PS3: It has a PS2 inside! (Old news that's new again)

[JKTrix]

Found here.

This is another thing that was delaying the release of the PS3 and driving up the price (since you're basically buying a PS2 again), aside from all the BluRay stuff. They couldn't get the Emulation to work for a lot of PS2 games and most PS1 games, so they had to essentially stuff the PS2 hardware in there to make it work.
This apparently happened back at the PS2 launch as well, the launch PS2s had PS1 chips inside to get the backwards compat working before they figured out the software emulation.

People have known/hinted at this for a while, but this was an article just made up yesterday. It might be new to some people.

(Note, the release date is not incorrect. This is a Japanese article.)

Along with Cell, First Generation PS3 Features EE, GS Developed for PS2

Nov 08, 2006 15:57
Rocky Eda, Nikkei Electronics

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s "PlayStation 3" (PS3) game console for home to be released on November 11, 2006, is embedded with the Emotion Engine (EE) microprocessor and the Graphics Synthesizer (GS) drawing circuit developed for the preceding "PlayStation 2" (PS2). Ken Kutaragi, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), revealed this in an interview by Nikkei Electronics.

SCE has so far set out the principle to secure the PS3's compatibility with the PS2 using an emulator that works on the Cell. According to SCE, it decided to mount the EE and GS on the PS3 to guarantee operation of certain game titles, which do not use the library recommended by SCE. The company, however, said the EE and GS will be "removed before long" (Kutaragi), indicating its will to comprehensively shift toward the compatibility secured by the emulator in a relatively short period of time.

Nonetheless, the number of PS2 game title names reaches a total of 8,181 across the world as of September 30, 2006. It is uncertain if the emulator can support all of them. Meanwhile, the first-generation PS3 embedded with the EE and GS may get a premium among certain consumers.

In other news, FF13 won't be coming out in Japan until 2008. Apparently it's only 3% done right now. Depending on when in 2008 it comes out, this means we won't be FFXIII'ing until 2009. 'Til then, there are all the re-releases coming on the Nintendo systems, including 2 new Crystal Chronicles games for your FF fix.

[Mirage]

That's not a good excuse. They said it would be fully backwards compatible. Now they're using that as part of the reason for its high price and delays. Good job.

[Roto13]

This apparently happened back at the PS2 launch as well, the launch PS2s had PS1 chips inside to get the backwards compat working before they figured out the software emulation.

And we all know how well that worked.

[Jowy]

Sony makes me laugh.

[MecaKane]

This apparently happened back at the PS2 launch as well, the launch PS2s had PS1 chips inside to get the backwards compat working before they figured out the software emulation.

And we all know how well that worked.

Oh, we do.

The PS2 was the biggest selling console and made Sony hundreds of millions of dollars.


I wouldn't say this is why the price is so high, they announced the price months ago, when it still could've been up in the air about when they'd finish the emulation. Slapping in a couple of chips that they've been manufacturing for the past 6 years can't be than expensive, anyway.

[Lindy]

*shrug*

First gen is normally notoriously unreliable anyway, most first gen PS2s went kaput pretty quickly though I'm sure some people still have working ones.

I'd rather wait until everything is fixed up properly before I buy a PS3, there aren't really any games to entice me anyway and a more stable release is always preferable.

[Roto13]

This apparently happened back at the PS2 launch as well, the launch PS2s had PS1 chips inside to get the backwards compat working before they figured out the software emulation.

And we all know how well that worked.

Oh, we do.

The PS2 was the biggest selling console and made Sony hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yes, and Enter the Matrix sold millions of copies and made way too much money, despite the fact that it was an incomplete rush job. Financial success =/= quality.

That's not to say that the PS2 was a crappy system in the end, but the original models were garbage.

[Dreddz]

Can people stop assuming the first generation PS3's will crap up right out of the box. The PS2's problems rolled down to 1 or 2 components, out of hundreds Sony successfully made reliable. The fact that every small feature the PS3 has people instantly say it will break, with no evidence to back that up, of course. I dont expect any better though, as this forum is obviously swarmed with Nintendo fanboys.

[Slothy]

That's not to say that the PS2 was a crappy system in the end, but the original models were garbage.[/COLOR]

Tell that to my launch model. It still works perfectly. Not to say some didn't have problems, but knowing how some people look after their stuff I have to wonder how much was a result of faulty hardware and how much is just the way it was looked after.

As for how well using PS1 chips for the backwards compatibility worked, it actually worked quite well. I never saw a list of more than a handful of games at the time that had problems, and at least some of those were still playable while the rest just weren't worth playing.

[Mirage]

This apparently happened back at the PS2 launch as well, the launch PS2s had PS1 chips inside to get the backwards compat working before they figured out the software emulation.

And we all know how well that worked.

Oh, we do.

The PS2 was the biggest selling console and made Sony hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yes, and Enter the Matrix sold millions of copies and made way too much money, despite the fact that it was an incomplete rush job. Financial success =/= quality.

That's not to say that the PS2 was a crappy system in the end, but the original models were garbage.

The Matrix games sold? Wow.

[Roto13]

Can people stop assuming the first generation PS3's will crap up right out of the box. The PS2's problems rolled down to 1 or 2 components, out of hundreds Sony successfully made reliable. The fact that every small feature the PS3 has people instantly say it will break, with no evidence to back that up, of course. I dont expect any better though, as this forum is obviously swarmed with Nintendo fanboys.

Like I've said before, I'll assume launch Sony consoles and handhelds are going to suck for the same reason I'm going to assume the tides will continue to turn. They always have in the past.

[The Devil Man]

I bet this news has made all the Sony-haters simply dance with joy, like this guy right here ---->

Whatever.

The PlayStation 3 will still be one of the biggest selling consoles on the planet. The Brand is far too strong.

[Roto13]

That's what Nintendo said a couple of generations ago.

[Fire_Emblem776]

I bet this news has made all the Sony-haters simply dance with joy, like this guy right here ---->

Whatever.

The PlayStation 3 will still be one of the biggest selling consoles on the planet. The Brand is far too strong.

If you have been saving your money for the past few months.

[MecaKane]

Can people stop assuming the first generation PS3's will crap up right out of the box. The PS2's problems rolled down to 1 or 2 components, out of hundreds Sony successfully made reliable. The fact that every small feature the PS3 has people instantly say it will break, with no evidence to back that up, of course. I dont expect any better though, as this forum is obviously swarmed with Nintendo fanboys.

Like I've said before, I'll assume launch Sony consoles and handhelds are going to suck for the same reason I'm going to assume the tides will continue to turn. They always have in the past.

That's pretty dumb, you should know that the tides will continue to turn because of sciencey moon stuff. And handhelds? If you're creating a pattern based on one instance(or two ) you need to re-evaluate why you really think that!
I mean, my PS2 gave out on me too. Mostly my fault, but I wasn't that mad at Sony. If I was I would've went out and got an xbox instead of spending a whopping $50 to get it fixed.

P.S. Dreddz, Jesus called, he wants his cross back.