So, you’ve got your PlayStation 3, but you’ve still got that old PS2 sitting around. You’ve got your memory cards and, as you’ve probably noticed that the PS3 doesn’t support those old memory cards. What now? That’s where the PlayStation 3 Memory Card adaptor comes into play, and it’s a must have if you already own a PS2 or even a PS1.

Most die-hard fans probably already own one of these handy accessories, but if not it’s a must have if you plan on getting rid of your PlayStation 2. The only real reason that I can think of at this point to hang onto your old unit is if you happen to own Guitar Hero since, at least right now, the guitar controller WILL NOT work with the PlayStation 3 and the PS2 to USB adaptors that are currently on the market don’t help matters at all. That however is something that will be resolved shortly thanks to a third party. When it comes to the save file transfer however, this adaptor however will make some aspects of your PlayStation gaming a little easier.

The PlayStation 3 Memory Card adaptor is simply a USB supported devise that will allow you to use the same cables you recharge your controllers with and plug your memory card into the PS3. Simply put in the PS or PS2 format memory card into the slot and it will be accessible on your PS3. From there, all you need to do is copy it over and the PS3 is intuitive enough that it will create an internal memory card for you. As most already know, you can create as many cards as you have hard drive space for. Once the new card is in place, you can operate the virtual card just like the normal PlayStation cards meaning you can deleted files or move them to other cards on the drive. My PS3 for example has one card with older saves from games that I don’t necessarily play as much, one specifically for role-playing games, another for my all of my wife’s save files and even one for titles I’m presently reviewing.

Since the PS3 and the PS2 both have USB ports, you might be thinking you can trick the systems into somehow swapping the data back and forth, but presently, that’s not an option. You also can’t take PS3 save files and transfer them onto the PlayStation memory cards, though a USB drive works just fine for that. Can you transfer a memory card save to your PC? That much I don’t know as I haven’t tested it (and didn’t see the need to.) Even once you’re files have been transferred over however, I’d suggest hanging onto the reader as you never know when you’ll need to get those save files temporarily put on a memory card for things such as reformatting the hard drive itself, though since the PS3 does allow you to hook up an external hard drive, I would imagine that you could just as easily transfer the files to that location, but again this is something that we have yet to test.

Just about anyone who has bought a PlayStation 3 was already a proud owner of at least a PlayStation 2, and most of them handed down their original PlayStation systems due to the backwards compatibility, and while that may be the case once again, the Memory Card Adaptor is a must have if you’re planning on playing those older games on your sleek PS3.

-mike-