![In Memory Of Memory Cards](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.timeextension.com/d969b236adc3b/in-memory-of-memory-cards.900x.jpg)
The humble memory card occupied a vital but brief position in gaming history.
Prior to the arrival of CDs, game data was stored directly on the cartridge – The Legend of Zelda being one of the earliest examples of 'battery back-up' for games that required many hours of play before they could be completed.
When CD-ROM add-ons like the Mega CD arrived in the late '80s and early '90s, the ability to save directly to game media was removed, and the likes of NEC (with its PC Engine CD-ROM2 system) and Sega took the same general approach to solving the problem by building the ability to save data directly into the hardware itself (Sega would also release an optional cartridge which offered a much larger amount of save data, which was required for games like Shining Force CD).
By the time the 32-bit generation began in earnest, a new method of retaining save data had emerged: the memory card. While the Sega Saturn once again adopted built-in save memory (as well as optional save data cartridges), newcomer Sony released its PlayStation system without this feature; instead, it used small, pocket-friendly memory cards.
Sony wasn't the first to adopt this approach – SNK's Neo Geo had memory cards a few years previously which allowed data to be saved and gave players the opportunity to transfer progress between the arcade MVS and the home AES variants of its console – but PlayStation's take on the concept was more radical, and would have wider-reaching ramifications when it came to gameplay possibilities.
![In Memory Of Memory Cards](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.timeextension.com/3ee0dfd232569/in-memory-of-memory-cards.900x.jpg)
For the first time, players could save data to their card and use it when playing on a different machine; so you could, for example, take your data (a particular character in a fighting game or a well-oiled team in a sports title) and use it when playing at a friend's house. It also meant that your progress was no longer tied to a system on a hardware level – you could swap systems or upgrade to a shiny new PSOne console without losing your valuable progress. Of course, it also meant that misplacing your memory card could result in hundreds of hours of gameplay being lost forever.
Despite this potentially nightmarish situation, the concept of memory cards quickly took root, even on systems where there wasn't really any need for them – Nintendo produced 'Memory Paks' for its N64 console, despite the fact that most of its games utilised on-cart saves. Sega took the idea a step further with its Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit (VMU for short), which acted like a self-contained handheld console when not being used to save data. Boasting a low-resolution LCD screen and crude controls, it not only displayed information during gameplay but also allowed for short-burst mini-games. Sony would follow suit with its PocketStation device for the PS1, which sadly remained exclusive to Japan.
The Dreamcast VMU was an important evolution of the memory card concept as it not only offered its own form of light entertainment but also could connect physically with another VMU for data exchange. For many people, it remains the apex of this particular hardware cul-de-sac – certainly, from this point onwards, memory cards failed to evolve and would eventually become a casualty of progress.
![In Memory Of Memory Cards](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.timeextension.com/0c070b1a45e59/in-memory-of-memory-cards.900x.jpg)
While the PS2, Xbox and GameCube all had detachable save data storage, the Xbox also had its own built-in hard drive – a pointer to the future. By the time the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii arrived, the memory card concept was close to extinction.
Sure, the Xbox 360 still had dedicated memory cards, but they were arguably seen as the fallback option for those who weren't lucky enough to buy a console with a HDD. Sony's PS3 abandoned memory cards completely, relying solely on its internal drive. The Wii had GameCube memory card slots, but only for GameCube games; it came with 512 MB of internal storage for Wii-related data, and this could be increased using standard SD cards rather than proprietary storage media.
Today, vast solid-state drives and cloud-based save storage mean that the concept of carrying around your valuable game progress on a separate, easily lost device might strike people as madness, but it's yet another tactile, physical facet of gaming which we can't help but feel a little nostalgic for. What about you? Let us know with a comment below, and don't forget to vote in the poll while you're at it.
Do you miss memory cards? (447 votes)
- Yes
- No
- I don't really have an opinion either way
Comments 21
I remember being very offended by memory cards in the 32-bit era. Yet another way to nickel and dime gamers! In a world of microtransactions and loot boxes, it's a take that makes me laugh now.
Outside of the VMU, I can't say I have any fond memories of memory cards. They were just something you had to have, and, if you had a third party memory card, something you constantly feared would cut your progress off cold when it corrupts.
The VMU, however, is a special device. I would sneak it to school with me in middle school and play minigames or the homebrew version of pac-man I downloaded off of a terrible-looking Dreamcast web browser compatible website. It was great. Too bad their battery life was kind of bad.
Do I miss memory cards? I have like ten devices I use on a regular basis with microsd cards in them to store games and data. They are as alive as ever. Who's nostalgic for proprietary Sony m2 cards? Not I.
I have a horror story about memory cards:
Early into owning a PS1, a friend lent me a game.
So I'm playing, and the options say "Format Memory Card".
And I had never owned a PC before, so hadn't heard the term.
So I checked the manual, and it said: use this to format memory card. That's all it said.
And I'm like: I suppose I should select which format it is, so the game can save correctly.
I think I was like 12 maybe? I checked the card to be sure, and it was an official Sony 15 block PS1 format card.
I'm gonna need to know that after I click format card and I need to select from the list of available formats! 🤓
So click format.
And it says formatting.
And then nothing happens.
That's weird.
This game is boring, let's play another.
Huh... I can't find my save.
The whole card had been ERASED.
I felt like I'd been punched in the gut.
Up until then every cartridge game I'd owned had used the word ERASE or DELETE.
I had no idea what the word FORMAT meant.
I learned a painful lesson that day.
Memory cards are still here so why should we miss it, we had it on our phones, headphones, watches, cameras, computers, security cameras, dashcam, webcam, cars, tv, videogame consoles, handhelds, and even usb stick now.
I just remember being able to take my Perfect Dark character from home over to a friend and it was amazing. That game saved every stat you could ever wish to look at. No longer did I need to go through a menu to pick or create my character it was right there! Also having the card put into the controller was genius. I never knew why they moved own to two slots on the gamecube. I remember later going to play on a friends xbox 360 and having to log in to get my account on their system and it taking 5 to 10 minutes. Something that took 5 to 10 seconds on N64. I mean, log in info would be great, but so many companies make it so complicated that a single memory card, or even a card that had your long in info, would be so much better!
I wouldn't say that I miss it. I never owned a console that needed one anyway, unless you count the Wii (which allowed for manual back-up of games that didn't have online multiplayer support).
I just absolutely hate the fact that we cannot manually back-up Switch save data. Absolutely hate it.
And "cloud saves" are useless as they only seem to back-up at seemingly random intervals, and requires ongoing payments to maintain. What a load of crap.
I dunno, memory cards are still really cool to me. I discovered a bunch last time we were cleaning our house, and some of those saves dated back to when I was a kid in the 2000s. Genuinely amazed they're still around, and really cool to see my childhood saves again. I know SD/MicroSD cards are TECHNICALLY memory cards, since they're cards with flash memory for data, but I don't see them as the same thing. One's for general purpose data and cameras and phones as much as it is for game consoles.
How can I miss something I still use everyday? At the end of the day, SD cards and microSD cards are memory cards at face value. We just had to use proprietary ones back then, but not anymore.
Good thing my Gamecube Memory Cards are still operational after 22 years.
I had a Controller Pak for my N64, but never really used it, the only game I ever owned that needed one was Mario Kart 64 and even then, I couldn't care less about Time Trials.
Every other game in my collection saved to the cartridge itself.
Wouldn't say I miss them so much as the era they evoke. But any time I pull out my Dreamcast, PS2, or GCN, I'm pretty happy to see them.
Even if those VMUs do insist on emitting a piercing screech on startup if their batteries haven't been replaced within the last three weeks.
Kinda mixed on memory cards. They're still a thing you know. As in sd, Hdd, SSD, & flash drives of all sorts.
If we're talking proprietary memory cards, the yeah...they're no longer made. Last handheld that had one was the Vita, yeah?
Besides, I bought an import Sega Saturn Back-up Memory Cart a few years ago.
I only miss them by way of nostalgia. It's quaint to think back on or dig out a 20 year old memory card and see where I left off in a game.
But the practicality of using them at the time was always a chore and could come down to some real heartbreaking decisions to delete a save to make room for something new.
It's similar to installing a new game today and realizing your PS5 or Switch is full (again) and having to go pruning before you can play anything. It'd just be a little less annoying if the SSD or SD card was fun-shaped or had a transparent case or you could put Tony Hawk stickers on it. Let's get back to THAT!
I've bought an PS3 Memory Adaptor back then, hoping one Day someone will make it compatible with the PC.
Kudos to Menxard Rex, last Year i brought all my Data to the PC.
Btw. having any PS3 it is possible to have "infinite" Space, as you can backup the whole Data and delete it on the Card, to save other Stuff.
I don't miss the reliability issues, or having to keep track of which card had which saves, or working around the frustratingly small storage space.
That last one, especially, was the worst:
Memory cards weren't cheap, either. Good luck if you wanted to build up a collection of 50+ games!
I have a certain amount on nostalgia for them, but I do kind of understand the frustrations with their very limited data storage. Today's SSDs and external storage devices are so large that the problem is almost nonexistent now.
I still had my PS One and PS2 memory cards from my late teens/early 20s up until a couple of years ago. Most of them were save files from games I beat that for nostalgia sake I could go back and see the endings again if I wanted to.
What hurts the most is the generalization that my childhood was 'brief'...ugh lol. I member safe codes for the NES/SNES gen and then marveling at PS1/PS2 memory cards and Dreamcast VMUs. Good times
Biggest thing I loved about memory cards was indeed being able to take my progress over to my friends system and vice versa. Beyond that was just another expense that was a necessary evil.
Sorry, I'm not understanding how "players could save data to their card and use it when playing on a different machine" is different from PlayStation than it was on NeoGeo.
I would say it's more correct that by PS1, data saving was being used for a different purpose, than actual technical difference. The potential on NeoGeo was held by back the fact it was designed as an arcade system first. Games had to be constrained to a certain design ethic. While the home console could have allowed for more home-friendly gaming... it's easy to say that arcade was probably where SNK was making more of its money with the high prices. From what I've seen NeoGeo CD ports sometimes added more features appropriate for home play, but well... only had one turn-based RPG.
Yes, the N64's Memory Paks were regularly utilized by third-party publishers to cheapen out of providing on-cart saves.
Konami provided on-cart saving on the Japanese version of Castlevania, but stripped that out of the English version to save a buck or whatever that EEPROM cost.
When i played FFVIII and i found out there was a pocketstation mini game, I made the point to import the ($100!) device. I did eventually find out that I was missing out on so many import only mini games for the device. I found a fun Pop n Music game, and the Pocket Fighter Alpha 3 game (which i was able to unlock via Gameshark).
I definitely miss that portion of memory cards, but I dont miss the constantly losing files like I had with the Mega Memory Card. And I also miss how cheap they were compared to expanding storage now.
A fun memory I had was in the gamecube era I went to school with this girl and a couple friends who were into animal crossing. We would let eachother borrow our memory cards for a day so we could go home after school and import like fruits from other villages that we did not have and sometimes our villagers would jump from memory card to memory card so we always hear them talk about eachother. This was in 2001 to like 2004.
We all lost contact and that girl moved from Ohio to Canada. one of the guys I kept in contact with but he got into drugs and sadly overdosed and passed away.
but whenever I boot up animal crossing on my gamecube with the memory card I still have the letters they sent me and I even have signs and clothes of their custom designs they left in my village as well as their villagers that came from their towns asking about them once in a while. I shared the letters we used to send to my friend that passed family (dont worry they were holesome and not the dumb dirty joke ones we used to do back then xD)
and they were really delighted.
The memory cards legit save memories.
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