PS3 Gets A PS2-ectomy In European Clinic; Condition Downgraded To Blu-Ray Player

Sony's taking a beating with their latest generation console, the PS3. In an effort to save money, the european version won't have a PS2 chip in it to make it backwards compatible for existing games and will rely on software to achieve the same result.  

"The method used for playing PS2 games is going to be different," he said. "We also want to concentrate on developing PS3 games." It's still undecided whether PS3 machines for Japan, U.S. and elsewhere will also be sold without the PS2 chip, but the option is being considered, Nakata said. The U.S. and Japanese version PS3 machines had also failed to deliver full compatibility with PS2 games.

There are almost no titles for the new machine. It's expensive, but still not profitable for Sony. Its backwards compatibility was always iffy anyway. But at least it's a cheap blu-ray player.