I felt it was a shame to lose it, even if I understand why. Personally I think from the start they should have considered going with software emulation vs simply adding bits of tech from a previous system.
Certainly BC was a factor for me getting a PS3 - in the UK its removal gave me pause but I eventually decided the 60GB partial BC was enough for me, as it covered all the PS2 games I had (it was a pain having to research this to be sure though).
I think it did remove a very clean, simple upgrade message from the table.
Of course its hard to know how much difference the decision made, as while the drop in price clearly helped sales the loss of BC might well have resulted in lost sales that are hard to quantify.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
