pro-g.co.uk are reporting on some backwards compatibility issues with Sony's Playstation 3. Early PS3's are apparently going to include PS2 hardware in order to enable backwards compatibility.

The magazine reports that, contrary to earlier reports about software emulation, the PlayStation 3 will use a hardware solution in order to run PlayStation 2 games. It's believed that the PlayStation 3 hardware in its current form not only features the new PS3 technology, but also the core components from the PlayStation 2 (Emotion Engine and Graphic Synthesizer).

Ultra One also notes that this hardware based approach to backwards compatibility is not in Sony's long term plans for the console, with a software solution to be implemented in later iterations of the PlayStation 3 once such a PlayStation 2 emulator is up to scratch.