Here's the full text of an Xbox rumor fanboytasy that Sony is ready to ditch
backwards-compatibility in order to get the PS3 out the door in the spring (Japan) and fall (USA, Europe) of next
year.
Nice stuff leaked right into my drive: In order to meet launch in spring the ps3 will feature a drive that will only be able to read single layer BD disks and will not be compatible with DVD and CDROM's This means that backwards compatibility is sacrificed in order to reach launch date Another problem sony is facing now is a backlash from the movie industry who want multilayer disks for additional content, these disks will not be playable on the ps3 PS3 lauch spring : only Japan (so the strange drives with no backward comp would only affect these machines! Probably not even all of them!) autumn /summer: USA, october november: PAL
Really, this is just hogwash, but even though it's fabricated there are still some nuggets of truth in it. As a general product development strategy, dropping features can accelerate launch timelines assuming that it doesn't take longer to yank a feature out than it would take to finish shoehorning it in.
It's not just Sony, either. We've actually heard numerous indications that Microsoft was really leaning on developers to cut game features in order to have a broad list of launch titles available for the release of the Xbox 360. That's why some fans and critics have noticed that some upcoming games for the Xbox 360 aren't all that visually impressive.
Update: it's fake. There will be surprises unveiled about both the Xbox and PS3, to be sure. The best we can do is keep our eyes open.
[Thanks, Master x 24. Via Gamers Reports]
