can on the X-Box? :twisted:

No, but they probably will some time in the next month i mjade a thread about the X-box hard drive being used for storing up to 15.000 games.

[Kiwi]

It's bound to happen. It's just a case of a few people having too much time on their hands.....

[KlawHammer]

I've tried to hack the PS2 HDD but no luck....yet.... I'll get on it tonight, im sure it will be at my mercy within a few hours.....

[Mitri]

klawhammer, do you have alot of time on your hands?

[Omega Blue]

klawhammer, do you have alot of time on your hands?

stupid question and irrelivant to the topic.

[Danji]

klawhammer, do you have alot of time on your hands?

stupid question and irrelivant to the topic.

Agreed.

The ps2 HDD isn't all that great, it's upsetting that Sony shipped the HDD without the features they promised earlier. The PS2's HDD seems to actually add more bad things to the system than good. They should've delayed it until launch with the features was possible. I really wanted to be able to rip music onto the HDD..now I have to resort to the Xbox's ability to do that..and is it just me, or does it seem like Sony is pulled another PSX? I pray that they don't do that shit to the PSP..that would be quite upsetting.

[stanDarsh]

klawhammer, do you have alot of time on your hands?

stupid question and irrelivant to the topic.

Agreed.

The ps2 HDD isn't all that great, it's upsetting that Sony shipped the HDD without the features they promised earlier. The PS2's HDD seems to actually add more bad things to the system than good. They should've delayed it until launch with the features was possible. I really wanted to be able to rip music onto the HDD..now I have to resort to the Xbox's ability to do that..and is it just me, or does it seem like Sony is pulled another PSX? I pray that they don't do that shit to the PSP..that would be quite upsetting.

Danji, have you ever thought about buying a modchip for your PS2? As I've mentioned in other threads the DMS3 modchip allows you to play MP3s and other files such as DivX!

[Danji]

I'm not going to mod my console. That is a dumb thing to do. Unless of course it's one of those adjustment mods..you know. Like fixing the damn thing because it's POS launch model. Forget it, if I want my console to play music I'll use an Xbox (with it's pretty pretty display..ooo, so shiny).

[Omega Blue]

the software should be released "soon" im guessing in a month.

[stanDarsh]

I'm not going to mod my console. That is a dumb thing to do.

Danji man, where do you come up with statements like this? You're meant to be a Forum Moderator! While you are entitled to your opinion, if you dont like mod-chips, that's all you need to say. But to say it is dumb to modify your ps2, IS a dumb thing to say! You were whinging that you couldn't rip music onto your new ps2 hard drive, and I provided you with a solution, whether or not you take my advice is your decision, but to say it's a dumb idea, whether you realised it or not, is also criticising some of the work I do for customers!

[Mitri]

i want a mod but am afraid of what might happen. can you get the mod instal proffesionally?

whenever you get a mod, does it come with an instruction book so that you can know how to use the features?

[GT4 RULZ]

if you are unsure then get it installed by a proffesional technician

sorry for the spelling

[Danji]

I'm not going to mod my console. That is a dumb thing to do.

Danji man, where do you come up with statements like this? You're meant to be a Forum Moderator! While you are entitled to your opinion, if you dont like mod-chips, that's all you need to say. But to say it is dumb to modify your ps2, IS a dumb thing to say! You were whinging that you couldn't rip music onto your new ps2 hard drive, and I provided you with a solution, whether or not you take my advice is your decision, but to say it's a dumb idea, whether you realised it or not, is also criticising some of the work I do for customers!

Ok, ok. Sorry for the volatile statement. What I meant was that it would be dumb for me to mod my PS2. I can't order things online, I don't have the means to repair my PS2 or buy a new one (not immediately anyways) if I break it, and I would much rather Sony deliver what they promised than me mod my PS2. Sorry about offending you. I was quite tired when I made that post so I was a bit irate. But I think I'll just resort to using an Xbox for storing music because I need to get some off of my computer and on to something other than CD's.

It would be nice however if Sony were to deliver free (or very cheap) software to have a media player and what-not on your PS2 like what was promised for the HDD. Pre-mature launches suck..*sad*

[Omega Blue]

I'm not going to mod my console. That is a dumb thing to do.

Danji man, where do you come up with statements like this? You're meant to be a Forum Moderator! While you are entitled to your opinion, if you dont like mod-chips, that's all you need to say. But to say it is dumb to modify your ps2, IS a dumb thing to say! You were whinging that you couldn't rip music onto your new ps2 hard drive, and I provided you with a solution, whether or not you take my advice is your decision, but to say it's a dumb idea, whether you realised it or not, is also criticising some of the work I do for customers!

that is his opinion, he thinks modding a Ps2 is stupid, i agree. why because most likely you will pirate games with your modded Ps2. im not saying that person always will or will at all but he can and alot of the times will. hes a mod yes, but stilla human who can and should still have the right to say what he wants. some people think mods should stay uptight and remain as ghost, i say nay i think they should have the right to express whole heartedtly what they want.

[Mitri]

would the company that sells the mods install them for you?and if not where would i go to find someone to mod my console?how much would it cost?

and whenever you finally get your sonsole modded where would you store the music files and pictures?would it be possible to play them in the games like on the xbox?

[Omega Blue]

would the company that sells the mods install them for you?and if not where would i go to find someone to mod my console?how much would it cost?

and whenever you finally get your sonsole modded where would you store the music files and pictures?would it be possible to play them in the games like on the xbox?

search google, there are small shops that you can send your Ps2 into and have them install it for you, of course this cost more. but ithink its a bit safer having someone else do it with alot of skill. i have heard modding the Ps2 is no easy task

[Kiwi]

If you know what you're doing, then I would imagine that it's a breeze. That's the main reason I don't play around with stuff that often. :)

[stanDarsh]

Ok, ok. Sorry for the volatile statement. What I meant was that it would be dumb for me to mod my PS2. I can't order things online, I don't have the means to repair my PS2 or buy a new one (not immediately anyways) if I break it, and I would much rather Sony deliver what they promised than me mod my PS2. Sorry about offending you. I was quite tired when I made that post so I was a bit irate. But I think I'll just resort to using an Xbox for storing music because I need to get some off of my computer and on to something other than CD's.

It would be nice however if Sony were to deliver free (or very cheap) software to have a media player and what-not on your PS2 like what was promised for the HDD. Pre-mature launches suck..*sad*

Thank you for your explanation 8)


that is his opinion, he thinks modding a Ps2 is stupid, i agree. why because most likely you will pirate games with your modded Ps2. im not saying that person always will or will at all but he can and alot of the times will. hes a mod yes, but stilla human who can and should still have the right to say what he wants. some people think mods should stay uptight and remain as ghost, i say nay i think they should have the right to express whole heartedtly what they want.

It's all good Omega, the misunderstanding was cleared up! But while we are on the subject, Mod-chips have more purpose than playing copied games. To this day I do NOT own any copied games for my PS2, and I've had my PS2 for more than 4 years, and I installed the mod-chip about 3 years ago. Wouldnt you want a mod-chip IF you bought your ps2 from Japan, so you could also play games from your country?

You may dislike mod-chips, but say your collection of games got stolen or went missing, if you had a mod-chip in your ps2 and you had made back-ups of all your games, at least you could still play all you games!

Im not asking you to change your mind about mod-chips. I even agree that a lot of mod-chips would be used for the sole purpose of playing pirated games, but in my opinion the positives of mod-chips outweigh the negative aspects!

[Omega Blue]

i understand the benefits, and i have considered getting my Ps2 modded, but i decided not to. i may reconsider it when the Ps3 is launched i just have to see what benefits i get from it.

[Kiwi]

The only reason I want to mod my PS2 is so that I can play import games that will, or have never made it into the PAL territories, for example, Suikoden III and Xenosaga.

I don't like the idea of copied games, but I can understand having backup copies in case anything happens. And I'm sure that some of you can understand that for a lot of people, £40, or whatever happens to be the equivalent in your country, may be considered as a lot of money to pay for a game. You can imagine how terrible people must feel to have paid that much money for a game, and then for one reason or another it doesn't work.

[Mitri]

are there any mods for the gamecube?

[Kiwi]

No need. If you get a FreeLoader disk, you can play imports.

[KlawHammer]

Yes freeloader is awesome. I dont have it though and im considering getting it for my GC...i just need time...

[Kiwi]

Also, if you are in the PAL regions, the Action Replay for the GameCube will perform the same function as the FreeLoader.

[KlawHammer]

Is that so? So is it AR or AR2? Coz i can get AR for really cheap like $10

[stanDarsh]

Just AR i believe, here (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=81&products_id=1933&) is specs on AR for Gamecube

[GT4 RULZ]

It has been revealed that the long lusted after PlayStation 2 hard drive will see a release in Europe, following successful roll-outs in Japan and the US.

The news comes from Sony as part of its 'soon to be announced' Christmas push, that also sees the release of Final Fantasy XI, the HD-reliant online RPG from Square Enix. Many have doubted that the game and its essential peripheral would see a European release, with gossip fuelled in the main by SCEE's total silence on the issue.

Both the hard drive and Final Fantasy XI will be on sale across Europe in time for Christmas 2004. Pricing and an exact release date remain undisclosed at this time, though both are expected to be revealed at E3.


http://spong.com/detail/news.asp?mode=news&type=n&cid=&pid=&vid=&prid=6519

[KlawHammer]

YES, YES, YES!!
Finally we get the harddrive! I've waited a long time for it - but aaag wait until xmas...

[GT4 RULZ]

same klaw i have been waiting for this now i have to wait 7 months and half :x

[ultimategamer2004]

finally we are getting it but we still in for a wait i would like to know more abut the advantages that the hard drive will have other than faster loading time so i hope some one can tell me..

[Mitri]

truthfully there are no real advantages to having the hdd dor the PS2 other than a little faster loading times.

you can't save your games onto it,if you dan't have the network adapter it won't even go into the ps2,you can't load custom tracks. the only thing that you can do is load things such as new boards for the games and thats it.

[GT4 RULZ]

i thought you could play original sound tracks :?

[ultimategamer2004]

truthfully there are no real advantages to having the hdd dor the PS2 other than a little faster loading times.

you can't save your games onto it,if you dan't have the network adapter it won't even go into the ps2,you can't load custom tracks. the only thing that you can do is load things such as new boards for the games and thats it.

Yes it is a shame that the network adaptor wont fit in as well i havent got it but i will get it soon when i have got broardband so basically it gives no advantages as such apart from slightly faster loading times another questian How many gbs hve they got on the hdd.

[ibrooklyn]

truthfully there are no real advantages to having the hdd dor the PS2 other than a little faster loading times.

you can't save your games onto it,if you dan't have the network adapter it won't even go into the ps2,you can't load custom tracks. the only thing that you can do is load things such as new boards for the games and thats it.

Yes it is a shame that the network adaptor wont fit in as well i havent got it but i will get it soon when i have got broardband so basically it gives no advantages as such apart from slightly faster loading times another questian How many gbs hve they got on the hdd.

what the f*uck are u guys talking about???? obviously u never OWNED a NA or the HDD =\ and im guessing u guys dont have any friends who own one too =\ SAD

BTW the HDD DOES NOT help loading times YET, u know why? cuz besides FFXI there arent any games taht are installed onto teh HDD yet, and if the game isnt installed onto the HDD the HDD is useless. And since HDD is kinda a new thing here in the US and Europe it will be a while before there will be more HDD Only games.

And eventually HDD will become more usefull, like you will be able to add your MP3s, game Saves, and dload game content from the internet BUT that will take time. As of now HDD is pretty much useless unless u play FFXI but give it time and the HDD will get more featues, trust me.

[Kiwi]

Great to see that the damn thing is being released over here anyway.

[phil]

i can wait a little longer the HDD. . . if its a well organised release we could see it being a little more for teh UK gamer. . . maybe with a couple of new levels to download for socom on teh day of release. . and a couple of other things sorted out for it. a couple of games that could be partial loaded onto the HDD to streamline those loading times. . . (i imagine the game . . if it were smart could put on the HDD all the code that was to turn up in the next couple of hours of the game. . and then ditch it after it has been used) creating a near seamless gaming experience. (i can live with the extra seconds it would take for the PS2 to boot up if that were the case)

have any game declared in the future declared that the would use the HDD. . . i understand that FF10 in japan could use the HDD to cut load times. ???

also . . . i understood that Sony had wanted to start a kind of media experience. . . is there any talk of downloading a movie from an offical online supplier.

Keep us posted USA. .. we still look on with envy in the UK ;(

[KlawHammer]

Media experience? Like movies, music, games etc.?

[gamingmonkey2004]

truthfully there are no real advantages to having the hdd dor the PS2 other than a little faster loading times.

you can't save your games onto it,if you dan't have the network adapter it won't even go into the ps2,you can't load custom tracks. the only thing that you can do is load things such as new boards for the games and thats it.

Yes it is a shame that the network adaptor wont fit in as well i havent got it but i will get it soon when i have got broardband so basically it gives no advantages as such apart from slightly faster loading times another questian How many gbs hve they got on the hdd.

what the f*uck are u guys talking about???? obviously u never OWNED a NA or the HDD =\ and im guessing u guys dont have any friends who own one too =\ SAD

BTW the HDD DOES NOT help loading times YET, u know why? cuz besides FFXI there arent any games taht are installed onto teh HDD yet, and if the game isnt installed onto the HDD the HDD is useless. And since HDD is kinda a new thing here in the US and Europe it will be a while before there will be more HDD Only games.

And eventually HDD will become more usefull, like you will be able to add your MP3s, game Saves, and dload game content from the internet BUT that will take time. As of now HDD is pretty much useless unless u play FFXI but give it time and the HDD will get more featues, trust me.

i think newer games will have an option to load from the HDD like Socom II it loads from the HDD

joy! 700!...wait..no life

[rev>thanu]

Actually resident Evil outbreak can be installed (at least part of the game) so it can load faster. so far 2 games use the HDD.

[Maya 5.0]

Yes Resident Evil on the HDD does take off alot off the load times. I would not reccomend it if you dont got one....it's horrible.

[ultimategamer2004]

actually gamingmonkey2004 we were talking about saves on the hard drive not saving hole games on it :roll:

and the network adapter does not fit when hard drive is installed for anyone who would like to know..

[Maya 5.0]

What do you mean it does not fit? Mine fits just as it's suppose to. Both the HDD and network adaptor.

[ibrooklyn]

actually gamingmonkey2004 we were talking about saves on the hard drive not saving hole games on it :roll:

and the network adapter does not fit when hard drive is installed for anyone who would like to know..

dude ur not making any sence???? do u own an HDD??? cuz the one i have fits perfectly.....how can it not fit?? lmao

the HDD and the NA are meant to be used together....i mean u dload EXTRA stuff from where? THE INTERNET......so if the NA didnt fit it would be useless, now wouldnt it?

[gamingmonkey2004]

actually gamingmonkey2004 we were talking about saves on the hard drive not saving hole games on it :roll:

and the network adapter does not fit when hard drive is installed for anyone who would like to know..

the HDD cant even be installed without the network adapter and there is plenty of room in the expansion bay and if you read my qoute i was on topic





truthfully there are no real advantages to having the hdd dor the PS2 other than a little faster loading times.

you can't save your games onto it,if you dan't have the network adapter it won't even go into the ps2,you can't load custom tracks. the only thing that you can do is load things such as new boards for the games and thats it.

Yes it is a shame that the network adaptor wont fit in as well i havent got it but i will get it soon when i have got broardband so basically it gives no advantages as such apart from slightly faster loading times another questian How many gbs hve they got on the hdd.

what the f*uck are u guys talking about???? obviously u never OWNED a NA or the HDD =\ and im guessing u guys dont have any friends who own one too =\ SAD

BTW the HDD DOES NOT help loading times YET, u know why? cuz besides FFXI there arent any games taht are installed onto teh HDD yet, and if the game isnt installed onto the HDD the HDD is useless. And since HDD is kinda a new thing here in the US and Europe it will be a while before there will be more HDD Only games.

And eventually HDD will become more usefull, like you will be able to add your MP3s, game Saves, and dload game content from the internet BUT that will take time. As of now HDD is pretty much useless unless u play FFXI but give it time and the HDD will get more featues, trust me.

i think newer games will have an option to load from the HDD like Socom II it loads from the HDD

joy! 700!...wait..i have no life

[ultimategamer2004]

sorry guys so we will end this but saying 'the hdd cant even be installed without the network adapter' Sorry for all the confusion..

[ibrooklyn]

sorry guys so we will end this but saying 'the hdd cant even be installed without the network adapter' Sorry for all the confusion..

its all good...hmm but im pretty sure u can install the HDD without the NA...you just wouldnt be able to go online, thats all. The thing is..FFXI requires ONLINE for play...therefore u need BOTH, HDD and NA...BUT the HDD comes with an Instalation disk..and i dont think NA has anything to do with it...i havent tried to install the HDD by itself cuz i had the NA for more than a year now and just got the HDD....so al i did was just added teh HDD with NA already installed

[slayerx]

Yup i love my HDD even though i payed way too much due to customs the buggers :(

[Kiwi]

Yea, they've started to do this thing with NTSC region DVD's. On Amazon there are a few DVD's that state you will have to pay whatever you're charged when it comes into this country. Amazon pretty much wash their hands once it gets to this country.

[ultimategamer2004]

Yup i love my HDD even though i payed way too much due to customs the buggers :(

Tell us about it!

And how much did you pay i am still not shore what the price will be over here in the UK.

[slayerx]

Well it cost me £75 quid from a site in Canada due to courier service etc

Then because of our stupid royal mail i got it late and customs also charged me £25 quid on the door which i had to pay :(

I got FFXI which is great :)

Any questions just ask away ;)

[stanDarsh]

Well it cost me £75 quid from a site in Canada due to courier service etc

Then because of our stupid royal mail i got it late and customs also charged me £25 quid on the door which i had to pay :(

I got FFXI which is great :)

Any questions just ask away ;)

Yeah I have a question for you. Is the PS2 you ordered the HDD from Canada for, NTSC or PAL? Because I have been thinking about buying a second PS2 (most likely PAL) and importing the HDD from US/Canada, but have been worried that the drive wouldnt be compatable with my PS2.

Cheers

[slayerx]

Its NTSC i have a Pal one too but im not sure if the HDD would be compatable saying that an American Network Adapter works on a Pal machine fine so maybe it would work but you can pick up a NTSC machine for about 200 quid probably even less soon with the price drops etc.

[Kiwi]

Do you think that if you were to buy a PAL PS2 with the DMS3 chip, so that you can play imports, would the import HDD then work?

[stanDarsh]

Do you think that if you were to buy a PAL PS2 with the DMS3 chip, so that you can play imports, would the import HDD then work?

Ive heard you can use an ordinary PC HDD with the DMS3 mod, but finding some sort of adaptor for the ps2 plug above the HDD bay that converts to IDE isnt gonna be easy!

[Kiwi]

Oh well. I may just wait until they release the HDD here.

[stanDarsh]

Me thinks by the time the HDD is released in PAL land, the PS3 will have been released lol

[Kiwi]

You're probably not far off. I just wouldn't want to spend that amount of money, and then find that for some reason it doesn't work.

[stanDarsh]

Good Point.

Maybe ill import a US PS2, along with the US HDD + FFXI combo, and on top of that the Magic Swap Boot Disc with Slide Card, might be the only way around it

[Kiwi]

The slide card is so that you can play imports or copies online yea?

[stanDarsh]

More or less. Any game that can use the HDD I could import, but for any other online game that doesnt require the HDD I could buy locally and use the slide-card trick to go online.

[Kiwi]

Very handy. I may have to look into it a bit more. I wouldn't mind the HDD now, I would just want to be sure of everything beforehand.

[stanDarsh]

Yeah I need more info too!

At present im looking for a cheap faulty US PS2 on Ebay that I can fix, so if it breaks down, I could care too much about it because it's not like it cost an arm and a leg!

[Kiwi]

I'm guessing it would be cheaper to get a faulty one and buy the replacement parts then.....

Good idea I suppose. I'm lazy, so I would just rather have it all working so I wouldn't have to mess around :)

[stanDarsh]

Fair enough, not for everyone! For me it makes sense, cause I have technical skills such as modifying and repairing.

[Kiwi]

If I found somewhere that gave the instructions for everything, I would probably have no problem doing it. It's just that with me there's always that element of doubt. I have this tendancy to break things I mess around with.

[stanDarsh]

Im sure it'd be possible to get a ps2 repair booklet, if you were keen, but there is always room for error regardless.

I used to be the same when it came to breaking things I'd mess around with, but then I learnt a fair bit, and became more interesting in how things worked, so a lot of things started making sense. Of course I still make mistakes, I'm only human ( I think ) but in a lot of cases at least I know what's caused something to go wrong!

[Kiwi]

Have you ever used any books or sites for reference?

[slayerx]

I have a slide card with disc but didnt work for socom 2 to get it online

[stanDarsh]

Have you ever used any books or sites for reference?

Definately! I use websites all the time when installing mod-chips, and the latest EFIL Solutions book, has a lot of repair tips for a wide range of Electronic devices including PS1 and PS2.


I have a slide card with disc but didnt work for socom 2 to get it online

Dammit, there goes my whole idea down the drain! Cheers for telling me though, as you have just saved me spending money for nothing! 8)

[slayerx]

I put it to use though played the classic Metal Slug 3 which was Jap :)

Also the slide card is unreliable but i belive some mod chips come with a stealth mode now ?

I wouldnt know never got PS2 chipped but my PS was why else would i own over 100 games for it :)

[stanDarsh]

Stealth mode only turns the chip off unfortunately, basically makes the chip undetectable when playing online. However once in stealth mode you can't use any of your overseas games or backups.

[Kiwi]

Are there any particular sites that you would be able to recommend?

[stanDarsh]

Depends on the mod-chip

If you are wanting know about the DMS3 mod-chip, all the information about it can be found here (www.dms3.com). Also if you run into trouble there is a forum where you can go to find out what went wrong with your installation.

[Kiwi]

How very handy, thanks. :)

[stanDarsh]

No worries,

If you need any more links or information let me know.

[Kiwi]

Although I'm going to be buying a PS2 with a DMS 3 built-in already, it's interesting to see how what the insides of the PS2 look like, and how you go about putting the chip in.

[stanDarsh]

Yeah it's pretty cool, and the process of installing a DMS3 is pretty nifty.

My favourite ps2 model to open is the V0 (SCPH-10000), but at the same time, I'd also have to say it is the most difficult PS2 to modify!

I also like the V9-10 PS2s (SCPH-50000). I appreciate how Sony redesigned the insides ( just small things, that used to be annoying when disassembling earlier PS2 models). This model is quite easy to install DMS3 mod-chip

V5-6 (SCPH-3000x R) so far is the easiest model I've installed a DMS3 into, but probably also the biggest pain in the arse to disassemble. (Took 15-30 min the first time no joke).

As for DMS3 theres a couple of tricky things i should warn you about. Leave Memory card and controller in while using PS2, otherwise DMS3 may not work or games may not load, its odd, and im only just really finding out about the inner workings of the chip, if anything else comes to light i'll let you know.

[Kiwi]

Thanks for the info, but I think we should try and get back to the HDD topic now :)

[stanDarsh]

Oh yeah totally forgot it was the Hard Drive thread, my bad.

I'm still thinking I might buy a US PS2 and the US HDD though, even if it means only being able to play and install US games on it.

[slayerx]

You in the UK stan if so you can get a US console cheap mine was £200 which came with a network adapter

[stanDarsh]

Nice, but unfortunately no, im from Australia. Also £200 is good price im sure in the UK, but translate that to Australian currency thatd be about $450 AUD which is annoying, because at that price I could buy a new PS2, a "new release" game and a network adaptor.

Thanks for the thought anyway, appreciate it.

I nearly bought a faulty PS2 for $5USD on ebay, but the seller said the mother board was broken, which can make it quite difficult to find what components have blown. But still it was 5 bucks, and was gonna buy it and someone beat me to it. :x

Sorry this keeps going off topic. ill try and steer this back on topic.

Slayerx, what do you think of the HDD so far, in your opinion is it worth getting?

[slayerx]

Hard to say, i love playing ffxi on it kinda cool playing with no disc in the drive and hopefully the new socom 2 maps will be ready to download next month and resident evil outbreak i beleive uses it for load times to be much shorter

Atm to be honest it has little use unless your a big FF like me :) but in the future games like


GT4
MGS
FFXII
Socom 2

Will use it for downloadable content and to reduce loading times.

[stanDarsh]

Cool, fair enough. Me thinks i shall get an HDD

[gamingmonkey2004]

sorry guys so we will end this but saying 'the hdd cant even be installed without the network adapter' Sorry for all the confusion..

its all good...hmm but im pretty sure u can install the HDD without the NA...you just wouldnt be able to go online, thats all. The thing is..FFXI requires ONLINE for play...therefore u need BOTH, HDD and NA...BUT the HDD comes with an Instalation disk..and i dont think NA has anything to do with it...i havent tried to install the HDD by itself cuz i had the NA for more than a year now and just got the HDD....so al i did was just added teh HDD with NA already installed

you cannot install the HDD without the NA because the HDD plugs into the NA then the NA plugs into the PS2


Cool, fair enough. Me thinks i shall get an HDD
im going to get an HDD also because its better then memory cards and i think more games like FFXI and SOCOM will load from the HDD

[KlawHammer]

You know that really sucks having to buy a network adaptor if you wanna use a hdd. But it has its benefits as well - this way people will have to get online in order to have the hdd - catch my drift?

[Danji]

Sony said during their E3 conference that they were making an external alternative for the HDD. I watched the 1 Hour and 20 minute long show if you're wondering what my source is.

[Kiwi]

External HDD, isn't that what the original HDD in Japan was like anyway?

[slayerx]

Yeah the japs had an external or internal the external been about a third of a PS2

http://image.lik-sang.com/images//170/ps2-console.jpg

[stanDarsh]

The external one, suits my PS2 (SCPH-10000). I would get it, but the cheapest I can find it for is about $300AUD (I can buy a new PS2 for that much).

[Kiwi]

How much is a HDD in AUD then?

[ultimategamer2004]

How much will the new 1 be?

It really is bad having to get a network adapter if you want to install the HDD it is a big problem it should have been thought about more before.

[Kiwi]

I don't think a date has even been set over here, so I can't find out how much it will be.

[slayerx]

i would guess they will price them *fingers crossed* below the £99 i think if there to mo high they wont sell as i have the US one and as i stated got it because im a hardcore FF fan but to be honest some people will want it for more which atm it doesnt do unless sony bundle it with GT4 that would be a great marketing plan ;)

[stanDarsh]

How much is a HDD in AUD then?

If I were to import the HDD + FFXI at present, it'd probably cost me around $145AUD(not including shipping), thats half what it'd cost me to import the external hdd!

[KlawHammer]

No way dude! Thats more expensive than a 160GB HDD!
I would probably pay around $150 to $160 NZ. Thats R550 - R600 Soviet Roubles.

[ibrooklyn]

No way dude! Thats more expensive than a 160GB HDD!
I would probably pay around $150 to $160 NZ. Thats R550 - R600 Soviet Roubles.

soviet union? are u from back in time? cuz my sources tell me soviet union fell a while ago =x

[stanDarsh]

No way dude! Thats more expensive than a 160GB HDD!
I would probably pay around $150 to $160 NZ. Thats R550 - R600 Soviet Roubles.

You are forgetting that the HDD comes with FFXI! most new release games here you'd pay $100 for, so $45 for a 40GB HDD is pretty good when you factor in the cost of both.

[ultimategamer2004]

can you get the hdd without FF..

[CrumCon]

Guys why dont you use your old HDD from your old PC?

I have used my old 13GB pc HDD.. but of course your PS2 should be modded and you also have to buy the broadband adapter.

[Kiwi]

but of course your PS2 should be modded

That's probably the main reason why.

[gamingmonkey2004]

can you get the hdd without FF..

this question keeps coming up and...NO.
look they are a combo cant get one without hte other its a way to sell the thing. think of it like this. "i want FFXI...hey it comes with an HDD" so they sell an HDD so someone will get it or. "i want the HDD o look it comes with FFXI" so they sell FFXI. so its hand in hand so its garenteed to sell. there are fans of FF games and they get a HDD free. and then there are fans of having great stuff for their PS2 and make it faster and look! they get FFXI. not to mention you have to get the HDD to play FFXI

[ultimategamer2004]

I wish you could get it without ff and the bad thing is i mean a really bad thing is you have too have the hdd.

[Infant Finite]

It also comes with the Linux kit....But you can't use the harddrive for games if it has Linux on it

[gamingmonkey2004]

the luinx thing is stupid! just buy the HDD and dont get that other crap

[Kiwi]

Hey! It's not stupid! I'm planning on getting one of those things, so no bad-mouthing it! :)

[slayerx]

here you go matt just incase you didnt know the site link

http://www.linuxplay.com/

If your a student you can get a small discount :)

[gamingmonkey2004]

whats the point of the Linux

[Infant Finite]

Because it's the best fucking operating system on the planet

[gamingmonkey2004]

....ok...yes OS i know but PS2 already has an OS. does it replace the old OS on the ps2?

[Infant Finite]

The PS2 doesn't have an OS already :?

[KlawHammer]

It does actually - a proprietary flash OS. Like your mobo's BIOS just graphical. Linux as was stated b4 is the best operating system money can buy (oops did i say money?) Personally i wish they had one of my favorite flavors of UNIX - FreeBSD. That would be the best combo...

As for FF, you cant get the hdd without FF installed. Just dont play it if you dont want it. As for the fellow who used his 13GB PC hdd - good on ya mate, but i want a 40GB hdd with FF preinstalled thankyou. Good nite.

[sub1zero]

Hey guys how much would be the HDD,Network Adapter and the USB HEADSET,Keyboard and MOUSE be in INDIAN Rupees ?

[Kiwi]

Hmm, lets see:

HDD + FFXI: $99
USB Headset: $39
Network Adaptor: $39

So that comes to around $180, which would be roughly 8,150 INR.

[gamingmonkey2004]

It does actually - a proprietary flash OS. Like your mobo's BIOS just graphical. Linux as was stated b4 is the best operating system money can buy (oops did i say money?) Personally i wish they had one of my favorite flavors of UNIX - FreeBSD. That would be the best combo...

As for FF, you cant get the hdd without FF installed. Just dont play it if you dont want it. As for the fellow who used his 13GB PC hdd - good on ya mate, but i want a 40GB hdd with FF preinstalled thankyou. Good nite.
thank you klaw for backing me up on that

[sub1zero]

Thanks Mate.Is it possible to buy..... a HDD alone without Final Fantasy ?

[slayerx]

Sony do have plans to release a second wave of HDD's with out FFXI but for the same price so in thoery atm FFXI is free so why not get it anyway ?

[KlawHammer]

It does actually - a proprietary flash OS. Like your mobo's BIOS just graphical. Linux as was stated b4 is the best operating system money can buy (oops did i say money?) Personally i wish they had one of my favorite flavors of UNIX - FreeBSD. That would be the best combo...

As for FF, you cant get the hdd without FF installed. Just dont play it if you dont want it. As for the fellow who used his 13GB PC hdd - good on ya mate, but i want a 40GB hdd with FF preinstalled thankyou. Good nite.
thank you klaw for backing me up on that

No prob monkeydude.

[gamingmonkey2004]

can you get the hdd without FF..

this question keeps coming up and...NO.
look they are a combo cant get one without hte other its a way to sell the thing. think of it like this. "i want FFXI...hey it comes with an HDD" so they sell an HDD so someone will get it or. "i want the HDD o look it comes with FFXI" so they sell FFXI. so its hand in hand so its garenteed to sell. there are fans of FF games and they get a HDD free. and then there are fans of having great stuff for their PS2 and make it faster and look! they get FFXI. not to mention you have to get the HDD to play FFXI

Thanks Mate.Is it possible to buy..... a HDD alone without Final Fantasy ?
yet again...no...my answer has not changed..the only way is to get hte luinx

[Kiwi]

The HDD that comes with the Linux Kit won't work with anything else.

[Infant Finite]

The harddrive that comes with the Linux kit and the one that comes with FFXI are the exact same. It just won't work with anything else if you have Linux installed on it

[Kiwi]

So if you wanted to use the Linux Kit and play online, say, with FFXI, you would need 2 HDD's.

[KlawHammer]

Thats a waste - if Sony had chosen Linux as the proprietary OS from the start we wouldnt have this problem.

[Kiwi]

A bit of an inconvenience as well, having to swap around HDD's every time you want to switch between Linux and online play.

[KlawHammer]

But why would you want Linux on the PS2 as well? Thats why we have PCs with Linux.

[ibrooklyn]

Thanks Mate.Is it possible to buy..... a HDD alone without Final Fantasy ?

dude FFXI is FREE....in other words HDD = $100 no matter what, FFXI is just an FREE PRE-Installed game that u get with the HDD...u also get a month free of FFXI

i think i might actually try the game for once, ive read about the game and it looked OK....im not a big fan of RPGs and never played any MMORPG....so yea gonna try something new

[slayerx]

Give it a go you gets 30 days free if you dont like it canel the subs and you will be fine :)

[sub1zero]

Will do.Thanks

[KlawHammer]

1 whole month free? yea...$200 HDD here i come....

[Kiwi]

Better damn hurry up and get a release date, I'm growing ever impatient!

[ibrooklyn]

1 whole month free? yea...$200 HDD here i come....

$200??? where do u get those prices from?

[Kiwi]

He doesn't live in the US, so it'll be different for him.

[KlawHammer]

Yes not everyone, as you Americans might think, lives in the US.

[ibrooklyn]

Yes not everyone, as you Americans might think, lives in the US.

no really? =\

i never said you were an American, i asked you WHER DO YOU GET THESE PRICES FROM?

you could have just told me where you live, like your country =\

cuz i was just wondering what would 200 of your "dollars" or w/e you use, since i dunno where youre from would equal to our American dollars

UNLESS the $200 u wrote was already converted into USD

[KlawHammer]

im in New Zealand. So that was actually in NZ dollars - $200 is $100US.

[Danji]

Better damn hurry up and get a release date, I'm growing ever impatient!
I think that before they send it over seas (again) they should fix the terrible mistake they made of shipping it over here without what they freaking promised. When I say that I mean the Media Player and the expansive internet functions (e-mail, instant messaging, browser). It was quite upsetting on the day that I got the HDD that the new CD player bios didn't add the ability to rip music and play it off of the HDD so I hope they 'fix' what they did before they send it over there and do the same to you euro-peeps. (and yes, that's right, I said euro-peeps)

[Kiwi]

FFXI has been given a PC release date, so perhaps that means that the PS2 release will be near.