Ok, IMO i believe the earlier PS3 HAD to have BC because of the small PS3 library. Now though the PS3 library can stand on its own as collection of high quality exclusives and multiplats. IF and ONLY if sony were in a better position then maybe they could have kept BC. But Sony HAD to do something. Also the BC PS3 run hotter and have a higher failure rate I think, Something to do with the PS2 chip. My BC died about a week ago. Got me a brand new 80GB free of charge as I had insurance. All in all i'm happy

the ps3 was overspec'd, overpriced, and sony dropped the ball on securing software early in the consoles life.

Urgh. Leave.

On topic, I wonder if Sony are planning to introduce BC through software emulation with fw 3.0?

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.

Oh yes, I agree with you entirely!

After completing Star Ocean: The Last Hope, I decided to make a new game on Star Ocean: Till the End of Time... and then I remembered how much it sucks that my PS3 doesn't have any backwards compatibility!

Hooking up your PS2 on a HDTV is almost as bad as hooking up your Wii on a HDTV without component cables!

every ps3 can play ps1 games, so it has some sort of backwards compatablity.

the loss of ps2 game support is a big blow. Those of us that have ps3s that can run ps2 games (like mine :p) now pray nothing ever happens to the console *touches wood*.

While a mistake, it wasn't sony's biggest, and imo if they didn't make this mistake then the lack of backward support wouldn't matter so much..

... Cost..

yeah its been said a billion times in this thread. The cost of the ps3 sealed it, you throw up a 360 and ps3 at someone, show them the games (alot of crossplatform games) then show them the price.. easy decision.. What seems really odd is that people didn't like the cost of the ps3 so much that they weathered the RROD issue with the 360 (its the only reason I can think of for people not jumping ship from the 360).

Can BC be saved?

Sony already have software emulated the MIPS Processor, and it worked pretty well (my small library of ps2 games worked fine.. oh yeah got a PAL 60GB ps3 :p). While the ps2 gpu is alot more difficult to emulate, I think sony should look into it and add it in an update. If they get it working they'd make alot of owners very very happy.

Er, what?

Read it again my friend.

I think you missed the fact that that was a pro-PS3 comment...

Really?  You do realize when you drop backwards compatibility, you cut off your next gen console as an upgrade strategy, right?  So, when someone goes next gen, and they have a PS2, why would they NOT consider a 360 instead?  You can say RROD all you want, but beyond that, why?  The 360 is cheaper.  Removing backwards compatibility removes a competitive advantage you have.  And the cost it saves Sony?  Oh, I believe it is like $40.  Also, factor in that you are not in a place where you can discontinue the PS2, because it is still selling.  Your marketing efforts get split.  You keep production lines going that should be stopped.  The PS2 becomes a ball and chain around your company.  Go ahead and just stop making it.  People then get stuck with a bunch of software they can't run, because you stopped making something that can run them.

I think it's a horrible decision because:

1. They mocked MS and the Wii (no idea why) for not having full BC back when they had BC
2. They had the feature and then they took it away

I was lucky enough to get one with BC before they took it away but the ones they gave out at work were the ones that had nothing and I constantly hear people at work say they wish they could play their PS2 games on it.

His opening line doesn't imply that at all.

At least, the way I read it was that the "since PS3's release" part merely clarifies his timeframe, so as to not get into discussion about mistakes made by Sony pre-release, i.e. in choices made during R&D...