Japanese gaming site Impress Watch reports that Sony (Japan) has released a statement explaining why the Euro version of the Playstation 3 may have a drop in backwards compatibility. Apparently this PS3 will use a combination of Hardware and Software. The Graphics Synthesizer that can be found in current PS3 models are going to be replaced by some other form of hardware and as for the Emotion Engine CPU? Well, it’s being completely replaced by software emulation.
Personally, this just opens up more questions. What does this say about Sony’s plans? Are they going to lower the price sooner than normal? Maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me, but I get the feeling Sony is planning something big in the next few months.
I think Next Generation has a valid point, and Sony’s decision is not necessarily a bad one from a purely business standpoint. The reason it’s already generating senation in the media is that it represents another broken commitment, thus another byte of bad news nibbling at a console already beset by bad press. At this point a price drop on the PS3 is probably a good thing by any lights, simply because Microsoft’s already making noises about doing the same thing, and if I’m not mistaken they’ve currently got the 360 at a profitable manufacturing model. If you’re curious or would prefer the backup, I can provide links regarding the latter news, T. Check the Inq if you’d rather do the legwork yourself.