PS3 slim no backwards compatability-heres why

Having ps1 and ps2 games in my collection, it would be nice to be able to just use the one PS3 unit to play all three generations of games. Sure the ps2 is cheap now, but this isn't about new adopters, this is about people who have had the ps 2 since launch and want one console to play all their sony compatable software.

I think the reason the PS2 sold so well in the beginning was soley because of backwards compatabilty. They weren't buying the PS 2 just to play the new Ridge Racer.

 

Agreed! One of the main reasons i got a PS2 was because it played all of my PS1 games, and smoothed them out a bit ( Well, that and Dave Mirra BMX 2 ). I wish i wouldnt have sold my BC PS3 a while ago, because that really about the only thing im interested in now is the HD upscaling of my PS2 games. Im sorry but there is still not a PS3 exclusive that would make me buy a PS3 ( MGS4 almost, but still, im not gonna buy a system for one game, and MGS4 is about the only PS3 exclusive that interests me.)

 

I'd be happy with software emulation, Sony just needs to work on it. Digital (upscanned) output gives BC a huge advantage over hardware PS/PS2.

 

Id be happy with software BC also, but to launch with BC and then just cut it later down the road is inexcusable. They should at least have one SKU with BC on the shelves. I would have no problem paying an extra $50 or $100 for a PS3 wit BC. Maybe they will implement software BC in the future, but I doubt it.

 

Yes

Nope, I bought them because the PS3 could play them... they do sound much better for classical music.

True but it's nice not to use hubs all over the place. If you are using a keyboard, mouse, eyetoy and a USB hard drive then it's just easier to plug them in. The memory card readers are just nice to have, esp when running Linux.

But given that the second generation was software backwards compatability anyway, there doesn't seem any logical reason to remove it.

I have an original Japanese 60GB PS3 and all the extra features that it does have, I have used. From playing PS1 and PS2 games, to using Linux, listening to SACDs and using all the USB ports and memory card readers...

Sony Marketing is speaking such bollocks that you do want to smack them in the mouth with a baseball bat.

 

Halfway software. Two chips made up the core of the PS2 - EE and GS. Both were in the 20GB/60GB NTSC PS3s. The rest of the little stuff was software emulation.

For the second gen 80GB PS3s (NTSC/PAL) only one of the core chips was there, the other was software emulated along with the reaminder of the system.

If Sony were to reintroduce PS2 BC it would need to fully emulate the PS2 in software. Doable, but requiring a time and money investment it may not be willing to make.

-hl718

 

It wasn't BC that drove early PS2 sales. That actually had very little to do with it. Being able to play DVD's was the real reason. The PS2 for alot of people was their first DVD player.

 

Personally I'm not that bothered about BC on my PS3 as I have had frequent locks and or other failures such as the sounds going wonky. I also prefer to have my region free PS2 so that I can play any region game with out and dodgy side effects. If the emulation was 100% perfect and region free then it would be more of an important issue to me. One great things about emulating PS2 or PS1 games on the PS3 is the fact you don't need any physical memory cards, the amount of time I've wasted trying to find the right memory card to play a certain game arrrgh

 

Thankyou. Someone who actually knows their history. DVD players were still somewhat pricey at the time as was the case w/ Blu-ray players when PS3 launched. Sony is not stupid when it comes to making money.

Good call. I didn't even think about the region compatibility. I was absolutely shocked that PS3 games are region free. Traditionally, Sony puts a strangle hold on region coding, but I'm not complaining that they let PS3 games slip, for whatever reason.
-ud

 

I think they did this right. The only reason i modded my PS2 was to play imports. Running homebrew, HD Loader, ... is a plus really. Plus, since HD output has no code like NTSC or PAL, there was never a reason to lock regions anyway.

It became a big selling point for the PS3, since you can buy games from anywhere. If a game you want aren't released in your region, just buy it imported. 99% of the time, the game will be also in English.

In the end the money goes back to Sony, doesn't care if it the game was bought in Brazil, Japan, UK, USA, China,...

 

Yeah, that's how I see it, but why would they not realize this during the PS1 / PS2?
-ud

 

Not exactly true at least in the US. In Japan, the ps2 was the cheapest dvd player and actually helped build the DVD market there. In the US DVD players were far more commonplace when the PS 2 launched and affordable. In Japan the DVD market was non existent until the PS 2 arrived.

 

Really don't know why. Still, glad they finally did.

 

I personally think that it was mainly licensing and right issues.

 

But you already own a PS3. If you could have saved $200 and not have SACD, Linux or PS2 backwards compatibility, would you have paid the extra?

And that is the basic point. Most won't, so they were cut and the price dropped accordingly.

They've obviously paid a fair bit into emulation. Perhaps it is not physically possible on the RSX and Cell. That seems very likely, else they'd have it in there by now.

 

Because the money didn't "just go back to Sony."

Often you would have a developer who sold a game to publisher X in Japan, publisher Y in the US and publisher Z in Europe. The publishers could esily be in competition and wouldn't want sales dollars to go to a competing publisher.

Not the best example (but a quick one) is Capcom. Capcom published its own games in Japan and the US, but had Virgin publish a good number of them in Europe. Virgin paid Capcom for publishing rights and Virgin bore the cost of advertising and distribution. Now if European gamers could have simply bought those games directly from Capcom Japan or Capcom US then Virgin would have lost sales dollars.

In today's world there are fewer publishers (for better or for worse) so having a region free console doesn't present as many business issues. And smaller developers know that their fans can find them over the Internet, so even if say, a small Japanese developer can't afford to officially publish in Europe, they don't have to worry about keeping the game locked to Japan-only (in order to preserve value while they try to sell the rights to a publisher). They know that their European fans will simply search them out and buy direct.

-hl718

 

I bought a PS3 a month after release in Japan, so I spent nearly $500 on one anyway... PS2 compatability was a must.

I'd be interested to know what hardware Sony dropped that so Linux wasn't possible... Even so leaving a high end SKU would be preferable then using marketing bullshit to make it sound like no one is interested in it.

 

Yeah the Linux thing does not make a lot of sense. Perhaps a way to push certain folks to buy up the older versions?

 

Nothing these companys do make sense. They see they can still sell ps2's and ps3's so they wanna take advantage of that for as long as possible. Once they stop selling ps2's we'll magically see PS2 emulation on the ps3 appear.

 

I was actually looking forward to the PS3 Slim until I heard that OtherOS was unavailable and PS2 BC would not be coming back.

I'm looking to get a 60GB PS3 now as it's definitely the highest quality PS3 of them all. It's a shame that Sony has to slowly decrease the quality of their machine by removing features to keep it selling.

Ah, well. PS2 backwards-compatible PS3s are cheap now. If you really do want one, then now is the time to get one (before people start selling them for double the price - SUPER RARE!!).