# saving psx games on the ps2

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 14, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440 "2003-01-14T02:21:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/1 "2003-01-14T02:21:11Z")

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I just bought a ps2 and bought a classic psx game for it - final fantasy VIII. I started the game, and when I went to save it, it said “failed to check memory card”. I have a normal ps2 memory card plugged in. Do I need to buy a psx original memory card for it?

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**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/2 "2003-01-14T02:25:11Z")

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Yes, it has to be a regular PSX/PS One memory card. You can save PSX games to a PS2 card only if you’re transferring them from a PSX card to a PS2 card for “archival” purposes. To actually play them, you have to transfer them back onto a PSX card first.

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**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/3 "2003-01-14T02:26:43Z")

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Yes, you need a PSX mem card. Luckily, they are now really cheap. I believe it’s a difference in file systems or file allocations or something like that between the two cards. You’ll see, for example, that your saved points in FFVIII will not be represented in memory block size, like if you were viewing in a PS One, but in kilobytes, like PS2 games. So, while a PSX save is a fairly standard size in terms of blocks but may stretch across several blocks and show up as several icons (for example, NFL Blitz, which take 5 blocks), a PS2 save is simply whatever size it has to be, and will show up only as one icon.

Hope that helps.

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**Author:** ![Hippy144](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/90db22/32.png) [@Hippy144](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy144)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/4 "2003-01-14T02:27:08Z")

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I’ve had the same sort of problem with my MTV music generator, and unfortunatly I had to use a PS 1 memory card. I think they just overlooked it when they made them backward compatable. PS 1 cards are cheap as hell now anyway.

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**Author:** ![lukaspriest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5a626/32.png) [@lukaspriest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lukaspriest)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/5 "2003-01-14T02:29:59Z")

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Many thanks for the lightning fast replies. I was shaking my head, wondering if perhaps I had a corrupted ps2 card or something. Now I’m set straight!

thanks again

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**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-psx-games-on-the-ps2/148440/6 "2003-01-14T06:57:35Z")

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Overlooked? Ha. I bet they did it on purpose so they could keep selling PS1 memory cards.