I care about BC. I got Odin Sphere in it now!

 I have Shadow of the Colossus!

You've been pretty selective then, because I often "bash" Microsoft or Nintendo for some things also (for example, RROD, WiiConnect24 overheating the consoles, etc), and I have defended Sony on occasions (which they haven't deserved much lately, to tell the truth). The difference between me and the people who get banned is that I don't use stupid arguments, prefering logic and common sense. If that's too much for you or any other fanboy to handle, start a petition to get me banned.

I'll admit, I don't even look at the other forums, but if that's the case, then why all the hate?  Why not let the market decide instead of politicing around with all the "rumors" (because that's what threads like these are) claiming the downfall of ____ because of some feature.

Andir, our discussions have nothing to do with the market deciding. And I haven't shot down any rumours of BC being present, all I did was shooting down a related myth (how BC is done on the 80 GB units).

Back on-topic: A retailer in Portugal already has the 400 € PS3 listed, however it's not available for purchase yet, and there are no specs/photos:

http://www.fnac.pt/pt/Catalog/Detail.aspx?cIndex=8&catalog=jogos&categoryN=Jogos&category=consolas&scategory=consolasPlaystation3&product=711719430759&minIndex=1&pageSize=8&orderBy=pd_stockDisponivelFnac

Has there been any statement from Sony? Are people still expecting it today?

Maybe someone should back Nj5 up, and that would be me. The current PS3 have the GC and software emulation. The GC is hard to emulated (as already laid out here). The rumor is (and I believe it) that the new PS3 has no GC and therefor NO BC. It is hard to believe for me that Sony had cracked a emulation of the GC, not impossible but hard to believe. The GC and the ram needed for it, should be adding about 40-50$ production cost to the current PS3's. So there is a point in removing it. And I personally think it is the right move, getting the PS3 to 399$/€ with no BC and having one with 499$/€ with BC. The main problem of the PS3 is the price, and i think some of you overestimating the importance of the BC. The 360 has nearly none and does it hurt? Doesn't seem so. There are some people that want BC but I think the majority don't give a grap, since they don't sell there PS2 and get a PS3. With 399€ Sony reached a good price point for this Christmas, and that is far better than having the console at 449$€ with BC.

Thanks Just_Ben ;)

By the way, whoever has read my prediction about this model being smaller in size than the previous models, knows that, being true, this move might actually help Sony's fight for Japan. I just don't see how removing 2 USB ports can be seen relevant as a cost-cutting measure, so my prediction is that they're removing some hardware to make the PS3 smaller. That would be a good move, especially for the Japanese market.

I was under under the impression the BC didn't use the GS anymore, as they'd added the upscaling to the BC.

This is just what I was lead to believe anyway.

I totally back you up as well.

The Euro 60Gb model has the GS chip as well as emulation of the EE.  The new 40Gb model is rumoured to not have the GS or EE chips...which means that unless they can emulate the GS, there will be no backward compatibility.

But, seeing as Sony introduced the EE and GS at the last minute seeing as they were having problems getting the emulation working in time for the release of the PS3, then this states to me that they had initially intended for the PS2 games to be played on the PS3 through emulation only.

We will see though.  Anyway, a smaller design would be good IMHO.  And especially good for Japan.

Also, the latest rumoured info is the following:

The 40Gb PS3 will be released in the UK for £299, with the 60Gb PS3 reduced to £369 (with retailers likely to reduce the price further to £349).  Apparently the 60Gb starter pack will be phased out.  Although it is unknown whether the starter pack price is being reduced to £369 or whether it is just the standalone 60Gb model.  Also, it is expected that the 60Gb standalone model will be phased out as well, with the 80Gb model becoming the top line model, although we are unsure when the 80Gb model will be released in the UK.  It is also rumoured that the 40Gb model will come with either a free game or a free Blu-Ray video.

My thoughts are this:

If the 60Gb is being reduced to £369 (with retailers expecting to reduce further to £349) and this does not include the 2 free games and free controller, then there is really no saving in buying this model, seeing as you can pick up the Starter Pack for £399 at the moment and can sometimes get another free game as well.  But, if the £369 (£349) priced model is in fact the starter pack, then this is a fantastic deal compared to the 40Gb (£299) model seeing as you are getting a bigger hard drive, card reader, extra usb's and BC as well as 2 games and extra controller for £50 more...brilliant value.

What I suspect:

40Gb model - RRP £299 with Free Blu-Ray movie...maybe Spiderman 3 (Retailers dropping price to £289 or including a free game...maybe Resistance or Motorstorm).

60Gb Starter Pack - £369, available on the market until they are sold out (Retailers trying to get price down to £349, but more likely to include another game)

60Gb model - £369 (Retailers reducing price to £349 and including either extra game or Blu-Ray video), there are more in stock so will take some time to sell all units.

80Gb model - £369 when it is released, maybe not until 2008.  This will replace the 60Gb models. 

You know, I've tried to research the truth behind the EE+GS chip being "re-separated" on the PS3 and I can't find enough evidence from the various sites that support that it was. When the Playstation Slim was released, the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer were combined into one piece of silicon. According to Wikipedia, the PS3 contains that combined chip. I've seen numerous references as to the PS3 having this combo chip. I've also seen numerous references that the 80 gig version had the PS2 hardware removed and backward compatibility was being handled via software. If Sony did, in fact, remove the EE, the GS would have gone with it since it is a single chip.

With that said, I've also seen articles that state that the PS3 uses separate EE and GS chips and the 80 gig version had the EE removed and software emulated it. The GS was still in place. I believe that was a PC Magazine interview.

Until we know the absolute truth behind the EE+GS single/separate chip, we don't know for sure if the 40gig PS3 will be backward compatible or not.

Does anyone have definitive proof of the PS3 60 and 80 gig (software emulation version) hardware?