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Could All PlayStation 3s Soon Be Backwards Compatible?

 
Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the issue of backwards compatibility have a long and storied history, despite the fact that the console has only been around for a few years. Between the Emotion Engine chip (the PS2’s CPU) initially being available in some SKUs, to the Emotion Engine chip being pulled from later SKUs, to some models including emulators, it’s just a big mess. Basically, the major point to take away from all this is that currently, Sony is not producing any PS3s with backwards compatibility support (via hardware or software). However, that could be changing sometime soon. As SilconEra reports, Sony recently filed a patent that would allow the PS3’s Cell processor to emulate the Emotion Engine. If successful, this process would add backwards compatibility to every PS3 on store shelves and in homes. In addition to most likely being built into the rumored PS3 Slim expected to be out sometime later this year, this feature could also be made available via firmware ... (link)

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