My one PlayStation 3 question

Thursday, August 3, 2006 » gaming

Yeah yeah everyone hates Sony and Ken Kutaragi forever for going completely nuts with the PS3. $600 is way too much for what they're putting out at launch. BUT, I've had this one question in my head since E3 and I haven't been able to find any answer to it. I'd really like to know because it could potentially get me really excited about the PS3.

Here are the facts:

1. PlayStation 3 will be backwards compatible with both PS1 and PS2 games.1

2. PlayStation 3 games will not be region-locked.2

So, my question: Does that carry over to PS1 and PS2 games as well? For $600, do you get a PS3, plus an all-region PS1/PS2 as well? Will people be able to go import-crazy with their PS3 right out of the box?

I'd really like to know.

1 From what I understand, the PS3 will actually include the PS2 chipset initially, until Sony can perfect their software emulator. That suggests almost total compatibility with older games (or at least all PS2 games and all PS1 games that worked on the PS2).
2 The exact details about this are still sort of hazy. Will PS3s really play games from any region, with no exceptions? Will developers or publishers be able to lock their own titles for a specific region? I'm disappointed there hasn't been more discussion or information clarifying this.