Wondering if your PlayStation 2 games will work on the new model of the PlayStation 3, which switches to software-based backward compatibility? Sony has (albeit quite belatedly) updated its compatibility database to include the 80 GB version.
Unfortunately, you can’t just scroll through a list of games like the European version — you have to input a game name manually to see the issues. The upside is that it gives you more detailed error reports.
Here’s some of the issues I discovered by checking random PS2 games from my shelf:
Dawn of Mana: “Throughout gameplay, various characters move erratically and/or do not perform as intended.”
Metal Gear Solid 3: “Throughout gameplay, the title performs at a significantly slower than normal performance speed.”
God of War: “During various FMV sequences throughout the title, the audio plays overlapped by static audio distortion.”
Of all those, MGS3 sounds the absolute worst, doesn’t it? Lots of games I checked had “no major problems,” like Shadow of the Colossus and ICO. But I won’t be testing any of these personally as I have no plans to purchase this device. If you have any personal experience, you know how to reach me.