Helder will soon release a product called the MC2SIO which is an SD Card adaptor for the PlayStation 2. This device is based on the MX4SIO project which began development back in 2018.
The project origins can be found here on the PSX Place forum: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/mx4sio-sio2sd-sd-card-adapter-and-sd-driver-for-the-ps2-sio2-interface.29210/
The MC2SIO works in conjunction with Open PS2 Loader (OPL), and allows you to play games directly from an SD card via the memory card slot. What I found to be most surprising is apparently the memory card slot has a higher data transfer speed than the PS2’s USB ports (which are USB 1.1). Because of this, load times and gameplay video are unhindered and run quite well, especially when compared to games played via the USB ports.
This is a great solution for the Slim model PS2’s which do not have an expansion bay for a hard drive. Additionally, the MC2SIO makes a few upgrades over the MX4SIO to improve compatibility with more games. However, playback compatibility is not 100%. A running list of compatible games can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zHxhwT4nSkrCCAqJNlSndw1Yeh_9g3eL/edit#gid=669997000
The MC2SIO isn’t on sale yet, but will launch on Friday, February 18 with a small initial batch and a second larger batch coming the following week. For those who wish to purchase one, you can join the waitlist found on Helder’s Store: https://www.heldergametech.com/product-category/ps2/
