The DexDrive from the now defunct Interact is by far the most common PlayStation 1 memory card copying device. You should be able to find it on eBay for $10 or so, a princely sum for such a neat device. Connect the DexDrive to the serial port on your PC, load the Windows-compatible software, and then back up entire PlayStation 1 memory cards as .GME files. You can then email these to your friends, trade them on the Internet, or store them on your PC for when your memory card inevitably fails. A lot of third-party PlayStation memory cards really are of poor quality and will corrupt and lose entire cards worth of games. Play it safe, and use official Sony memory cards!

DexDrive alternatives include methods for connecting your PlayStation directly to your PC, using Blaze’s Xplorer cartridge plugged into the PlayStation’s parallel port,^[23] and the XLink software. This allows you to transfer saves directly from the memory card plugged into your PlayStation to your PC’s hard drive. You can do similar things with some hacked Action Replay cartridges that are modified with the Caetla BIOS. The EMS memory adapter for PlayStation 2 also supports PlayStation 1 memory cards.

If you want to go entirely homebrew, consider PlaySaver (http://members.aol.com/playsaver/), a do-it-yourself memory card connector that plugs into your PC to provide a DexDrive-like experience. However, building this device requires a great deal of soldering, individual parts buying, and electrical savvy. It’s not very straightforward. Since you can find DexDrives for $10 or less, you should probably attempt it only if you really like dangling resistors soldered precariously to voltage regulators. If that sounds fun, print out the schematics page (http://members.aol.com/playsaver/p3.html), and dabble to your heart’s content.

If archiving isn’t enough, the marvellous PSXGameEdit utility (http://moberg-dybdal.dk/psxge/) for Windows is the tool for you to manage, save, and edit your extracted saves. It supports hex editing, conversion of game saves between standard save formats, and even regions so you can switch a European save to a U.S. format. Admittedly, it hasn’t been updated in a while, but here’s a step-by-step guide to tinkering with saves:

As for sources for the actual PSX saves, the ever reliable GameFAQs has a good selection for many games. Search in the PlayStation area to find direct links to .GME DexDrive saves, such as those for Final Fantasy IX (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/save/27583.html). In addition to this, many individual fan pages have DexDrive-compatible saves, such as a Dance Dance Revolution page (http://www.rawbw.com/~zio/DDR/) that includes unlocks in .GME form for DDR Konamix U.S., for example.

The PS2 has an equally confusing set of possibilities for memory card hackers. There are two major commercial options, EMS’s third-party hardware and Datel’s X-Port/SharkPort hardware. Both connect your PlayStation 2 to your PC and cost between $20 and $30 new. Hacking’s not horrendously expensive.

The most obvious choice is the X-port/SharkPort hardware. (Be aware that this is separate from their Action Replay line of products.) The device plugs into the USB port on the front bottom left of the PlayStation 2 as well as the PC. The unofficial, included PlayStation 2 disc boots in a similar fashion as the Action Replay. The software allows you to transfer data from the PS2 memory card directly to the PC. The X-port and the SharkPort are broadly compatible, but make sure to name the save file correctly for the device. The SharkPort uses .sps and the X-port .xps. Also, watch out for regional incompatibilities related to the actual save file.

You can also try out the USB adapter from long-time Hong Kong third-party supplier EMS (http://www.hkems.com/product/ps2/ps2%20usb.htm). This is a good buy because it includes 64 MB of save space and connects to the PC easily. Plug a normal PS2 memory card into the device, connect the device to the PS2’s memory card slot and to the PC via a USB cable, then run the PS2 Adapter program on your PC. You’ll be able to upload and download data to and from that memory card.

If you don’t like the look of EMS’s USB device, you can try its earlier memory card adapter (http://www.hkems.com/product/ps2/ps2-mem.htm) that uses Smart Media cards to save data with an adapter. There’s an additional necessary cable that attaches this to your PC to save and load data. Then again, the USB version looks like a straight upgrade of the earlier version.

In any case, you’ll find driver and software support for both devices at the EMS web site (http://www.hkems.com/download.htm). All of the major Asian online game stores (Lik-Sang, Play-Asia, and so on) carry these products.

Finally, the very latest versions of the PS2 Action Replay Max can download saved games directly to your memory card via broadband, as long as your PlayStation 2 has a broadband adapter. A clever exploit by the AR creators allows the Action Replay to connect to the Internet, though it doesn’t currently support uploading or saving your own files. However, this method may be the wave of the future.

For more hardware/software-related information on this whole area, check out the handy PS2SaveTools site (http://www.ps2savetools.com/), which includes information and FAQs on the major hardware and several very helpful save-manipulation programs. In particular, PS2SIDC (http://www.ps2savetools.com/ps2sidc.php) changes the country ID of the save so you can change territory information about it. Save Slicer (http://www.ps2savetools.com/saveslicer.php) allows you to separate individual sections of a save to help with editing it, if you’re trying to hack infinite lives.

Even better, the PS2SaveTools wizards have found a way for you to make your own personal save icons using the PC program IconInjector (http://www.ps2savetools.com/iconinjector.php). These rotating icons will appear on the actual PS2 memory card screen in place of the traditional SharkPort/X-port save. This is especially cool if you’re fed up with the violence the SharkPort has enacted on the original beautiful save icon and want to reinstate something cool-looking.