PS3 Memory Card Adapter for PSone and PS2 saves drawbacks listed

Buy the Sony PS3 Memory Card Adapter at AmazonAn accessory even harder to find than the PS3 console. Guess what? That’s right, the PS3 Memory Card Adapter.

The PSone and PS2 memory card adaptor can copy the save data onto a virtual memory card on your PS3 hard disk, so you don’t have to start all over in your old favorite games when using the PS3’s backwards compatibility. While that is very handy, there are some…

Noteable drawbacks:
* You cannot copy saves back to a physical Memory Card. You can copy them between PS3 internal virtual memory cards, but not back to a physical PSone or PS2 card.
* You actually only use the unit one time to copy over your old save data and that’s it. I realize this is very cheeky to say, but maybe you could get it at a store, carefully use it once, and then return it to get something else with the money.
* You cannot explore your PSone or PS2 card and copy over specific game saves. It’s all or nothing, but you’re still free to delete saves at will once the card has been copied over to the hard drive.
* The adaptor will not work with cards that have more than 8MB of storage space, like the Mad Catz 16MB card. While the card is recognized, a non-descript error is returned as soon as you try to copy its contents.
* At a price of $14.99 the PS3 Memory Card Adapter does not come with a cable, but this is just a heads up, because it doesn’t need to. You use the same USB cable to connect the adaptor that you use to charge the PS3 controllers.

For those of you who don’t know how it works, IGN explains how PS2 and PSone saves are handled on the PS3:
PSone and PS2 Memory Card Adaptor connected to PS3

Under the Game section on the Cross Media Bar, you’ll find the Memory Card Utility. When you connect the unit to the PS3, the inserted Memory Card will show up inside of the Memory Card Utility. Your first option here is New Internal Memory Card, pressing X will bring up a message that says, “The saved data on the selected memory card will be copied to the hard disk. Do you want to continue?” Choosing yes creates a save space for backwards compatible games. After choosing the card type and giving it a name, the PlayStation 3 then sets aside the appropriate amount of space for the given card type on the hard drive.

When you play a game, you choose which virtual card is in Memory Card Slot 1 and Slot 2, which you can swap on the fly. You’re able to create an unlimited number of cards, though you can’t surpass the usage of 8MB or 15 blocks on any one card.