Euro PS3 Backwards Compatibility List Revealed
Facing increasing criticism over its decision to make the European edition of the PlayStation 3 less backwards compatible than its US counterpart, Sony on Tuesday announced which games would work with the console.
Earlier models launched in both US and Japan include a chip which allowed most PS2 games to be played on the console. However, in the interest of cost-cutting, the company replaced the chip with software for emulation.
The result is far less games are compatible with the console. A Web site listing games that would work currently include about 1,700 or so titles, however the number of games that are known to work without any issues is significantly less, and many titles are listed more than once. "If your game is not listed here, emulation is not yet supported on PlayStation 3," it advises customers.
About one million PS3s are set to be available for the European launch, about five times the amount that was available in the United States. Sony is counting on a good launch to help it catch up to market leader Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii.
Currently, it is some 800,000 consoles behind the Wii, and over four million behind the 360. About 1.1 million have been sold since launch last November, the NPD Group reports.
What remains to be seen is whether consumers will still opt to buy the console anyway despite the increasing amount of negative publicity surrounding the decision. Its likely that the backwards-compatibility list won't change much -- Sony says it is focusing its development efforts on the PS3.
The PS3 is set to debut across Europe on Friday.