Modified PS3 Offers Less Backward Compatability
February 26, 2007
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For Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia, recent changes in the PS3’s internal design means that the console’s backward compatability for PS1 and PS2 games “is not going to be as good as in the U.S. and Japanese models,” a Sony spokesperson said.
“Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3,” Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves explained.
A Sony press release confirmed, explaining that the PS3 to be launched in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Australasia on March 23 would utilize brand new hardware, the specifications of which include the Cell Broadband Engine, a 60 GB HD drive, a Blu-ray disc player, built-in Wi-Fi, and a SIXAXIS wireless controller. Most important, the press release stated that the built-in emulation would support only a “broad range of original PlayStation titles and a limited range of PS2 titles.”
The reliability of backwards compatibility on the PS3 won’t be as good in the European market to start off, but Sony will be releasing regular downloads through the PlayStation Network to increase the number of compatible games over time. An official list of working titles will be published on March 23.
