Register Hardware

Original URL: http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/03/20/sony_details_ps3_backward_compatibility/

Sony details Euro PS3 old games compatibility

By Tony Smith
Published Tuesday 20th March 2007 14:12 GMT

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has begun to tell would-be PlayStation 3 owners just how many PS2 games they'll be able to play on the next-generation console: well over half of the hundreds of titles listed.

The snag, however, is that users will require the latest release of the PS3 firmware, version 1.6, completed too late to be pre-loaded onto the consoles that go on sale at midnight this coming Friday.

Sony said Firmware 1.6 not only provides a higher level of PS2 and PSone game compatibility, but also includes support for the Folding@Home protein processing client, background downloading of content from the PlayStation Store, support for Bluetooth keyboards and mice, and adds an on-screen pop-up QWERTY keyboard.

The games compatibility list can be found here (http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc/bcGames.htm?locale=en_GB). Many of the titles listed are claimed to run - though Sony cautiously admitted only that there are "no known issues" with them - on the PS3, though some are down as playing with "minor issues" and more are listed as playing but with "noticeable issues". Greater percentages of PSone titles wil play on the PS3 with no or only minor issues.

The European PS3 lacks the PS2 chips (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/02/23/reduced_backwards_ps3_compatibility/) built into the US and Japanese versions of the new console. Instead, it uses emulation software to allow it to run older titles.

Sony pledged future firmware updates would improve the PS3's compatibility of old games, but the company stressed the emphasis going forward will be on adding new features to the next-generation console rather than fixing playback for PS2 and PSone titles.