A year ago if you were to ask someone what their biggest concern was with the PS3, chances are they’d blurt out “The price!!!” before you could finish asking the question (keeping in mind that the system would be about a month old by now so we’d have no idea the game drought ahead of us.)

Sony had launched their system at a cool $599. As the next year rolled on, analysts and gaming media echoed the cries of consumers in saying Sony needed to reduce the price of their system.

Read more after the jump…

Nobody was looking for a $20 price cut or a $50 price cut, it would take something on the order of $100 to even get our attention since it would be dropping to a price that still towered above the competition. But in October, 2007 Sony finally answered the cry of many by announcing a $399 PS3… only some of those crying before the price drop kept crying afterwards as well.

Through a combination of removing chips needed for PS2 backwards compatibility, reduced blue laser diodes in the Blu-ray assembly, the removal of the memory card readers and two USB ports, Sony was now able to offer a much cheaper PS3 to the mass market. This left the $399 PS3 without PS2 backwards compatibility.

Many were confused at Sony’s change of heart towards PS2 backwards compatibility. To some, Sony defined the standard for backwards compatibility when the PS2 could play virtually all their PS1 games and originally the PS3 was released and able to play virtually all PS1 and PS2 games. They really played it up before the PS3 launched. Sony said that buying a Playstation 3 was buying the Playstation platform, but they’ve seemingly tossed most of that away with the new version.

While the 40GB PS3 still plays all PS1 games (through entirely software emulation), the new unit will not play any of the over 1,700 titles available for the PS2. To some, this is totally fine. They own a PS2 already and are mainly interested in the PS3 game capabilities (noting that PS2s are only $129 and likely to be $99 within the next year if they really need them), others are upset that their options for playing upscaled PS2 games on their HDTVs via the PS3 are now forcing them to buy a more expensive model.

The community seems greatly divided on the topic; some say it’s the best thing Sony could’ve done while others see it as one more crack in the ever-fracturing PS3 market that will ultimately lead to customer confusion. Remember way back when Ken Kutaragi said the PS3 would be available in many different configurations? Welcome to Ken’s future. Love it, or hate it, there seems to be no sign Sony’s SKU list is anywhere near finalized.

That’s why the 40GB PS3 Backwards Compatibility Controversy clocks in at #35 on the Sarcastic Gamer Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2007.

Click here for the rest of Sarcastic Gamer’s Top 100 Gaming Moments from 2007 all in one place!

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