AfterDawn: News

Euro PS3s rely on software for backwards compatibility

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

Written by: James Delahunty @ 23 Feb 2007 13:38

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• 28 comments

• thekingo7

  I think this is basically Sony's way of saying bend over and lube up.

  23.2.2007 13:54 #1

• JonnyCabs

  So........let's get this straight
  
  SONY remove functionality, by removing hardware, in order to reduce costs.
  
  AND YET they still shaft us over the retail price of the damn thing.
  
  Well done Sony.....NOT

  23.2.2007 14:26 #2

• hughjars

  100% correct guys, for Europe it's the lowest specs at the highest prices.
  
  Remember to say thank you and smile as they rip the p*ss out of you's.
  
  ......and who remembers Sony at CES slamming the XBox 360 for using emulation to bring XBox mk1 games to the XBox 360?
  
  Can you say pathetic hypocrites with nothing but contempt for the consumer?

  23.2.2007 14:45 #3

• chubbyInc

  Unfortunate for all those in Europe who wanted to play their older games. Off topic, but was in Best Buy today saw a couple returned PS3's , they were trying to get $629.99 Can. for those opened boxed systems.
  
  I don't think we'll hear word from the Sony fan boys on this one.

  23.2.2007 16:45 #4

• lxhotboy

  Oh man, sony fanboy here and xbot there. Let the truth be told, none of these systems have shown be Jack yet. 360 probably has the best selection of games right now but then again they are on the second generation of games compared to the first gen for Wii and PS3. Where is resident evil, Devil may cry, Halo 3. All they are doing right now is teasing.

  23.2.2007 18:27 #5

• Rikoshay

  So what this is saying to European countries is, "Sorry, but we dropped some stuff out of your release because we were too lazy to put it in your versions. That's why it took us so long to bring it out; so we could make your experience more miserable than the last time. Thanks for making our games though!"

  23.2.2007 18:34 #6

• lipanz

  haha...
  this would lead PS3 end up like dreamcast...
  a powerful console, but die fast..
  i'm sure european will buy other region PS3's..

  23.2.2007 21:11 #7

• Chronic00

  you gotta be sh@#@ing me!?! Did they not rant and rave about their enormous back catalog of games etc and the benefit of such along with the "perfect" compatibility at E3 05 as a huge advantage over the 360!?! They run their mouths and force M$ to deliver, which they are, they retreat as always. I've long been a sony fan but not for too much longer. At least I got my ps3 with the old chips included but I've far been enjoying my 360 as of late. Sony blows! They better start impressing with their next gen real soon or dreamcast it is.

  23.2.2007 23:02 #8

• marsey99

  they have done this to cut the cost but dont seem to realise that it will also cut sales.
  
  how many of us out here were happy to keep playing ps2 games on a shiny new ps3 till the good seconde gen games came out, now whos going to buy it?
  
  on the flip side it wont be long before the rest of the world gets this lowwer clos(spec?) version too.
  
  i love sony me, they make me wait longer than the rest of the world. they charge me more than most of the world and then they cutdown the functionality of the machine.
  
  hey sony, how do you want me, on my back or touching me toes?
  
  ffs i dont think so.
  
  another 360 is starting to look more applealing every day.

  23.2.2007 23:38 #9

• The_Fiend

  Boy, am i glad i bought all my recent consoles from the US.
  Still, this might put a spanner in the works, if sony doesn't sell well enough, we get more crappy games...
  Oh well, guess i did good in buying the 360 and the Wii as well then :-)

  24.2.2007 01:03 #10

• jonny-x

  It was a pretty difficult descision as to whether buy a 360 or wait for PS3. Sure I was annoyed, but I have a PS2, so if I got the PS3, I could play all my PS2 games, instead of having a PS2 AND a 360.
  
  Guess I made the right descision getting a 360, then... Sony just doesn't give a crap about their customers the way I see it.

  24.2.2007 01:37 #11

• bowshky

  an utter joke, thts all i can say

  24.2.2007 02:07 #12

• unicronic

  Now I have been glad with my choices with Sony in the past, but I get the feeling that Sony are the ones in for a fight this time. PS3 already has made me look to the competition for reassurance and I really don't want to do that. First it is overpriced, and is entering the market with two competitors already established which is a marketing mistake. Sonys PR department can release all the price justifications it wants but thats a fact. In UK the PS3 is going to be around $800 whilst in Hong Kong it is $500. The UK and Europe make Sony alot of money each year and their reward is a raw deal AGAIN. The technology looks amazing but the launch games were pretty average or worse except Resistance. A new press release from Sony states that backwards compatibility has been removed from PS3's launching in Europe. Sony cite a need to focus on new generation titles which is total BS, the real reason is likely to be time and money factors.
  
  So sitting from afar enjoying my PS2, I am seeing a war in which Sony has already made some big tactical errors despite just arriving on the battlefield.
  
  I want PS3 to shine, I want it to blow the competition away and scream to be bought by anyone who wants the best. It's just at the moment I am still waiting for the calling.

  24.2.2007 02:53 #13

• limelight

  "How to piss of European customers. Vol. 1" by Sony.

  24.2.2007 05:24 #14

• Ace_2

  That thing is going to die real soon. I mean, take a look at Wii sales in just over 3 months. That thing sold 5 million consoles in that time, and the PlayStation 3 hasn't even sold 2 million. How much did the Xbox 360 sell in over 3 months?

  24.2.2007 07:23 #15

• BouncyCat

  I'm sorry, but this does it for me.
  
  I had mentally justified the high price for the most powerful system and a large number of exclusive releases.
  
  The exclusive releases are drying up fast and I won't even be able to play all of the games I have brought from Sony in the past.
  
  Well done on creating another XBox 360 sale Sony.

  24.2.2007 07:59 #16

• Rikoshay

  Well, if it's really that important to buy now, then go ahead, but I know for a fact that I'm not getting near this crap unless it's less than $200 US to buy. There's no reason for me to just get a faster PS2 for anything higher than that.

  24.2.2007 08:17 #17

• nooberguy

  Originally posted by marsey99:they have done this to cut the cost but dont seem to realise that it will also cut sales.
  
  how many of us out here were happy to keep playing ps2 games on a shiny new ps3 till the good seconde gen games came out, now whos going to buy it?
  
  on the flip side it wont be long before the rest of the world gets this lowwer clos(spec?) version too.
  
  i love sony me, they make me wait longer than the rest of the world. they charge me more than most of the world and then they cutdown the functionality of the machine.
  
  hey sony, how do you want me, on my back or touching me toes?
  
  ffs i dont think so.
  
  another 360 is starting to look more applealing every day.
  Thanks for that comment 1 of the best I ever read. LOL

  24.2.2007 08:19 #18

• ZippyDSM

  Sony is a ling cheating console maker they don't care about the games or the consumers and refuse to efficiently deal with the price in order to get the system in more homes...

  24.2.2007 08:58 #19

• sellsolid

  Ridiculous! Backward compatibility is a basic feature, as they are removing the hardware component there is no chance that a future firmware release would enable backward compatibility. As a result patient European customers miss out...again!
  
  Off topic:I was ready to fork out the asking price of £460 ($800)- not anymore! This is surely the downfall of Sony as we know it - they have had the largest fanbase in comparison with the other two console manufacturers. If 360 and Wii manage to get hold of exclusive PS3 titles such as MGS3, Devil May Cry etc. - Sony's stronghold will almost certainly weaken.
  
  Their excuse is unacceptable, the cost of the additional hardware would certainly be covered by their inflated price! I am now ready to switch over, lets face it the price they are charging you can purchase both a 360 and a Wii and still have cash to spare!

  24.2.2007 10:47 #20

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by sellsolid:Ridiculous! Backward compatibility is a basic feature, as they are removing the hardware component there is no chance that a future firmware release would enable backward compatibility. As a result patient European customers miss out...again!
  
  Off topic:I was ready to fork out the asking price of £460 ($800)- not anymore! This is surely the downfall of Sony as we know it - they have had the largest fanbase in comparison with the other two console manufacturers. If 360 and Wii manage to get hold of exclusive PS3 titles such as MGS3, Devil May Cry etc. - Sony's stronghold will almost certainly weaken.
  
  Their excuse is unacceptable, the cost of the additional hardware would certainly be covered by their inflated price! I am now ready to switch over, lets face it the price they are charging you can purchase both a 360 and a Wii and still have cash to spare!Sadly you are right Sony has become to full of them selfs and dose not have a clue as to what it is they are doing.
  
  I AM getting a PS3 model 1 tho before they wrape the PS2 hardware out of ALL the new systems world wide.

  24.2.2007 10:53 #21

• tehjoker

  Wow Sony, you just reached a new low! Can you guys get any lower than this? I'm starting to dislike Sony more and more everytime things like this happen. Hope we'll get the Wii instead (i want one of these so bad >.<). Well, thank god atleast my psp is the way I want it.

  24.2.2007 11:12 #22

• oofRome

  Quote:Ridiculous! Backward compatibility is a basic feature, as they are removing the hardware component there is no chance that a future firmware release would enable backward compatibility. As a result patient European customers miss out...again! this is not necessarily true. A firmware update would just enable software emulation of ps2 titles, so it could be improved.
  In essense, it is going to work the exact same way the 360's backwards compatibility works.

  24.2.2007 13:27 #23

• ZippyDSM

  Quote:[quote]Ridiculous! Backward compatibility is a basic feature, as they are removing the hardware component there is no chance that a future firmware release would enable backward compatibility. As a result patient European customers miss out...again! this is not necessarily true. A firmware update would just enable software emulation of ps2 titles, so it could be improved.
  In essense, it is going to work the exact same way the 360's backwards compatibility works.[/quote]and look at where the 360 BWC is......

  24.2.2007 13:30 #24

• sellsolid

  Quote:this is not necessarily true. A firmware update would just enable software emulation of ps2 titles, so it could be improved.
  In essense, it is going to work the exact same way the 360's backwards compatibility works.I hope your right oofRome, however the PS3 consoles at the moment rely 100% on the additional hardware to run PS2 games, Sony have made it clear that they intend to concentrate on other features of the PS3 - they have made it clear that they won't "concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility."
  
  Even if they do introduce a firmware to enable backward compatibility, it will still have issues that the current software version encounters.

  24.2.2007 13:34 #25

• JonnyCabs

  As has already been stated, Sony COULD release a software upgrade that would enable at best a LIMITED backward capability.
  
  BUT this was not my point....
  
  To restate what i meant..
  
  We in the UK and Europe are getting LESS metal for MORE money..
  
  A LOWER spec machine than is already available elsewhere SHOULD be sold to us at a LOWER price. It really is as simple as that.
  
  Sony are shafting us, and do not deserve our hard earned cash.
  
  The buying public should tell them to go and F*** themselves.

  25.2.2007 07:40 #26

• ZippyDSM

  Originally posted by JonnyCabs:As has already been stated, Sony COULD release a software upgrade that would enable at best a LIMITED backward capability.
  
  BUT this was not my point....
  
  To restate what i meant..
  
  We in the UK and Europe are getting LESS metal for MORE money..
  
  A LOWER spec machine than is already available elsewhere SHOULD be sold to us at a LOWER price. It really is as simple as that.
  
  Sony are shafting us, and do not deserve our hard earned cash.
  
  The buying public should tell them to go and F*** themselves.and they have their sights on screwing the world!

  25.2.2007 07:46 #27

• nikko71

  i think ill stop wth my xbox 360 thanks

  25.2.2007 09:07 #28