European PS3 not so backwards compatible
After nations with the PS3 solved their case of jaggy backwards compatibility issues, it seemed the whole kerfuffle about PS2 games playing on the PS3 were over. Now comes word from Europe that the PlayStation 3 launching March 23 will not be fully backwards compatible.
"The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models," said a Sony spokesperson. According to Sony, the European PS3 is designed differently from the Japan and North America models. Software will take over the backwards compatibility issues now instead of dedicated chips. Sony also says 98 percent of PS2 games are playable on PS3 in the U.S. and Japan, no percentage was given for Europe.
Alex Kwiatowski, of British market research group Vertical Market Technologies (who sounds more like a Sony flack), said, "I'm as disappointed as the next game player about the reduced backward compatibility, but even the most nostalgic, misty-eyed gamers will have their steely hearts impressed by the new features that PS3 games provide." If God of War II, a PS2 game, doesn't work out of the box -- there will be Hades to pay.
