How to Save PS2 Game Play on a PS3

In order to save PlayStation 2 game play on a PlayStation 3 hard drive, you'll first need to setup a virtual memory card. Start up your PlayStation 3's XMB (Cross Media Bar) by pressing the "PlayStation" button on your controller or by pressing the touch sensor on your PS3 console.

Select "Memory Card Utility" under the "Game" tab and press "X."

Highlight "Create New Internal Memory Card" and press "X."

Choose "Internal Memory Card (PS2)" and press "X." Note that if your PlayStation 3 does not support PlayStation 2 titles, this option will not be available for selection.

Enter a name for your virtual memory card in order to distinguish it from other virtual memory cards you may have on your system. By default, the name will be "Internal Memory Card." Choose "OK" when you've decided on a name.

Your first internal memory card will be assigned to virtual memory card slot 1 by default. You can change this at a later time by selecting your virtual memory card from the "Memory Card Utility" and accessing the "Options" menu for your specific internal memory card. Here you can also delete data from a card or even delete an entire virtual memory card if you need to.

Your new internal memory card should now be available for use with any compatible PlayStation 2 titles. You will have just less than 8 MB of storage data, which is the same size as standard PS2 memory cards. Additional virtual memory cards can be created on your PS3's hard drive if more storage space is needed for PlayStation 2 titles.

If you have saved game data on a PlayStation 2 memory card that you would like to transfer to a PlayStation 3 virtual memory card, you can do so by purchasing Sony's PS3 Memory Card Adapter. This plugs into your PS3 console's USB port and will allow you to load your previously saved data.