"Good" Non-OEM Memory Card Options
"Good" Non-OEM Memory Card Options
I wasn't sure whether or not to post this in the "questions that don't deserve a thread" discussion, but I feel it warrants its own discourse. Are there any reliable, non-oem memory card options for older game consoles? I had an official 1019 GameCube card corrupt on me recently so I began to research finding a replacement only to find the market flooded with bootleg memory cards made to look official down to the blister pack. This got me to thinking about options for other consoles like the PS1, PS2, Dreamcast etc. Is the best thing just to buy pre-owned official cards for all these systems? I feel like there is a gap in the market for brand new (trustworthy) memory cards for retro consoles. I'd like input from users on what brands (if any) are worth the cost. Thanks!
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nmalinoski
- Posts: 1974
- Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:52 pm
Re: "Good" Non-OEM Memory Card Options
I only ever use first-party memory cards. Every time I've had a third-party one, it has died; but all of my first-party ones somehow work.
You should still be able to pick up new-old-stock memory cards for these systems. PS1 and PS2 memory cards might be harder to come by, but I haven't had trouble finding still-sealed Dreamcast or GameCube memory cards at reasonable prices.
I don't think we truly need anything for the Xbox besides a USB adapter, since that console literally uses USB for its controllers and removable storage. I think virtual memory cards is an option for OpenPS2Loader users, but I don't have any experience with it, so I can't comment on its ease of use or reliability.
Granted, none of this really solves the problem of affordable, accessible alternatives. Perhaps someone in the retro community will come up with something.
(If something does come from the community, it might have neat things that the originals didn't have, like read/write access LEDs, non-volatile storage in cards for consoles like the N64 that normally need batteries, or a USB port that lets the card act like a mass storage device, eliminating the need for things like DexDrives or needing a separate USB drive or network connection and uLaunchELF to get saves on and off a PS2.)
You should still be able to pick up new-old-stock memory cards for these systems. PS1 and PS2 memory cards might be harder to come by, but I haven't had trouble finding still-sealed Dreamcast or GameCube memory cards at reasonable prices.
I don't think we truly need anything for the Xbox besides a USB adapter, since that console literally uses USB for its controllers and removable storage. I think virtual memory cards is an option for OpenPS2Loader users, but I don't have any experience with it, so I can't comment on its ease of use or reliability.
Granted, none of this really solves the problem of affordable, accessible alternatives. Perhaps someone in the retro community will come up with something.
(If something does come from the community, it might have neat things that the originals didn't have, like read/write access LEDs, non-volatile storage in cards for consoles like the N64 that normally need batteries, or a USB port that lets the card act like a mass storage device, eliminating the need for things like DexDrives or needing a separate USB drive or network connection and uLaunchELF to get saves on and off a PS2.)