Reduced backwards compatibility for European PS3

[GougedEye]

Reduced backwards compatibility for European PS3
By Scott Snowden

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/02/23/reduced_backwards_ps3_compatibility/

23rd February 2007 15:42 GMT

Sony Corp has said today that the European version of PlayStation 3 will play fewer PlayStation 2 games when it launches on March 23 compared with models launched earlier in Japan and America. "The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models," a Sony spokesman said.

PlayStation 3 was first launched in Japan and North America in November and the model that will be introduced in Europe will be designed differently.

Software will take over some of the functionality that was originally taken care of by dedicated chips, which means far fewer PlayStation 2 games can be played on a European PS3 compared with the Japanese and American PS3 models, which play 98 percent of old 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," Sony Computer Entertainment said in a statement.

About one million units will be available at the European launch next month, as many as were made available in the United States during the first six weeks after the launch last year.

 

[GavinMannion]

I don't think this will make a blind bit of difference except to the cynics who will see it as just another Sony promise coming to nothing...

 

[Retro]

I don't think this will make a blind bit of difference except to the cynics who will see it as just another Sony promise coming to nothing...

I agree. The people who's complaining about this are the people who's not going to buy the PS3 anyways. They just see it as another reason to bash the PS3 and praise the 360.

 

[Vio]

I agree. The people who's complaining about this are the people who's not going to buy the PS3 anyways. They just see it as another reason to bash the PS3 and praise the 360.

You bet! I'd also like to point out we pay more for the UK PS3 than we do for the USA Jap versions and get less functionality.

Oh yea and the 360 almost costs half the price.

I leave anything out?

 

[Natas]

Its just another problem to add to the many problems with the PS3...... These things add up. IMO Sony have a track record of doing slap dash job. Like with the motion sensitivity on the controller that they probably included in the controller at the last minute, thus no rumble.

Blu Ray production problems. IMO SOny were no where nearly ready to release the PS3 when they did....however, all the delays and the imminent release of the Wii, drove them to an earlier release.

There is nothing wrong with an emulation system, it would have decreased the production costs of per unit, But why didnt they just do this from the very beginning? Well, because they had to bring out the console now!!!! Or run the risk of loosing serious market share......Cant speak for Microsoft but when Nintendo bring out a new console, THEY GET IT RIGHT FIRST TIME and will delay the launch irrespective of other circumstances, in order to deliver a perfect product.

 

[doobiwan]

I agree. The people who's complaining about this are the people who's not going to buy the PS3 anyways. They just see it as another reason to bash the PS3 and praise the 360.

Not quite, in fairness, this just makes the EU PS3 the same as the360 in regards to BC, it's not going to make anyone who preordered one reconsider, however there are two types of buyer who will be affected,

1. The guy who's been holding off getting a new PS2 (even just replacing a broken one) waiting for the ps3, and

2. I think more dangerously, The "We're sick of getting shafted" bunch.

Sony has screwed Europe every way they can with the PS3 launch, delay, price, now feature incomplete. It would not have been so bad if they did it to the NTSC PS3s as well but they not, it's just the PAL ones, it's "Europe thanks for nothing give us your money and we'll give you half the effort".

 

[Retro]

You bet! I'd also like to point out we pay more for the UK PS3 than we do for the USA Jap versions and get less functionality.

Oh yea and the 360 almost costs half the price.

I leave anything out?

Yes you did... not everyone wants a Xbox...

 

[Toxin]

I agree. The people who's complaining about this are the people who's not going to buy the PS3 anyways. They just see it as another reason to bash the PS3 and praise the 360.

But it was one of the things the pro-PS3 guys were advocating.

I'd have said that Sony were shooting themselves in the foot but then I doubt there's much left to shoot at.

 

[BCO]

Yes you did... not everyone wants a Xbox...

My question to you, Retro, is why would you NOT want an xbox? The ONLY half decent reason I can see to get a PS3 over a 360 is the Blu Ray player. It's not like there's loads of exclusive games for the PS3 that you'd be missing if you got a 360. On the contrary, the 360 has far more exclusive content right now.

The other reason not to get a 360 comes down to sheer brand-fanboism - the whole "M$ sucks, Sony pwnz" mentality that has nothing to do with the actual merits of either system.

 

[doobiwan]

Well technically then it's shooting yourself in the stump or the crutch

 

[Retro]

I'd have said that Sony were shooting themselves in the foot but then I doubt there's much left to shoot at.

And how do you figure that?

In the US for January Sony sold the following:

Playstation 2 sold 299,000 units
PS3 sold 244,000 units
PSP sold 210,719 units

Last week alone in Japan they had the 3rd, 4th and 5th highest selling consoles.

Nintendo DS/Lite - 136,999
Wii - 63,618
PSP - 34,505
PlayStation 3 - 20,676
PlayStation 2 - 16,192
Xbox 360 - 5,210
Game Boy Advance/SP/Micro - 1,836
GameCube - 347

How is getting sales like this shooting yourself in the foot???

 

[GavinMannion]

Yes you did... not everyone wants a Xbox...

Why not? Seriously...

 

[GavinMannion]

And how do you figure that?

In the US for January Sony sold the following:
[snip]
How is getting sales like this shooting yourself in the foot???

Easy the Wii and Xbox outsold both and then you have the software sales

01. "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition" (Xbox 360) Capcom

02. "Guitar Hero 2" (PlayStation 2) Activision (Charts)

03. "Gears of War" (Xbox 360) Microsoft

04. "WarioWare: Smooth Moves" (Wii) Nintendo

05. "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" (Wii) Nintendo

06. "Madden NFL 07" (PlayStation 2) Electronic Arts (Charts)

07. "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" (Gamecube) Nintendo

08. "Resistance: Fall of Man" (PlayStation 3) Sony

09. "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas" (Xbox 360) Ubisoft

10. "New Super Mario Brothers" (Nintendo DS) Nintendo

1 PS3 title, 3 Xbox 360 titles, 2 PS2 Titles and 2 Wii Titles..

The PS3 title came in at 8 if you missed it

Software drives sales not cheap Blu-Ray players.

 

[Retro]

Easy the Wii and Xbox outsold both and then you have the software sales

You have a bit of selective reading there. In Japan the PSP, PS2 and PS3 outsold the Xbox 360.

However, my point is not who sells the most. If Pepsi sells less cooldrinks than Coca Cola, does that make them a failure?

 

[doobiwan]

No, the fact that it tastes **** compared to coke makes it so

But keeping up the analogue that doesn't mean all Pepsi products suck, I'm personally a great fan of Mountain Dew.

And GM was talking Software sales not consoles, as he said, it's the software that makes the device a success or not.

 

[Retro]

And GM was talking Software sales not consoles, as he said, it's the software that makes the device a success or not.

I agree 100%. But you can't say if a console will be a success or not from the launch titles. The 360 had just as few titles as the PS3 and NONE of them was great titles.

 

[GavinMannion]

You have a bit of selective reading there. In Japan the PSP, PS2 and PS3 outsold the Xbox 360.

However, my point is not who sells the most. If Pepsi sells less cooldrinks than Coca Cola, does that make them a failure?

Lol you quoted the US figures first, the Xbox is getting whipped in japan. That is not news.

What suprises me is that GOW actually made it into the top 10 list for games in Japan which is quite an achievement.

Seriously everyone knows the Japanese are not going to support the Xbox unless Sony and Nintendo flop which is unlikely. This is why I am interested in seeing what happens in Europe.

Obviously the americans support their own company and so do the Japanese. Lets see what the neutrals do..

 

[Retro]

Lol you quoted the US figures first, the Xbox is getting whipped in japan. That is not news.

What suprises me is that GOW actually made it into the top 10 list for games in Japan which is quite an achievement.

Seriously everyone knows the Japanese are not going to support the Xbox unless Sony and Nintendo flop which is unlikely.

So it's an achievement for an American company to have a title in the top 10 in Japan, but if the Japanese company isn't number 1 in America, it's a flop?

I couldn't care less who's number 1, there's enough buyers for the 360, ps3 and wii to be a success.

 

[GavinMannion]

So it's an achievement for an American company to have a title in the top 10 in Japan, but if the Japanese company isn't number 1 in America, it's a flop?

 

[nthdimension]

If Xbox 360 games are managing to show good sales despite the console not selling spectacularly well in Japan that is an even worse sign. The Xbox is doing relatively well in spite of Japanese nationialism.

If Sony is genuinely taking a big hit with each PS3 console they sell, then they need people to be buying games to compensate. Their worst nightmare would be places like universities buying them for number crunching.

I think a major thing that is counting against Sony is that they appear to have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs while they waited for their manufacturing to be ready to produce the console. Time will tell how much the delay in release and the cost of the console is going to hurt them. I think it could be a problem in markets like South Africa.