Sony Is Really Stupid

OK, so Sony decided to not put in downwards compatibility into the PS3 Slim.  Here's their reasoning:

"Now that we're at a point where we're three years into the lifecycle of the PS3," he told us earlier today, "there are so many PS3 disc-based games that are available that we think — and noticed this from our research — that most consumers that are purchasing the PS3 cite PS3 games as a primary [reason]".

"And it's not just like 50 or 60 percent. It's well into the 80 or 90 percentile range who are purchasing it for PS3 [games]. We do know that there are next gen consumers wanting to come over the the PS3. Most of those are consumers who have not utilized their PS2 for a little while and they're ready to jump into the PlayStation 3."

ARGH!

OK, so here's why people are buying PS3s for PS3 games and not PS2 games.  IT'S BECAUSE YOU CAN'T PLAY PS2 GAMES ON THE PS3.

Downwards compatibility acts as a user-friendly bridge.  When you buy a new system, like the 360, PS2, Wii, or DS, you're able to play games from the previous system on it already.  That means that you're not cutting off an entire library at the knees and you're making it easier for people to justify the upgrade costs.  The most popular systems of today have had built-in downwards compatibility.  Did Sony learn nothing from the PS2?  I mean, they sold 140 million of these things!  Now they're expecting people to basically throw away all their old PS2 games just because the PS3 is out?

And Sony wonders why they're lagging behind.