Sony Corp Changes PS3′s Circuits, PS2 Compatibility Levels for Product Release in Europe

March 11th, 2007

Sony fans in Europe may want to find another way other than selling their aging PS2 systems if they need a little extra cash to buy a PlayStation 3 when it’s released on March 23rd. Sony recently made news when it was revealed that a chip responsible for PlayStation 2 compatibility has been removed from the European version of the PS3, in favor of a somewhat less-compatible software solution. Sony Corp noted that the change will make mass production of the console quicker and easier, cutting costs in the process.

It’s no secret that Sony has been losing money on every console they sell, all in the hopes of covering their losses and turning a profit off of add-ons, third-party licenses, etc. Anyone that ever purchased a dirt-cheap printer and then paid five times more than that just for the ink will know this tactic is nothing new. But with the amount lost on every PS3 sold (the words ‘hemorrhaging cash’ come to mind here,) it would be in Sony’s best interest to save any pennies they can on their current console war offering – A war where the chief competition costs half as much and has three times the interactivity.

Is this a subtle sign that the console giant may be losing a little faith in its masterpiece’s marketability? Or are choices like this just simple economics, a typical effort to streamline production, maybe learning from past mistakes made in the US and Japan at product launch, making sure there’s actual product on the shelves? That’s an unknown to me at this point, as well as if Sony plans the same schematic update in future US and Japan PS3s, but hey, that’s why the readers here get to reply, isn’t it? What’s your insight?