Buy PlayStation 2 Memory Card (8MB)

Though the high price point and limited space are something of a burden,the OFFICIAL Sony PS2 memory card is a reliable product. However, ALL NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR THE BOOTLEGS ON HERE.

Here are some things I would say to examine to make sure you have a legitimate memory card.

BEFORE BUYING THE CARD
- Beware of very low prices. I would personally be suspicious of anything lower than $10.00.

- Try to ask the seller if the card you are thinking of buying from them is made in Japan. Legitimate cards are without a doubt made in Japan, so you should be
wary if they mention any place other than Japan.

- Try to read some of the negative feedback the seller has received. If you see even ONE buyer that hints that they got a questionable card, be on the defensive...

- If there's a product description entered for the card on the prices page, read it VERY carefully. Though a seller may state the card is "real", it doesn't mean it's an OFFICIAL product.
*Example of a suspect listing:
BRAND NEW CARD!! REAL!!!! BUY NOW!!!!

The listing says the card is "REAL" but it doesn't state the card is an "OFFICIAL" Sony memory card.

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IF YOU'VE ALREADY BOUGHT AND RECEIVED A CARD, DON'T OPEN IT YET!!!!! There's a few ways to tell you're dealing with an illegitimate card before you even open the package.

- Look over the packaging and see if the card was made ANYWHERE else other than Japan. If you see it was made in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or any other place, it may very well be a fake.

- Read EVERY WORD on the packaging that you can. This includes ALL the precautions and instructions on the back and front of the packaging. Much like a lot of unprofessional things, a spelling error is the number one clue of something low class. Even ONE spelling error is grounds for suspicion in my book...

- Look for sentences or words on the packaging that are either spaced to close or too far from each other. With a fake card that I got, there were many sentences that seemed to be written fine from afar. However, when you looked closer, the sentences had strangely high amounts of space in between them. Think of it as someone writing a sentence with an inch of space between each word....

- Look at the font of the words on the packaging. The sentences on an official card's packaging have a very crisp and clean looking font to them. However, with the card I got, the font was really ugly and cheap looking.

- Look for writing on the front of the packaging that tells you the color of the card. In the top left hand corner, there is black writing with a white background that tells you the color of the card on an official package.

- If you have one on hand, try to compare the front of the card you received with an official Sony PS2 memory card. When I compared my official cards with the fake I received, I saw that the fake had the words "Magicgate" printed very sloppily on it. That is, the words were curving upwards when they should've been perfectly straight. Think of it as how it looks when one tries to write a straight sentence on paper that doesn't have lines.

- Try to get a feel for the quality of plastic used to make the card. A card I received looked to be made out of very cheap plastic and I practically had to snap it back together since it was splitting apart.

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IF YOU'VE ALREADY OPENED THE PACKAGE AND ARE WONDERING IF YOU HAVE A FAKE
- Look to see if the card has varying amounts of free space on it. I've read that some cards have varying space even if nothing is saved on them.

- Pay attention to any games having a hard time saving to the card. Saving or loading data to and from the card may take long periods of time. In addition, you may encounter frequent bouts of corrupted data.

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There's likely many more signs of fake cards out there, but I think this is a good start of things to look for. Always make sure to take as many precautions when buying these cards as you can. The annoyance of a dysfunctional product is simply not worth the low price you may pay for it....Get more detail about PlayStation 2 Memory Card (8MB).