PS3 Backwards Compatibility in Question

But at least the uncertainty surrounding it is less concerning that that for Microsoft's box.

For many people the promise of backwards compatibility is just the handholding they need to ease their jump into the next generation. While Microsoft has been cagey about just how limited its limited backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 will be, Sony is expected to have much better support for its earlier games. Just don't expect to be able to play everything.

Sony recently released a silver slimline PlayStation 2 model in Japan. This new model has undergone a bit of hardware rejigging, which has managed to break compatibility with some PlayStation 2 games. And now Sony is sounding shaky about just how backwards compatible the PlayStation 3 will be.

"It's hard to say the PlayStation 3 will be 100 per cent backwards compatible," a Sony spokesperson said, as quoted by GameSpot. "But as we said earlier this year we aim to make it so as much as possible."

It is, however, important to keep things in perspective. While the PlayStation 3, like the PlayStation 2 before it, will probably not play all earlier games, the affected number is likely to be low - only a few per cent.

Sony's competitors, however, are in diametrically opposed positions.

While Xbox 360 is at first likely to have only limited backwards compatibility with the best-selling Xbox games, Nintendo is hyping its upcoming Revolution on not only its innovative new controller but also its backwards compatibility with all Nintendo's past home consoles.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games