need some import/back up help

[gilrules2000]

im going to japan this summer and plan on buying a few games but need a method to play them on my us ps2, so i researched the slide card/swap magic trick but i cant find any opinions on this. Is this a reliable method for playing imports as well as backups?, if so,where is a reliable site to get it?

[trick]

The swap trick does a really good job. I forone, dont have one, but I have read reviews from other sites and forums. Try ModChip

[gilrules2000]

thanks but i need someone's personal experience with this product or at least a review from a reputable site

[fultz]

I don't think the swap trick will allow you to play games from other regions, I believe the swap trick is just to bypass the boot encryption, then again the region info may be located in the boot sectors so maybe it would work. If you don't get a fliptop, though, the slide card could be dangerous to your PS2.

[Cyberxion]

The Swap Magic DVD/CD combo package, along with the slide card, will indeed allow you to load up imports from any region (With the exception being Pal games on an NTSC system, and maybe the opposite. They'll load, but might not display properly...), as well as back-ups. It's a great alternative to mod-chips, for those out there who can't afford a pre-modded system, or lack the skills to mod the system themselves.

EDIT: I should say that it's what I used to use before I got my PS2 modded. It worked fine.

[pooman]

Or you can buy a HDD and Network adapter, get the memory card exploit/HDLoader, rip the games you buy in Japan (and wherever else for that matter), and transfer them to your HDD. I've had my HDD for about a month now and it works great. Saves a ton of money. So far I have about 25 games.

HDD & Network adapter = about $120
Around 25 games x $50 = about $1250

Oh and if you like strategy RPGs, get Namco x Capcom while you're there. Played it for a little and it's really cool.

[Cyberxion]

Right. The only problem with that, is that it's a $120 investment, whereas the Swap Magic disks disks were a little over $30 last time I checked. If all he's looking for is a method to play imports, there's no reason why he should sink that much money into it. The Swap Magic disks work fine.

Even if he's looking to play back-ups, I'd still recommend the Swap Magic disks to him, as even though you have to buy DVD-R's, they're cheap these days, and they will have payed themselves off after you've burned your first game. On top of that, you're not limited to the size of your computer's HDD, or that of the PS2's, nor do you have to worry about compatibility issues, or the possibility that the HDD will crash.

Something else to consider with the HDD, is that if you don't have a hard copy of the game you want to put on the HDD, you have to install the PS2 HDD into your computer and use a program to put the game on it. You'll have to do that EVERYTIME you want to put another back-up on your HDD. And even if you DO have a hard copy of the game, you're still looking at upwards of thirty minutes of waiting when you put the game on your HDD if it's a full DVD.

[pooman]

Right. The only problem with that, is that it's a $120 investment, whereas the Swap Magic disks disks were a little over $30 last time I checked. If all he's looking for is a method to play imports, there's no reason why he should sink that much money into it. The Swap Magic disks work fine.

Very true.

Even if he's looking to play back-ups, I'd still recommend the Swap Magic disks to him, as even though you have to buy DVD-R's, they're cheap these days, and they will have payed themselves off after you've burned your first game.

Well with a HDD you don't have to worry about "bad burns". If you think about it, the HDD & NA is paid off after installing 2 games.

On top of that, you're not limited to the size of your computer's HDD, or that of the PS2's, nor do you have to worry about compatibility issues, or the possibility that the HDD will crash.

I have a 120gb HDD, and it already has about 25 games with about enough space to add 5 on top of that. Yeah compatiability can sometimes be a pain, but there's people working on patches around the clock. 2 of the 25 games are incompatiable (a Time Crisis and Super Monkey Ball) but I have plenty of games to play while they try to find a fix.

Something else to consider with the HDD, is that if you don't have a hard copy of the game you want to put on the HDD, you have to install the PS2 HDD into your computer and use a program to put the game on it. You'll have to do that EVERYTIME you want to put another back-up on your HDD. And even if you DO have a hard copy of the game, you're still looking at upwards of thirty minutes of waiting when you put the game on your HDD if it's a full DVD.

Actually there's a way to hookup your PS2 to PC and transfer games via LAN. I've never tried it though.

Yeah I have to take the HDD out of the PS2 and put it into the PC everytime I want to put new games on there. I've had to do it about 6 times or so. Not that big of a deal. Just unscrew, take out the jumper, plug into PC, rip & copy, put jumper back in, and screw back in. 3gb games (which seems to be the average except for God of War <== dual layered game/8gb) take about 2-3 minutes. Now if you install games using HDLoader (put original in PS2 and copy) then yeah you're looking at 15 minutes on average and 25 minutes for dual layered. But hey you can always just watch TV, surf the net, play some other games, or whatever you feel like doing while the game is intalling.

That's just my 2 cents. Of course I'm biased towards the HDD because that's what I own, but if you decide to use the Swap Magic Discs then that's just as good as a solution. Oh yeah and if you buy SM first, you can always use them as a starting point for the HDD!

[Cyberxion]

Well with a HDD you don't have to worry about "bad burns". If you think about it, the HDD & NA is paid off after installing 2 games.

No, but you do have to worry about compatibility issues, just as you acknowledged. Neither way is completely fool-proof when it comes down to it, but the Swap Magic method is cheaper.

Also, if he were to go your route and buy a 120GB HDD for his PS2, he'd just be throwing more money into the equation. Granted, it does pay off in the end (Both methods do.), but why spend alot of money, when you could lay down a mere thirty bucks or so on something that's just as good, and far easier to use?

120GB HDD - $80-90 (More or less depending on where you buy it.)
PS2 BBA - $40
HD Advance program - $30
Total Cost: Around $150-160, give or take ten bucks or so.

Swap Magic - $30
Pack of 50 DVD-R's - $20 (Granted, you do have to buy more when these run out, but unlike the HDD, you're not running into the same inconveniences and limitations.)
Total Cost: $50 bucks

While it's not particularly difficult to do, there's alot of work involved in formatting your HDD to work in your PS2. And if you wanted to forgo purchasing the HD Advance program and use the HD Advance Mem Card exploit, you still need a swap disk in order to boot the disk that allows you to put the exploit on a memory card. That, or you need to know someone with a modded PS2, so they can put it on there for ya.

When it boils down to it, there's really no reason not to go the Swap Magic route. Especially for the less tech savvy people out there. Y'know, those who don't want to mess around for half an hour setting things up, and just want to get to playing thier imports and backups.

In my time, I've used the Gameshark swap-trick, the Swap Magic disks, and the HD Advance program. With that experience beneath my belt, and no bias clouding my judgment, it's my honest opinion that he should go with the cheap and easy-to-use SM disks, as they offer all the functionality you could want, in a nice, tidy, package.

[pooman]

Well in my situation my PS2's laser is dying. The PS2 reads 100% when it's vertical. When it's horizontal it only works about 33% of the time. So by using the HDD I don't have to worry about wear and tear on the laser. And since it's reading off the HDD, there are faster load times.

So basically not only does the HDD provides faster load times but ensures the life of your PS2.

The only con I can think of is the fact that you can't play online with the HDD unless you own the original disc. I'm guessing you can go online with the SM discs though right?

[Valholy]

i used the slide card thing and didnt work, dont know why since i did everything in the proper way , its my experience maybe im the only one that had this problem

[gilrules2000]

well, ive decided to get the fliptop but i am regretting it because i made the purchase on wednesday from a website that conducts crappy business and ive been emailing like crazy to get them to cancel my order but they havent emailed back