Arstechnica followed up with Sony to get their final statement on backwards compatibility - Source

Quoting Koller's updated comments from today about PS3 BC:

Speaking to Ars Technica, Sony's John Koller has made it quite clear that backwards compatibility will never, ever, ever be coming back to the PS3. "It's not coming back, so let me put that on the table," said Koller, quite simply. He added that, "It's not as big as a purchase intent driver as you may be hearing," saying that most consumers are purchasing the console for PS3 games and Blu-ray movies.

So, to reiterate, no more backwards compatibility from now until the world moves on. And probably not after that, either.

Straight from Sony, PS3 BC will never be making a return.

Z9000 strikes out again.

This comment was edited on Aug 20, 2009, 22:28.

In the last year I have supplied links to 60 gig systems that had 500 gig HDs, Ubantu installed, and were priced below retail. There are still places you can get them if you have a library that you wish to use those with. If you really cared about PS2 BC, odds are you already own one. But I get the strong feeling you don't own much of any of these things talked about on Blues and just troll, a lot...

Sony does not supply a BC SKU anymore and the majority of consumers will acquire them at retail, not at some random website on the Internet. BC SKU's will also not be warrantied forever even if people manage to acquire them. You can call me names all you want but the words from Sony themselves is that BC is off the table for the foreseeable future. Do you know more than Sony themselves?

Based on the fact you are more inaccurate than accurate at your guesses. Since most of your posting spam, and it is spam, are guesses and pure unsupported opinions, I am just making an educated extrapolation that this one is inaccurate as well.

So I'm wrong because you say I'm wrong? Prove it.

They are promoting PS2 still and don't want to introduce anything new that will upset that.

No they aren't, they are doing the exact opposite of that. They even said in their latest press release that they think people buy the PS3 for PS3 games. Again this is from Sony, not me. From Sony the company who makes the Playstation 3 in case you are too stupid to understand.

I think they didn't come to this conclusion until well after PS3 launch after realizing PS2 was still selling strong and they could cut costs on the PS3 system too.

That doesn't make any sense. Manufacturing refinements to the PS3 and dropping features like BC that require additional hardware are what let them reduce the price of the PS3, not the PS2. They've said this and their own actions indicate it.

But I am more than sure that one day PS2 games will be enabled to play on all PS3 systems (Rock solid sure). The only questions are when, and will it support disc based PS2 games. To think otherwise is being naive.

Newsflash dumbass, I said that in my post if you bothered to read it. Any future BC will be software only though and they might even attempt to sell it on the PSN like Microsoft does with Xbox originals. It makes zero business sense to give away software BC when they can enable it on a game by game basis and sell those old games again. This method has proved successful on both the PSN and XBL. Sony is a business that exists to make money, use your brain.

Your whole fucking post was retarded and basically existed to take potshots at me. If you can't comment logically on the topic material then maybe you should keep your trap shut.

This comment was edited on Aug 20, 2009, 10:59.

Your only choice to get BC anymore through hardware is ebay and the prices are ridiculous.

In the last year I have supplied links to 60 gig systems that had 500 gig HDs, Ubantu installed, and were priced below retail. There are still places you can get them if you have a library that you wish to use those with. If you really cared about PS2 BC, odds are you already own one. But I get the strong feeling you don't own much of any of these things talked about on Blues and just troll, a lot...

Based on what exactly?

Based on the fact you are more inaccurate than accurate at your guesses. Since most of your posting spam, and it is spam, are guesses and pure unsupported opinions, I am just making an educated extrapolation that this one is inaccurate as well.

Creston is closer to the truth of the matter. They are promoting PS2 still and don't want to introduce anything new that will upset that. I think they didn't come to this conclusion until well after PS3 launch after realizing PS2 was still selling strong and they could cut costs on the PS3 system too. But I am more than sure that one day PS2 games will be enabled to play on all PS3 systems (Rock solid sure). The only questions are when, and will it support disc based PS2 games. To think otherwise is being naive.

Sony and Microsoft "financially exhausted" from price wars.

What are they so exhausted over? Microsoft's been sitting at the same two price points for years and the PS3 started out priced like a car down payment. Cry me a river!

It's never off the table as long as hardware exists that does offer it.

This statement means nothing. Your only choice to get BC anymore through hardware is ebay and the prices are ridiculous. They are not shipping anymore hardware BC units as it costs them a lot of extra money in the manufacturing phase. Sony themselves have said it, what more do you want?

But as for the software portion, it's highly unlikely that your statement is accurate.

Based on what exactly?

I've heard they've had significant difficulty achieving the compatibility percentages they want in-house so it's a ways off and will probably cost money on the PSN when it does come out. Right now though according to Sony, BC is off the table period for the foreseeable future.

It's never off the table as long as hardware exists that does offer it. But as for the software portion, it's highly unlikely that your statement is accurate.

Linux and yes it's unique to the Slim.

Slim doesn't support the "installation of other OS" according to Kotaku which is an XMB feature on current models.

Why would they bother with backwards compatibility when the PS2 still sells like fucking hotcakes, and is, by now, probably a 90% profit machine?

The PS2 is likely the only thing that keeps Sony solvent.

Creston

Linux and yes it's unique to the Slim. I'm not sure why exactly you would want to run Linux on the PS3 anyways given how much they locked out the important hardware functions.

Between this, removing Linux support, and the step backwards that is the 3.0 firmware update, it's like the whole thing is being steered by a marketing department that has no idea how to market to gamers.

Is this something unique to the slim model? I have the 80GB version, bought in June of this year, does that still support using Unix?

Sony once again shows just how much their customers really mean to them. This is a level of disdain not seen since Sony thought it was okay to install rootkits on PCs via music CDs.

Verno since when has Sony been good at making gaming hardware?

Since always? You're confusing development tools with hardware. Sony is terrible at ease of use when it comes to dev tools. Microsoft on the other hand has had nearly a decade of experience with DirectX. Sony traditionally makes very competent hardware and supports it very poorly from a development standpoint. As an example Microsoft provides a voice chat dev library for developers and it's a standard feature in any Live enabled game. Sony on the other hand makes developers code it in themselves.

I am hoping when they roll out the PS2 software emulator, that they are wise enough to enable use for disc based games.

I've heard they've had significant difficulty achieving the compatibility percentages they want in-house so it's a ways off and will probably cost money on the PSN when it does come out. Right now though according to Sony, BC is off the table period for the foreseeable future.

This comment was edited on Aug 19, 2009, 13:14.

Verno since when has Sony been good at making gaming hardware? All of their systems has been a pain in the ass for developers, and a quick google search could show you the quotes.

Microsoft has been doing software for ages, and understands the hardware to run PC's, so they have a 'easy' system to develop for and easy to use.

I have a PS3. I like my PS3. It's given me no problems and I've played some great (and not-so great) games on it.

But, I swear, Sony's Playstation division is run by a bunch of retarded monkeys. Between this, removing Linux support, and the step backwards that is the 3.0 firmware update, it's like the whole thing is being steered by a marketing department that has no idea how to market to gamers.

History repeating itself. This is why the Amiga died and Commodore along with it in 1994. It's also why the old Atari computers line died, and also why the Atari consoles died.

It's also why the PC succeeds more than any other platform, because no one company controls the entire platform and manufacturing as well as software development is spread over the entire globe amongst thousands of companies. If Dell makes a fatal mistake tomorrow, the platform continues...

I think 3DO tried an open console platform and that failed. Maybe one day an open game console platform will succeed.

I am hoping when they roll out the PS2 software emulator, that they are wise enough to enable use for disc based games.

That's always been Sony's problem really. Great at making gaming hardware, great at first party games and terrible at everything else. Microsoft is used to working with third parties closely and has the benefit of experience when it comes to building online components. Sony really just needs to steal some ex-MS folk to redesign PSN and shift the goalposts a bit.

I have a PS3. I like my PS3. It's given me no problems and I've played some great (and not-so great) games on it.

But, I swear, Sony's Playstation division is run by a bunch of retarded monkeys. Between this, removing Linux support, and the step backwards that is the 3.0 firmware update, it's like the whole thing is being steered by a marketing department that has no idea how to market to gamers.

Because sales of the PS2 are still, to this day, higher worldwide month by month than the PS3. Why alienate a good thing like their PS2 sales by offering a PS2 within their PS3?

I see what you're saying but it's kind of backwards logic. They need to move old PS2 consumers up to the PS3 and BC is one of the best ways to do that. Ideally people get tired of their old PS2 games then go buy PS3 games. If they just own a PS2 then they just keep looking for PS2 games which are plentiful, cheap and everywhere still.

The real answer according to Sony is that the graphics synth in the PS2 can't be emulated through software very well currently and they don't want to pay to drop the chip into every system.

While I would prefer backwards compatibility, for convenience, fact is our PS2 sits there un-played, despite having some games for it. Backwards compatibility is not going to magically draw me to play PS2 games again.

Because sales of the PS2 are still, to this day, higher worldwide month by month than the PS3. Why alienate a good thing like their PS2 sales by offering a PS2 within their PS3?

Of course I'm going to buy a PS3 for PS3 games... if I didn't want to play PS3 games I wouldn't buy one.

But I'm sure there are many people that still play a handful of PS2 games enough to make backward compatibility a part of their purchasing decision.

Why Sony would drop a feature that has no effect on the operation of the system or the PS3 games themselves boggles my mind.