After nations with the PS3 solved their case of jaggy backwards compatibility issues, it seemed the whole kerfuffle about PS2 games playing on the PS3 were over. Now comes word from Europe that the PlayStation 3 launching March 23 will not be fully backwards compatible.

"The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models," said a Sony spokesperson. According to Sony, the European PS3 is designed differently from the Japan and North America models. Software will take over the backwards compatibility issues now instead of dedicated chips. Sony also says 98 percent of PS2 games are playable on PS3 in the U.S. and Japan, no percentage was given for Europe.

Alex Kwiatowski, of British market research group Vertical Market Technologies (who sounds more like a Sony flack), said, "I'm as disappointed as the next game player about the reduced backward compatibility, but even the most nostalgic, misty-eyed gamers will have their steely hearts impressed by the new features that PS3 games provide." If God of War II, a PS2 game, doesn't work out of the box -- there will be Hades to pay.

Reuters has just posted an article saying the Japanese PS3 has problems running roughly 200 games from the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 catalogs. Their source is the Japanese Sankei Shimbun newspaper, and a bad Google translation of the original article does indeed say a "portion of the game software of PS and PS2 of the expectation which is compatibility not to operate just."

The short, translated article doesn't detail which of the thousands of PS and PS2 games aren't working or how many were tested, but it does quote someone from Sony as saying ""when system renewal of the substance and you improve with the software individual correction software, there is," which we can only assume means that future system updates will fix this problem (we've signed up for Japanese classes).

For reference, our backward compatibility tests with various PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software on the U.S. retail console turned up no problems. Then again, we only tested a handful of discs as we don't have the time or resources to test every PlayStation game ever made. If we hear about any similar problems with the American version of the system, you'll be the first to know.

[Update: fixed link to the Japanese translation.]

Despite yesterday's promising development, Psychonauts is still not guaranteed to make Xbox 360's backwards compatibility list. Microsoft's Emulation Ninjas are indeed working on the next batch of BC titles, which includes Psychonauts, but Emulation Ninja Alan Stuart warns:

"Even though we are working on Psychonauts, there is no guarantee we will ever be able to make the game backward compatible. We may run into technical limitations that will prevent us from ever shipping the game; we don't know yet."

Ominous words from an official Ninja. But hope lives on ...

Thanks to the folks at the Gamerscore Blog, we've learned that the next Xbox back compat update "should be out in the next few weeks."

In his earlier blast against BC, Peter Moore proclaimed that nobody is concerned about it anymore, but thankfully the gentler Gamerscore peeps have set the record straight, stating: "We know for a fact that there are lots of people who continue to care about backwards compatibility, including the 'Emulation Ninjas' who are working full time on the updates. And those of us posting on this blog. And, of course, many of you."

We suppose quarterly updates to the BC list aren't TOO bad (hey, they sure beat semiannual dashboard updates), but getting more than a dozen titles to work each time would definitely help a lot more for those with original Xbox favorites they'd prefer to play on their new machines. Personally, this blogger would like to see the following titles added to the list: Dead or Alive Ultimate, Doom 3, Capcom vs. SNK 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Project Gotham Racing 2, LEGO Star Wars, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Soul Calibur II, and Capcom Classics Collection. It may not be realistic to expect Street Fighter support when Hyper Fighting is set to hit Live Arcade sometime in the near future, but one can (vainly) hope.

[Via Major Nelson's blog]

See also:

• Xbox BC not a priority, says Moore
• No Black on 360 till MS makes it so... or a sequel comes out
• US 360 backward-compatibility list shrinks
• A video tour of the Xbox Live Spring update
• SFII on Xbox Live: what's taking so long?

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy will now be making an appearance on the Xbox 360, along with its earlier announced platforms (which include pretty much every current-gen system).

Whether creating a Han Solo-Greedo, lightsaber-wielding humanoid hybrid is really the wisest course of action or not is a debate best left to the fan community, however. (A green HanGreedo on the 360 -- it could work.)

Our only hope is that the original LEGO Star Wars will make its way onto the official Xbox backward-compatibility list by the time the sequel's released in September. Getting those unlockable characters from the prequels onto the next generation would be awfully nice. (Transferable saves? Even better.) The complete Lucasfilm press release follows below.

See also:

• LEGO Star Wars II out with OT DVDs Sept 12
• Original Xbox Games Playable on Xbox 360 (last updated in March)
  

It looks like the PS3 press conference is just getting started.

IGN reports Ken Kutaragi's opening statement as follows: "It is my aim to clear things up about the PlayStation 3 today. The PS2, the PS3, the network, and Future Cell Network, this will all be addressed."

More as we get it... Update 16--the wrap-up: The PS3 will launch "in early November 2006 in Japan, North America and Europe simultaneously." Incorporating the final specifications of the Blu-ray format will enable "playback of BD software at a high bit rate," with "a maximum storage capacity of 50 GB (dual layer) and robust security." The PS3 will be compatible with all kinds of TVs and a high-speed broadband connection. Update 19 (via 1UP's updated page): DRM was what delayed the launch, but the system will come with a 60GB HDD preinstalled before 11/11/06.

[Thanks, bv; pics used to create new montage from Watch Impress]