PS3 less backwards-compatible in Europe?

Sony admits that the support for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games in Europe will not be "as good as the US and Japan."

The European model of the PlayStation 3, due to launch on March 23, will use different hardware specifications from the models already released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and in the US on November 17, Sony announced in a statement today.

The European PS3s will be designed differently, meaning that a "new combination of hardware and software emulation" will enable the new PS3s to be compatible with only a "limited range" of PS2 titles and a "broad range" of original PlayStation games.

A Sony spokesperson told Reuters that "the backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the US and Japan models."

SCEE president David Reeves added, "PS3 is first and foremost a system that excels in playing games specifically designed to exploit the power and potential of the PS3 system. Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay, and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 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, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology."

In a statement, the company added that some additional titles would be made compatible through regular firmware updates--a similar setup as in the US, where initially some previous Sony format games experienced problems, but many were fixed through online updates for the console. The Japanese and American PS3s play an estimated 98 percent of the old games. The first update is planned for the European and Australian launch on March 23, and gamers can check out compatibility on Sony's Web site, which will go live on the launch date.

822 Comments

  • TTDog

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 4:03 pm PT

    "hrah:
    AND THEY WERE CRITICIZING THE XBOX 360 jajaja, And belive it or not there still some people defending the ps3 !!! "

    Well if you'd just wasted $600 on a console you'd probably find it hard to say that you'd bought a crock of s*** as well.

  • suprsolider

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    Well, congrats Sony.

    Your only screwing yourselves even more.

    I hope PS3 fails, and I live in North America. So if they do this to Europe's PS3's what is to stop them from doing it to North America's PS3.

    I can't afford a PS3 right now.

    This is such crap, no wonder people are beginning to turn their back on your Sony. You are becoming just like Ninetndo was after the NES and SNES days. Arogant. Look what happened to Nintendo.

    Nintendo is still learning from their mistakes, and are trying to fix them. So far the Wii is doing rather well I am glad I bought one.

  • dbzboy1510

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:29 pm PT

    this doesnt bother me i know there will be a firmware upd8 and i only have 2 ps2 games okami and pes6 and i doubt that they wont work.

  • rdnapper

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:25 pm PT

    I've been waiting for the chance to pick up a cheap PS2 since my old one broke last year, and was considering waiting for the PS3 to play my PS2 games on...

    ...but now it looks like i'll be going for PS2 after all.

  • ragingfire

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:23 pm PT

    Is it me, or does Sony hate Europe? *sigh*

  • brosim1104

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:18 pm PT

    What ??? Someone will make his console worst in Europe??? That will be SONY??? NO DOUBT AT ALL !!!

  • infestedcyborg1

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:13 pm PT

    xbox had there problems, sony are having there problems.

  • Ansem_Rev

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 3:09 pm PT

    HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

    remember when those Sony fans said Xbox is not backwards compatible they all laughed. But sadly their console suffered the same stuff.

    Excellent P.S do not click my user name

  • SpyderA

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:57 pm PT

    And as far as the no 20GB SKUs...I think Europeans should blame Americans and Japanese...after all, we are the ones that have told Sony (through sales) that the 20 GB PS3s aren't wanted (yeah insert annoying fanboy comment 'none of the ps3s are wanted' or other generic sentence). They simply aren't selling compared to the 60 GB. Most people have it (wrongly) in their mind that the 20 GB systems are a rip off. If you launched the two SKUs in two different areas that are pretty different in terms of gaming tastes and you saw that about 90% of the units sold are the 60s...wouldn't you stop focusing your efforts on the 20s so much...plus I'm sure that only focusing on one SKU is probably helping boost the number of units available at launch.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:53 pm PT

    lol sony

  • fixer293

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:32 pm PT

    Not...cool

  • hrah

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:18 pm PT

    AND THEY WERE CRITICIZING THE XBOX 360 jajaja, And belive it or not there still some people defending the ps3 !!!

  • tidus_ff

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:08 pm PT

    Its amazing. 2 years ago I was an avid fan of Sony. Everything Sony done in my eyes was marvalous. And then they unleashed their EU hate on me.

    Lied about worldwide launch, made us wait longer.
    Stupid pricing

    I took these things badly at first, and I decided to putoff buyign aPS3 until the price lowered. Then came more EU hate.

    No 20gb sku
    and now... the EU will have a "lesser" version compared to Sony's precious united states and japan PS3s. But one thing thats utterly messed up with all of this, and is a disgrace, is that Sony only decide to inform the EU after already opening and completing many pre-orders. That is seriously messed up.

    From going from an avid Sony fan, to someone who now despises that damned company is amazing to me. And its all Sonys fault. They've pushed the EU one to many f'ing times. I'm now going to inform my cousin, my brother in law, and friends about this (I had actually convinced them to buy a ps3.) I already know someone who cancelled their preorder because of Sonys behaviour. Sony deserve to be hit hard by this. And I advise any Europeans here to put off getting a PS3. But if you absolutely have to hav eone, import one from JP or US. Dont give Sony the satisfaction of taking money from the EU.

  • NuttyBanana

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:06 pm PT

    I'm so glad I bought my X360 now rather than waiting for this. I'm getting sick of reading about Sony BS'ing Europe with the console even though we're paying more. I hope this turns out to be their last console tbh.

  • sja28

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 2:05 pm PT

    ok i just dont get it poor europe first they have to wait 4.5 monhts and 2nd they have to pay more for the bs3 and 3rd they get a less capable sistem ok im sorry eu. fan of sony but thise should be enought and quit the bs from sony like i did im not happy with the amerinac ps3 and in europa is less quit now

  • Ez3k1eL_360

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 1:26 pm PT

    Damn and people thought the 360 had problems, now that this is mentioned the Wii hasn't even had problems with BC games, and yes I know the cheap graphics the Wii has but it don't matter .

  • SpyderA

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 1:24 pm PT

    First off. The PS3's NA and JPN 'emulation' of ps2 and ps1 games isn't emulation. There is a chip in the ps3...that's what this article is about. They are removing the chip in favor OF emulation. Secondly, the games do not look or play like crap compared to when played on their original console...so Snakevenom...you're wrong. I have about 80 ps2 games and about 50 ps1 games, over a broad spectrum of genres. Only about 3 ps2 games have glitches and pretty much just my ff ps1 games have glitches. That being said, yes I did try every game I own for ps2 and ps1 on my ps3. They look....THE SAME. That's right, not worse...not better. The same. As of firmware 1.51 anyway. Next, so everyone complaining how the LESSENED (It's not absent...why do people miss that when reading the article) BC is why they won't buy a PS3 now (because, surely you were going to before. Surely you wouldn't be dishonest enough to be someone who hated the PS3 before this article and just see this as another opportunity to spread anti-PS3 sentiment), what about when the firmware updates put the BC on par with all the other PS3s of the world? Then will you still say Sony is screwing you? Will you buy a PS3 then? Am I the only one that saw that there will be an update on day one to extend BC? You say you're paying more for less...are you? Really? I mean aren't you getting firmware updates too? Aren't you not just buying the system for its day one capabilities but also its future capabilities? So when the updates keep coming out and improves the BC...doesn't it become the same product? As for those people that keep comparing the PS3 to the 360 for BC...I wrote a post several pages back...it sums it up quite nicely. And for the toms hardware motion sensor article...I addressed that too...I guess I'm the only one that reads other posts as well.

  • blackadderthe8t

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 1:12 pm PT

    Not only do we get everything late, and OVERPRICED, but now we're told what we're forking out more than the yanks for isn't even going to be as good! WTF!?

  • _Cab0ose87_

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 12:27 pm PT

    i REALLY love my PSP but Sony is really screwing up their relations with the Europeans. This is just BS.

  • lorenzojr78

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 12:22 pm PT

    damit sony ! my ps3 is getting a lot a hate.

  • ZachX5000

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 12:19 pm PT

    LOL

  • pauldarkside

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:49 am PT

    I wonder how the "please come back to this site from 23 March" will affect the pre-order sales?

    I'm not surprised Sony has to do this; they've spent so much on R&D that they've got to recoup the costs somehow. Not that it's necessarily "good" for the end consumer. I'm happy with my 360 as is my nephew - he loves playing online with his intuitively, easily accessible friends.

    Does this PS3 play games then ;-)

  • 88_movement

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:45 am PT

    archangel_nth NO u dont refuse to buy one, this is the talk of a wii owner. Get a PS3 and see wht next gen feels like and its a cheap blu ray player. K? And for u stuarthanley stop boastin cuz u obviously cant afford one that is why u are trying to prove its crap when it aint.

  • jade2004

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:45 am PT

    Europe really is getting the short end of the stick with the PS3. We get it later than Japan and America and to top it off the UK has to pay more for it.
    I don't get why we are paying more for less. I was going to sell my PS2 and now it looks like I'll have to keep it.

  • ghostgx

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:30 am PT

    Typical ....another screw the Europeans hits the dust, hits the fan !!!! Well sod this ...i'm ordering a USA one off .... what they gonna do now!!!!

  • XTy

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:25 am PT

    The American PS3's BC had ISSUES, but now, those issues have been fixed for awhile now, thru a couple of updates ago.

    Anyways, US and Japanese get 98% BC, but the Europeans get 1080p BC upscaling with less support (kinda like 360's 720p upscale). So, which is the better way to go?

    Better looking but less.
    Or The same looking, but almost ALL?

  • archangel_nth

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:23 am PT

    I had an open mind, I was going to judge all the next gen consoles on their own merits, but now I refuse to buy PS3, the european delay angered me, but this is the final insult by Sony. How dare they change the spec of the machine just for one region? For me this is an important issue for (A) a company whom feel they can sell an over-priced console to the world, delay it to a quarter of the globe because they got their math wrong, and get away with it. And (B) My PS2 has just broke and even it I bought a PS3 it aint backwards compatible.

  • Bei_Kailin

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 11:19 am PT

    Isn't this a total 180 from Sony's old stance on backwards compatibility?

  • ChaosXeno

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:48 am PT

    Europe is selling out in reserves. How many Units is that? 1 million units. As it looks like to me thats 1 million more untis sold. The PS3 already sold 1.6mil units plus adding the sellout that will happen in Europe and it will because no matter all the bashing SONY takes from you fanboys people seem to have bought it being that it sold out on launch day in both areas.

  • stuarthanley

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:46 am PT

    hahaha... to all those PS3 fanboys out there......

  • Alucard7321

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:24 am PT

    ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahaha.......this is why Importing is so much fun.

  • SnakeVenom3000

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:15 am PT

    Also there are around 297 original XBOX titles that are now compatible with the XBOX360, as of December 2006, and the list is always being added to. Just some FYI

  • SnakeVenom3000

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 10:10 am PT

    XTy, this isnt the place to tell people what you think about them. This isnt a forum. And I am not going to argue. All i have to say is, put a PS1 or PS2 game into a PS3 and look how crappy the emulation is. I never specified how the PS3's BC sucked. Instead of asking you ASSumed. You are the one who doesnt know what he is talking about. Discussion over. This isnt the place to argue about this.

  • XTy

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:57 am PT

    PAL Gamers on one hand enjoy 1080p upscaling for the PS3 games, but on the other hand, get less BC AT FIRST until more Updates come.

    That was the 360 strategy (720p upscaling with less BC.). One faction say upscaling is better, one faction say that more games is better. Also :

    SnakeVenom    , you don't know what you are talking about, the PS3's BC is really good. 98% of THOUSANDS OF GAMES for BOTH PSOne and PS2? What are you comparing it too? The 360's 20% BC? The Wii which only plays GC (One System) and the limited amount of games the GC had? Don't forget the PS3 Firmware update that squashed the issues the PS3 BC had on HD's.
    Whatever.

    As far as this news goes, it's interesting, I wonder what the reason is.

  • dngrx

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:45 am PT

    Wow, does this mean a discount for PAL gamers?

    Screwed over again.

  • Raziya

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:38 am PT

    Daffy101: Y'know, some people get rid of their older consoles when new ones are coming out, especially new ones that have been touting for months that they were going to have complete backwards compatibility. I don't think it is an issue for Euro gamers that they don't have the money...it's that they are paying waaay more money for a gimpy product. This is completely uncalled for by Sony, and I extend my apologies to all of you unfortunate enough to be taking it in the rear from them right now. =|

  • XTy

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:32 am PT


    SnakeVenom    , you don't know what you are talking about, the PS3's BC is really good. 98% of THOUSANDS OF GAMES for BOTH PSOne and PS2? What are you comparing it too? The 360's 20% BC? The Wii which only plays GC (One System) and the limited amount of games the GC had? Don't forget the PS3 Firmware update that squashed the issues the PS3 BC had on HD's.
    Whatever.

    As far as this news goes, it's interesting, I wonder what the reason is.

  • Daffy101

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:27 am PT

    I dont think it's that big of a deal. If people over in Europe don't already have a PS2 or XBOX that can play all of the last-gen games, they probably can't afford a PS3 to begin with.

  • SnakeVenom3000

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 9:13 am PT

    Interesting. The backward emulation on the PS3 already sucks for America and Japan, and now they made it suck even more? What is SONY thinking? Maybe this is a plan from sony to continue milking the PS2.

  • flokemon

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:53 am PT

    tom's hardware also report that there will be no motion sensing support on the europe ps3. hardware cutbacks (that and the backwards compatibility thing) in an attempt to scale back the price or so they say!! which is a lot more than us/japan versions. what an absolute joke. still the bbc reports that pre-orders are doing really well. why do people accept to get sc***ed up that way...

  • HunterGXO

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:49 am PT

    To be honest, this doesn't bother me as I could just play the old PS And PS2 titles on my PS2. Although I can imagine it being frustrating for those who don't have the old consoles.

  • crills

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:33 am PT

    88_movement dont compare the six asses to the wii wiimote cause if you played both then you know the wii mote is way more advanced the the ps3 controller it dont even have rumble lol and how do you aim in resisdence with the analogs right ok its nothing like the wii . just wait till metroid 3 best fps this year watch

  • Terrorantula

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:20 am PT

    I don't complain tbh, i buy a PS3 to play the new games.

  • FallenOneX

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:12 am PT

    I'm looking, but I can't seem to find all of the European PS3 gamers that said it it would be worth the 4 month wait. Will you finally admit that Sony is screwing you, personally? My question is, what's the real reason for the spec change? Not to start a rumor mill, but was it because of the Linux OS that inadvertently allowed the copy of Blu-Ray movies? (with proper programming) Or is there some other Linux loophole that might allow European gamers to play US or Japanese PS2/PS games on the PS3. BTW, this was not, WAS NOT, meant to be a dig on the Linux OS. But you don't just fudge with a $600US system for "kicks" and giggles. A third possibility is that they saw that people were still buying the 360 with it's flawed BC and said "What the hell, if it's working for them......

  • theKSMM

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:08 am PT

    The 98% backward compatibility the the US PS3 has is pretty good. It's not as good as the Wii's 100% (presumed) backward compatibility, but it's far better than the 360's 25% (estimated) backward compatibility.

    Still, I think that Sony realizes that in order to move PS3's, they're going to have to wean people off the PS2 teat. Most people I talk to with PS3s are using them to play their PS2 games. And lots of people are still buying new PS2s (go figure). That's not good for Sony's long-term outlook.

  • blackace

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:07 am PT

    WTF!?!?! I thought this was a rumor off of a unofficial website. Now Sony is telling everyone the rumor is true. Why is European gamers paying a LOT more for the system if features and emulation software is be changed and reduced? Why Sony?!?! Why!!?!? That is the lamest thing I've ever seen. I think European gamers should boycott Sony and their PS3.

  • Julesmaester

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 8:04 am PT

    Oh did i mention that 360 managed a worldwide launch on the original date and so far most original xbox games work on the console? The way Sony has screwed things up so much has converted me into a 360 fanboy, despite the fact i love games such as FF, MGS, and DVM. Long live them and Gears of War.

  • Julesmaester

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 7:55 am PT

    To be honest i loved PS2 in its time (still 3 great games coming out) but now im transferring to xbox360 cause its cheaper more reliable and hasnt f***** europe up as much as PS3. But hey if i want to i can play my old PS2 games on my trusty slimline rather than the PS3 which i was originally gonna get. Totally agree with Jackman2004.

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