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I picked up a new 80GB PS3 a month ago from Craigslist for a great price. I didn't really do any research before buying it. That came to bite me in the butt yesterday.
I'm mainly into racing games and was waiting for Pro Street to come out. After I saw such poor reviews, I decided not to get it. So, I went to Gamestop and purchased Gran Turismo 4. It turns out that the Sony game doesn't work on the new 80GB model. Why??
Recently, Sony got rid of the PS2 chip in the PS3 models so save money and instead uses an emulator for backwards compatibility. The earlier versions of PS3 play about 90% of PS2 games, the new models play about 40% with a slight delay.
At first I think it was only the 80GB model that was switched to emulation only backwards compatibility. But I checked the Sony website yesterday and there are no specifics. There is a little disclaimer at the bottom that says "*** This product has limited backward compatibility with PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format software. Many PlayStation®2 format software titles operate, but full compatibility is not guaranteed. Updating the system software may improve compatibility. Visit www.us.playstation.com for system software updates." It doesn't specify that it's only the 80GB model that has the software only emulation so I assume all three models got rid of the PS2 chip.
This is just a heads up for all those looking to purchase a PS3. From the PS3 website you can check to see what titles work with what versions of the PS3.
It just bothers me because I hadn't heard about the switch. Even if I had read the new disclaimer on the box, I wouldn't have known there was a difference. I know some games don't play on all models so I would have assumed that is what the disclaimer was for, not because they redesigned the backwards compatibility of the thing.
I am trying to find someone on craigslist to trade models for me. I'd hate to go buy PS2 to play one game. At least Gamestop is having a sale on old model PS2's for $60 this week.
I'm mainly into racing games and was waiting for Pro Street to come out. After I saw such poor reviews, I decided not to get it. So, I went to Gamestop and purchased Gran Turismo 4. It turns out that the Sony game doesn't work on the new 80GB model. Why??
Recently, Sony got rid of the PS2 chip in the PS3 models so save money and instead uses an emulator for backwards compatibility. The earlier versions of PS3 play about 90% of PS2 games, the new models play about 40% with a slight delay.
At first I think it was only the 80GB model that was switched to emulation only backwards compatibility. But I checked the Sony website yesterday and there are no specifics. There is a little disclaimer at the bottom that says "*** This product has limited backward compatibility with PlayStation® and PlayStation®2 format software. Many PlayStation®2 format software titles operate, but full compatibility is not guaranteed. Updating the system software may improve compatibility. Visit www.us.playstation.com for system software updates." It doesn't specify that it's only the 80GB model that has the software only emulation so I assume all three models got rid of the PS2 chip.
This is just a heads up for all those looking to purchase a PS3. From the PS3 website you can check to see what titles work with what versions of the PS3.
It just bothers me because I hadn't heard about the switch. Even if I had read the new disclaimer on the box, I wouldn't have known there was a difference. I know some games don't play on all models so I would have assumed that is what the disclaimer was for, not because they redesigned the backwards compatibility of the thing.
I am trying to find someone on craigslist to trade models for me. I'd hate to go buy PS2 to play one game. At least Gamestop is having a sale on old model PS2's for $60 this week.