RARusk

I've heard of some people using the USB port to run software but that is using the old USB 1.0 standard which is pretty slow by today's standard and you can't upgrade that since that is built into the motherboard. Probably best to use the Network Adapter as a form of USB 3.0 adapter if that can be done at all. Again, I'll do some research on that.

I recommend the Super Slim based on the fact that it does not use a slot loading drive. I had a previous PS3 Fatty die on me with my GTA 4 disc inside and I had to take the whole thing completely apart to get the disc out. You won't have that problem with a Super Slim.

Either I didn't know or didn't remember that there was a dedicated PS2 package for FFXII. Still, as you mentioned, the HDD for that is very small and won't work if you want to do multiple game installs (more than four titles) so you're going to need to remove that drive anyway thus you may be better off just getting only the Network Adapter as those are plentiful. Worse, the drive interface for the Network Adapter is IDE which has been long phased out in favor of SATA so you're going to need to find an IDE drive and I don't know how many of those still exist. If you're forced to use a SATA drive you'll need to do some adapting. Luckily, with laptop and SSD drives being so small, you can probably use some SATA/IDE adapters and still make it all fit inside. There is also a small SATA board that you can use for your Network Adapter in which you open it up and swap pieces. There is also a really cool drive cradle that is also a SATA to IDE adapter and is perfect for the PS2 but is Japanese only and is damn near impossible to acquire. You can also use SD Cards with the right adapting but you would have to remove the Network Adapter if you want to switch cards which is why I intend to built the reader into the Adapter so I wouldn't have to do that. Actually, now that I sit here and think about things, I wonder if there is an USB 3.0 to IDE adapter and have a USB plug built into the Network Adapter then use an external USB 3.0 drive enclosure or USB based SD Card reader. Something to research.....

You're not going to find a PS2 with a hard drive installed out in the wild - it's mainly a DIY project. It's a bit of effort but once you get it working properly you will never want to use the DVD-ROM drive again. However, not all games will work with a hard drive but I have not heard of anything regarding an SD Card reader replacement for the DVD-ROM drive. My PS2 modification "wish list" includes, in addition to the SD Card DVD-ROM replacement, a device that will allow me to use my PS3 and PS4 controllers on the PS2 and a true HDMI mod that uses the raw digital signals off of the motherboard not upscaling the Component Video to HDMI. I intend to put an SD Card reader into a second Network Adapter I acquired and use those for my games but I have been busy with other gaming projects to do that.

As promised, pictures from PAX South:

They had it at PAX South that just wrapped up. That area was super packed the whole weekend. I'll try to get some pictures up later.

Well, PAX South is this weekend but, unfortunately, my panels were declined again. I hope to get some behind the scenes info from the new group I am affiliated with (which has a booth at the con). Can't wait to see what they do with new convention space this year.

For E.T. I heard it was between 22 to 25 million dollars which is absolutely insane when you consider that this is 1982 money. I can only imagine what that number would look like in 2016 dollars. Atari probably paid more for the rights than it cost to make the movie in the first place. As for Pac-Man, my memory is a little fuzzy but I think they didn't overpay - they actually got it cheap prior to it being released in the arcades since everybody thought that Pac-Man would flop and Atari got lucky when the game blew up. The company fumbled it of course when they released the home version. Compounding matters was that they grossly overproduced thinking that everybody with a 2600 would buy the game and those who didn't would buy a console just to play it.

Seven if you count PAX South.

Adding to that you may want to do research on softmodding with Free McBoot and hard drive installs so you can use Open PS2 Loader. Installing games to a hard drive will allow you to bypass the DVD-ROM drive completely. However, you will need a Network Adapter and an older IDE drive or some adapters to use SATA drives (and SSDs). Not every game will work (about 85% compatibility) but the majority of your games should run fine (and load faster to boot). A bit of work involved but well worth it. Now if somebody can come up with an internal HDMI mod.....

Honestly I don't think E.T. was that bad. It could've been better, yes, but to me the worst game on the 2600 was Pac-Man. That was a grand disappointment. But, of course, that is just my opinion.

And it also gave us Red vs. Blue.

I understand but it wouldn't hurt to be able to use them as a secondary option.

Since both the PS4 and Xbone have USB ports you should consider support for the USB based keypads such as these: Not perfect but will at least give some degree of keypad functionality. Of course, keypad functions should be emulated through the joypad as best as possible since not everybody will try to get these keypads.

Six pins are used - both ground pins, composite video, left and right audio, and +5VDC. I used to take these things apart to get parts to make RGB Analog video cables. Unfortunately I have no pictures at this time..

Obviously I would love to have a Framemeister but I really don't want to spend that kind of money right now. But it sounds to me that the Calrad device is way more expensive that it should be and that I should stay away from it. However, I would still like to have some more detailed technical information for research.

Altex down here in San Antonio sells this converter (model 40-720phd) for $130.00. However, I've not been able to find a whole lot of information on it in regards to technical information, especially anything regarding lag issues. Has anybody here played with this thing? I'd like to know more about it before deciding whether or not to spend the money to acquire it.

Saw some of that during a quick search but was more interested in having the SD Card in the VMU itself. Another idea is to get a DC controller to USB adapter and hook it into the PC so you can read and transfer the saves that way.

Has anybody made a VMU with an SD or Micro SD card slot to put saves on? Not only would this get you more memory but you can transfer saves to the PC for safe backup.

You forgot Online DRM. That shit needs to be straight up outlawed.

The Stick of Joy.

Handy on the PSP runs well enough but I wish there was a way to fix the sound issues. Masterboy 2.10 (Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear, Sega Master System) is a fantastic emulator. One of the best I've seen yet. BTW, how difficult is it to softmod Vitas right now? I may get a Vita at some point and want to keep an eye on the softmod front.

Which game is this by the way?

Wow.....you're one of the few people that attended that panel. And the first to give some detailed criticism that I can learn from. As stated it was my very first panel. However, I had asked around GFAQs to see if any others had done something similar and all I got was blank stares so I had to "blaze a trail" so to speak. I knew it wasn't going to be prefect but I felt I did okay for a first timer despite some of defections. Unfortunately, I did not get much in the way of "reviews" to see where I did right and wrong and to learn from it. But I got just enough to make some tweaks for a second panel I did for RTX later that year (if you thought my panel crowd was small for PAX I only had three people show up for my RTX panel). I wasn't able to do a panel at PAX South 2016 because they declined my application. But there was a new group that formed out of one of the panels there that I have now affiliated myself with - the Greater Gaming Society of San Antonio. They've been working closely with PAX South for stuff for next year and hopefully I can get to do another panel through them. As for partners, there was a second panel I submitted that was also declined that involved Godzilla in gaming and that was going to involve me and a comic book artist (the panel was his idea btw). If things go right later in the year I may get to do both panels for '17.