Throw out (some of) those Xbox games, keep your PS2 games

If you have an Xbox 360 and want to play original Xbox games, you're only sort of in luck. The console lets you play a bunch of games, but not all. That's because the backward compatibility is done through emulation -- software that mimics the original Xbox -- rather than by including the hardware that can run those games. The emulation software has to be written for each game it supports, so they haven't gotten around to everything.

Sony has touted backward compatibility for the PlayStation 3, but has been kind of shifty about whether you'd be able to play all old games or just some like with the 360. But because the company is so discombobulated right now, they haven't gotten a software emulator together. Which means they'll be including PlayStation 2 hardware in the PS3 -- which means all the old games will work.

That's good news for gamers. Including extra hardware adds to the cost of the PS3, but not by much; a PlayStation 2 only costs $129 now, and could easily be $99. With such a vast library of PS2 games, it would be hard for Sony to figure out the right balance of popular hits and cult favorites if they were doing the partial emulation thing. Better to eat a little more of the cost and let us play everything.

UPDATE: I should note that this is unconfirmed. But Gamasutra got the "Sony has no official comment at this time" line from Sony. So we'll see.