Sony Playstation 3 might include a PS2 chip for backward compatibility

Sony Playstation 3 might include a PS2 chip for backward compatibility

Japanese magazine Ultra One has claimed that Sony is planning to include the Playstation 2 chipset with each of their upcoming Playstation 3 gaming console. PS3 is due to arrive sometime later this year and would compete with Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

This would give Sony to provide backward compatibility with existing games of the original Playstation and PS2 while they develop a proper PS2 emulator for use on the PS3.

Originally, Sony was expecting to provide this compatibility through a software emulator. However, looking at the massive delays Sony has suffered, this looks like a possibility for the initial units shipped in the market.

The magazine claims that the PS3 has been designed to include the PS2 chipset as the company had possibly kept such a situation beforehand. However, including this chipset could further increase the input costs for the company which shocked the market with their planned prices for PS3 making it the most expensive next generation console.

Ultra One also says that the console would ship with a big flash memory capacity to support the operating system and all future system updates.