Sony's PS3 compatibility site launches early

The site informs you which PS2 titles can be played on the PS3, and also roughly how long gamers are going to have to wait for specific games

Sony today launched the website that will allow PlayStation enthusiasts to check which of their PlayStation 2 games are compatible with the new European version of the PlayStation 3. The site was originally scheduled to go live on Friday in tandem with the launch of the console.

The website lists all the PS2 games which are available in PAL territories that are playable on PS3.

"Our engineers have been working overtime, and have succeeded in delivering a significant number of playable PS2 titles for the European launch", said David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

"We will be adding additional titles to this list in future firmware upgrades, but as we have made clear before, in the future our resources will be increasingly focused on developing new services and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, rather than on delivering PS2 backwards compatibility."

Firmware updates

PlayStation 3 units bought in Europe from Friday will not be compatible with most PS2 titles straight out of the box; to ensure maximum backwards compatibility gamers must upgrade the firmware on their new consoles.

This upgrade will be made available by Sony at midnight on 22nd March via the PlayStation Network or with brand new PS3 games.

As well as enhanced backwards compatibility, the latest system software upgrade (Version 1.60) will deliver features such as 'Folding@Home' research project connectivity, background downloading of content from the PlayStation store, support for Bluetooth keyboards and mice, and an optional full Qwerty on-screen keyboard for text entry.

The Folding@Home project allows PS3 owners to connect to Stanford University 's Folding@Home program, a distributed computing project aimed at understanding protein folding, misfolding, and related diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and many cancers.

It will be possible to queue up to 6 pieces of content for download from the PlayStation store while the user enjoys other functions of the PS3 system, like playing games. Progress of downloads can be easily tracked under a new Download Management menu under the XMB's Network icon.

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