Spong writes: Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), has raised some interesting questions regarding his company's strategy regarding PS3 backward compatibility and the future of PS2 gaming.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Hirai said, "We want to promote games only available for PlayStation 3. The introduction of the 40-gigabyte model is in line with that strategy".
Before the crashing tedium of fanboy ranting begins elsewhere, let's analyse the statement:
Hirai did not say, "We only want to promote games available for PlayStation 3".
So, don't read this as "We won't promote non-exclusives". It would be insane for Sony not to co-promote non-exclusives such as Assassin's Creed or Smackdown vs Raw, which would help sell hardware.
What this re-statement of intent is more likely to mean is that days of the PlayStation 2 are well and truly numbered.
At this point, spong likes to remind you of Kaz's assertion that, "The introduction of the 40-gigabyte model is in line with that strategy.''
One of the most notable missing features of the 40GB PS3 is its lack of backwards compatibility. Doesn't it appear counter-intuitive to drop backwards compatibility and also pull support from PS2 itself?
Not if Sony plans to shift its focus with regard to PS2 games towards making them available over the PlayStation Network as legacy titles, or 'PlayStation Originals'?
That is, of course, a bit of a stretch - but it remains a possibility nonetheless. A possibility that could be supported by a recently spotted job vacancy for someone to work on PS3 backwards compatibility, in spite of the fact that Sony's most prevalent PS3 model has none.
Gary Green said: You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of the Ar Tonelico trilogy. The previous two games arrived so late in the PS2’s life-cycle that they simply went unnoticed. While most were tinkering with their shiny new PS3s, Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia and Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica were being ‘returned to sender’ by your local Game stores. Luckily, you won’t need to have played them to understand and appreciate this third and final chapter, Qoga (pronounced k-yoga) tells the story of a racial war between humans and Reyvateils, a breed of biologically produced female cyborgs capable of reproduction, while still having a digital mind.
Oh my god. I kinda wish this would get a remaster on PS5, it would be awesome. One of my favorite games on PS3.
That and 3D Dot Game Heroes. It's a shame that some stuff is stuck on PS3.
Ar Tonelico 3 is good I still prefer the first AT game. The music is solid in all the games and Akiko Shikata is a very talented singer bringing life to the game. Only annoying part is well I find is Saki I always choose Finnel or Tyria. KOEI so needs to HD remaster the franchise along with Ar Nosurge and Ciel Nosurge since it never came to North America. I would day one the Ar Toneliceo games and Ar Nosurge if they were remastered.
Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.
Huzaifa from eXputer: "2008 was home to the likes of Call of Duty: World at War, Dead Space, GTA 4, Far Cry 2, Left 4 Dead, and many other hits, which is outright remarkable."
Just about every year in the 7th generation was great and something we most likely won't experience again.
2009 for example had Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dragon Age: Origins, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Killzone 2, Borderlands, Bayonetta, and Demon's Souls to name a few.
everybody knows it has games now they are cheap and in 1000's and its a DVD player!
i think people(casual people in specific) need to know more about ps3 and its capabilities! here in where i live middle of europe didnt even heard of the notion BLUE RAY PLAYERS or HD-DVD, and certainly they dont know about ps3 can run OS or brows internet or wireless etc!
they should focus now on ps3 and psp!
oh well.........thank you for the good times PS2, you'll surely be missed.
One thing I'm concerned about (not for my self as I have a 60GB model) is if they only sell the non BC model and stop selling PS2, there will be no way for people who already own PS2 games on disk to play them. This would force them to buy the game again through PSN.
I know that at the moment their only talking about the marketing, but one day they will stop making PS2s. Hopefully by that stage PS3 model will be released with BC again.
Or the PS4 had just come out with BC.
Although iam an xbox360 fanboy i have to say that Sony does it right. Time to promote ps3 games only. the PS2 has done its job very good with a very long lifetime. But also SOny boys have to say "good bye" to the good old ps2.
Time for the PS2 to join the big system dump in the sky...
No one can complain, no system has ever had the level of support given to the PS2.