Official: PS3's Backwards Compatibility Resurrected by Sony

It's been a while since everybody started to complain because the 80GB PlayStation 3 was set to be discontinued, basically meaning that Sony was killing any backwards compatibility with the PS2 games. Then, we heard some rumors that we might get something back via special software but, as usual, there were no real plans to do something about that.

It seems that things have changed a little since SCEA president Jack Tretton has announced that, due to "incredible demand", the company will start manufacturing again 80GB PS3 consoles for North America. Which is really strange, since every good thing Sony does happens first in Japan. Oh, well, it doesn't really matter. What's really important, though, is the fact that it will not be the classic 80GB PS3, but part of the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle.

The worst part is that tis bundle will only feature a partial backwards compatibility, according to Al De Leon, SCEA PR manager. This means that you will only be able to play some of the PS2 titles on the market, which is a complete nonsense, in my opinion but others might think it's better than... you know – nothing.

However, we would really bet a fortune on the fact that this is just the first step in the resurrection of the backwards compatibility. PlayStation 2 games will (official word: "could") be made available for download via the PlayStation Network and everything will be back to normal, one way or another. However, if you don't trust our intuition, feel free to get the MGS4 bundle – it won't be a losing hand, by any means. Until then, here's the official word from Al De Leon, for you to be sure we didn't just make this whole story up:

"Yes, similar to the Motorstorm bundle, the new MGS4 bundle features an 80GB PS3 with some PS2 backwards compatibility."

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