James Delahunty
23 Feb 2007 13:38
With the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) console set for next month, it has been revealed that unlike the PS3s sold in North America and Japan, the units available for purchase during the launch do not have hardware that provides backwards compatibility (support to play PS1 and PS2 games). In a statement, Sony revealed the European systems feature "a new hardware specification," and Sony won't "concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility."
The company is instead, "increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology." Therefore, like Microsoft's Xbox 360, these systems will get their support for old games from software that definitely wont be as reliable as the hardware solution.
"Certain PlayStation 2 format software titles may not perform properly on this system," a Sony statement reads. There is also currently no list of supported or unsupported games. The hardware was cut from the PS3 units to reduce production costs.
Source:
Ars Technica