When the PlayStation 3 was unveiled at E3 this past May, the majority of attention focused on its eye-popping graphics and hardware brawn. However, one selling point emphasised by Sony executives was that the console would be backward compatible not just with PlayStation 2 games, but also with those for the original PlayStation. This week, though, that claim had some serious doubt cast on it--reportedly from a Sony spokesperson.
According to the IDG News Service, the comment came as part of Sony's response to reported problems with the silver slimline PlayStation 2 (model number SCPH-75000), due for release in Japan on 23 November. When the machine was unveiled last week, Sony published a list of nine PlayStation 2 games, including Tekken 5 and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, and 38 PlayStation games, including Resident Evil 2 and Worms, which have encountered problems playing on the silver PS2. Speaking to IDG in Tokyo on Monday, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesperson Reiko Sakamoto said the problem was due to "multiple factors".
However, it was Sakamoto's comments regarding the PS3 that made the most headlines. When responding to questions about whether the SCPH-75000's backward-compatibility issues heralded similar problems with Sony's next-gen console, she demurred. "It's hard to say the PlayStation 3 will be 100 percent backwards compatible, but as we said earlier this year, we aim to make it so as much as possible," Sakamoto said, according to IDG.
While significant -- ranging from frozen cinematics and sluggish data saves -- the problems reported with the SCPH-75000 were not widespread. They plagued only a small portion of the 8000 PS2 and PSOne games that Sony tested. It should also be noted that the PS2 is not 100 percent backward compatible either, as SCEA maintains a list of PSOne games that cannot play on the console.
The PlayStation 3 is currently slated for released sometime in 2006. It's not the only next-gen console that's been dogged by backward-compatibility questions. Microsoft has admitted that a number of original Xbox games will not be playable on the Xbox 360. For its part, Nintendo has said the Revolution will support all GameCube discs and that it will play downloadable, emulated NES, SNES, and N64 games.
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Mike Roch
30/10/2005 04:11 PM
this system is going to ****ing ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank you for your time.
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dangerous dave
31/10/2005 06:05 PM
who cares if its not 100 percent backwards compatible its been that long coming that who wants to play old ps1 and ps2 games that most of us have grown tired of or finished that many times bring on the next gen and just have fun with the new games cause thats the future of gaming kill it burn it beat it nothing lasts forever
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Son_of_Xion
08/11/2005 10:23 AM
I think that backwards compatibility is a rather small issue compared to the rumours that the PS3 will not be shipping with an integrated hard drive.
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Kevin
17/11/2006 11:43 AM
I enjoy some of my old PS1 games and especially series. I still like playing Suikoden I and II and would like an idea of saving that game info in the HD and play them off the HD like some of the Wii and XBox systems are offering
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shifty
10/08/2007 01:30 AM
All new consuls have problems microsoft sucks sony is to expensive and nintendo's graphics suck the most
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Anonymous
26/10/2007 11:53 PM
i think that the backward compatibility is important , in order to provide the excitement of older games which we still love to play, the question is asked which comes first the company or the consumer?
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