Desperate Sony strips PS2 compatibility from PAL PS3
news via blorge
Not content with delaying the launch of the PAL version of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) by three months and charging a premium for it, Sony executives have decided to make the PAL PS3 inferior to the version of the PS3 launched in the US and Japan.
The PAL PS3 is scheduled to launch in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia on 23 March 2007 (PAL is simply the broadcast system used in these countries; NTSC is used in Japan and the US).
Sony will be cost-reducing the PAL version of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) by removing PS2 chips from the PS3 hardware. Instead backwards compatibility with PS2 games on the PAL PS3 will be handled through software emulation. And as we all know, software emulation is slower and less reliable than hardware.
This will mean that while the PAL PS3 will be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation (PS), it will only be compatible with a limited range of PlayStation2 titles.
Trying to put a put a positive spin on the situation, Sony said in a statement:
“PS3 is first and foremost a system that excels in playing games specifically designed to exploit the power and potential of the PS3 system. Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games. 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, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology.”
In the statement Sony acknowledged the compatibility problems with PS2 games in a footnote, saying: “Certain PlayStation 2 format software titles may not perform properly on this system”. A web site at http://www.playstation.com will provide advice about which PS2 games will work with the PS3.
Sony looses money on each PS3 sold in the US and Japan due to high production costs, and is no doubt removing the PS2 chipset from PAL PS3s chipset to reduce the component cost.
However, given that the PAL PS3 is late, more expensive than the PS3 in Japan and Europe, and more importantly more expensive than its competitors, Nintendo’s Wii console and Microsoft’s Xbox, 360 you do have to wonder whether Sony is cost reducing the PS3 out of desperation.
If Sony really didn’t think PS2 compatibility was worth the trouble, why did the company include it in the Japanese and US versions of the PS3? And much can the company be saving by stripping the eight-year-old PS2 chip set from the PS3? It all smacks of desperation.
You do have to wonder whether cost reducing the PS3 to save a few dollars will outweigh the further negative publicity. This could well be the straw that breaks the camel’s backs, and relegates the PS3 to a niche position in the games marketplace in this round of the console wars.
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