According to a patent filed by Sony in December 2008, full PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility could be coming to the PlayStation 3 via firmware upgrade. The patent is for a new method that allows the PlayStation 3′s Cell chip to understand Emotion Engine (the PlayStation 2′s CPU) code. The new method will support all games – full backwards compatibility.
It is still unknown if this new method will allow the PlayStation 3 to play PlayStation 2 discs or will we have to buy PlayStation 2 games from the PlayStation Store.
Some new rumors have surfaced since the discovery of this patent – a German website claims that according to an unnamed Sony employee, full backwards compatibility update is coming to US PlayStation 3′s as a firmware update in the “next few weeks”. No word on a European release date for this much anticipated update.
