Sony PS2 (FFXI) HDD; any reason to NOT reformat?

[nightrnr]

Okay, so I have one of those official Final Fantasy XI box sets; includes the game and Hard Drive (I don't do the MMO thing so it's never been played; just got it for cheap).
I was contemplating taking the hard drive and hooking my nephews up with a FMCB/HDloader/OPL equipped PS2 (phat model of course).
I would be reformatting the drive, wiping out everything on it.

My dilemma is whether there's a reason for preserving the HDD with the FFXI info loaded on it. Is that still potentially useful in the future? (Like how people host private servers for Phantasy Star Online). I just want to know if I would be destroying a rare commodity or something.

[isiolia]

You can do a clean/fresh install of the XI data from the disc either way, so there's no reason to keep the data on the HDD itself. There was actually a point when this was necessary for PS2 users, because SE programmers are...not very good. Basically, games installed get a partition for their data, and XI didn't wipe old data when it got updated, so eventually the PS2 version was unable to update due to lack of space. Eventually it was fixed so that old data got cleaned, and more recently they were able to increase the partition size as well.

There have been attempts at private servers, but nothing even close to fully functional.

The base version of XI for the PS2 isn't especially rare or valuable either way. What can be more of an issue for that platform is finding the expansions, particularly with unused registration codes. The last disc-based expansion came out in 2007, along with a "collection" release. Since then, the PS2 hasn't been produced for the U.S. (it never was released in the EU).

With how XI works, registration codes aren't system specific, so the important thing is having the data. A used (or burned) copy can suffice for installing that.

Even then, if private servers ever did come to fruition, it'd be likely that you'd need the PC version to access them anyway.

[nightrnr]

Thanks, that was very informative and answered a lot of my questions. I didn't know that you could do a fresh install from the disc.

You're probably right about future (if ever) private servers though. PC would be the way to go anyways.
I wonder how long it will be available; it's had a pretty long run.

The complete, new/unused package goes for a decent amount on ebay sometimes (often from $30 to $80). I wonder if I shouldn't just sell it and buy a used HDD of bigger capacity with the money (not a HUGE issue though, I could still fit a nice selection of games for my nephews even on the 40GB drive).
The FFXI box set must be considered a collector's item (like a lot of older "NIB" items).

[Zing]

Not such a decent amount considering the game originally retailed for $129. I bought it on "sale" at $99 in 2004. I sold it, used with no codes, for $80 in 2005.

[isiolia]

The complete, new/unused package goes for a decent amount on ebay sometimes (often from $30 to $80). I wonder if I shouldn't just sell it and buy a used HDD of bigger capacity with the money (not a HUGE issue though, I could still fit a nice selection of games for my nephews even on the 40GB drive).
The FFXI box set must be considered a collector's item (like a lot of older "NIB" items).

IMO, if you have it "new in box", then I'd probably leave it (or sell it) that way. Without the 3rd party stuff, the PS2 can't use other HDDs, and (in the US at least) I think the HDD was always bundled with FFXI. So, even if someone isn't interested in it for XI, they might be for the hardware (and utility disc) alone. That said, you'd need the rails from the HDD bundle, and a network adapter, in order to install a HDD in general (unless he already has those).

In terms of value, for FFXI, the original HDD bundle pales in comparison to the Vanadiel Collection 2008 for PS2, which is $150+ new.