The Cyco Safe House

It seems Sony can’t make up their mind concerning backwards compatiblity on the PlayStation 3.

When asked by the mag if the now BC-less console kills any chance of offering PS2 games via the PlayStation Store, as it does for original PlayStation games, Lempel said “We haven’t talked about that yet, but there are possibilities through technology and software emulation to make that possibles.”

I’m beginning to see people’s opinions change to describe Sony as always planning to do PS2 BC through full software emulation, but not speaking about it so there are little to no expectations.

Source: Is PlayStation 3 Backwards Compatibility Dead? Maybe Not

I know this blog has become a bit of Sony fest, but this is important!

According to a job listing on the international Sony Computer Entertainment careers website, Sony is looking for a PlayStation 3 compatibility feature engineer. The job role is “implement and improve an emulator on the PlayStation 3 and next gen systems. Target systems:PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP”.

With any luck, this is proof that Sony has listened to all the angry gamers who want PS2 BC and will be implementing it via full software emulation for 40GB owners.

Thank you Sony, if this is the case.

Source: PS3 Fanboy: Curious job listing found on SCEI career website

UPDATE: Sony is apparently dropping the 80GB SKU from the American market. It was the only PS3 Sony still made that supported backwards compatiblity. There are rumours that it will be replaced with a 120GB model, but whether it will have PS2 BC is still a mystery!

Sony have announced that they will be dropping the 20GB and 60GB models in Japan. Effectively cutting off Japanese gamers from backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 games, unless they go second hand like we have to in Australia or Europe.

Even though sales of the PS3 spiked after releasing the cheaper 40GB model, there was still a huge outcry from gamers at the lack of PS2 backwards compatibility. Almost every single day, someone revives or creates a new thread on the European PlayStation forums relating to PS2 BC, which usually ends up with people being told to run and find a 60GB as soon as they can, like their life depends on it.

Don’t believe Sony when they say PS2 BC was removed to save on costs. It costs next to nothing to manufacture the GS chip. If they really wanted to offer BC without spending money or time on it, why did they not put the combined Emotion Engine + Graphics Synthesizer chip from the recent slim PS2 in there? Sony have shot themselves in the foot over this issue. They could have got it right from the start, but they didn’t.

The only way Sony can rescue themselves from this whopping great spiral of shit decisions, is to spend the money and develop full software emulation for PS2 games and offer it in a firmware update. This will make a lot of people happy, including me. I wouldn’t even mind paying for it for crying out loud!

Just fucking do it.

I’ve broken my Golden Rule!

I’ve bought a console less than two years after it was first released.

I’ve always maintained that waiting a relatively long time gives whichever company time to smooth out known issues. This is even more important when dealing with modern consoles, because they pack more processing power and generate more heat than ever before.

Technically, this is a Christmas present, though I never expected that I would get it. Originally, all I wanted was Unreal Tournament 3, but all the stores I went to didn’t have it so somehow I ended up with a PS3. Strange.

Backwards compatibility was a factor in deciding whether I purchased the 40GB or older 60GB model. However, only the 40GB version was in stock and was offered in a deal alongside the BD Remote Control and 3 Blu-Ray movies, so I went for that. In the last few days though, I’ve been looking around for a 60GB version to buy (from a store, so there’s a solid warranty) but in the end I decided to stick with my 40GB model.

Yet another overhaul of the slim PS2 (SCPH-90000) was released in Japan in November, which re-integrates the power supply into the console itself, removing the need for a stupid external power brick, so I will buy one of these when they come out in Australia next year to replace my original PS2 (SCPH-30002).

I steered clear of the Xbox 360 for the time being. I will purchase one in the future when hopefully they integrate a HD-DVD drive. I also hope they fix the slew of reliability problems they’ve faced so far.

I haven’t purchased any games yet and have only played three demos: Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Skate and Gran Turismo HD.

GT HD is amazing, especially the replays. I can’t wait for GT5 Prologue to be released over here. THPG is also awesome and I will definitely be buying that as well, though I may purchase THP8 first. I downloaded the Skate demo, but I don’t like it very much. Unlike in a racing game, I am not particularly interested in realism, really.

Another feature of the PS3 which I didn’t really think of as something I’d really like is the wireless controllers. They work brilliantly! Admittedly the last wireless PlayStation controller I used was a 3rd party one for the original PS1 and it was horrid. The SIXAXIS controller however, is very good. The remote also uses bluetooth and is really high quality.

Getting back to backward compatibility with PS2 games. I have no idea what Sony were thinking when they removed it from the 40GB model. It seems even more stupid when you consider the 40GB model is the only SKU you can purchase in Australia, unless you’re lucky enough to find a brand new 60GB in a store somewhere or purchase one second hand.

According to some guy at Sony, it was done because gamers didn’t express interest in it and to cut the manufacturing costs. I think the first point is absolute rubbish and the second argument doesn’t make sense. Visit any PS3 forum and you will see constant questions asking where to get the 60GB version, will the 40GB model ever get backward compatibility, why did Sony do this, etc. Clearly, a lot of people still want this feature.

The only hope for 40GB owners, like myself, is that Sony is working on full software emulation for PS2 software. The 60GB SKU achieved BC with PS2 games by emulating the PS2 CPU (Emotion Engine) and including the actual PS2 graphics chip (Graphics Synthesizer) on the PS3 mainboard. Even this partial emulation caused problems for quite a few PS2 games, but it was better than nothing and can be constantly improved.

The 40GB SKU does not include the GS chip on the mainboard, thus removing the possibility of BC unless Sony develops emulation for that as well. I really hope they do, but I’m not holding my breath. Sony has stated a few times now, that they plan to move away from BC and focus on PS3 games. Fair enough I suppose, but it is just a tad hypocritical considering Sony hung shit on other consoles for not offering it.

Lastly, I just came across some fairly recent news posts (here and here), where Kaz Hirai (SCE chief executive) said production of the 20GB and 60GB SKUs may resume if there is enough demand for them.

Just recently, Hirai expressed his confidence in the 20GB and 60GB models of the PS3 which are still in stock, saying production of the two may resume if consumers ask for backwards compatibility.

If they do resume production of those SKUs, I wondered if they will modify them to use the 65nm Cell processor that debuted in the 40GB SKU, or will they still use 90nm Cell CPUs. Even though only the Cell processor is 65nm (the GPU is still 90nm) the 40GB SKU uses 65W less power, reducing the total to 135W from 200W.

Oh, and Happy New Year!