Sony responds to PS3 backlash

'Too easy to overeact' to fact that PlayStation 3 can't play 14,000 titles of its predecessor

Sony is attempting to douse the flames caused by its decision to reduce the backwards compatibility of the PlayStation 3 console with PS2 games by saying more than 1,000 PS2 games will play on it at launch, later this month.

The assurance from Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, comes after a massive backlash by PlayStatoin 2 owners at Sony's decision to replace the dedicated PS2 hardware chip inside the PS3 with emulation software.

The effect is that far fewer PS2 games will be able to be played on the PS3.

Speaking with Three Speech, Harrison played down the impact of Sony's cost-saving decision.

"Our thinking involves being able to bring the latest hardware specification of the PS3 to Europe, although that does mean an initial slight reduction in the number of PS2 components," he said.

"But it's important to put that into context: there will still be thousands of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 titles playable on the PS3 at launch. It's very easy to over-react. We're working to introduce a resource on the Web to detail which titles will have backwards compatibility. And as we make firmware upgrades, we will be able to add to that list."

More PS2 game support will be added with each PS3 firmware update, Harrison confirmed, but detractors point out that while having support for more than 1,000 PS2 games at launch might sound good, it still leaves over 14,000 PS2 titles unsupported.

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