Sony has received some bad press over the technical glitches in its upcoming PlayStation3 (PS3). The new game console, according to sources, will not be fully compatible with some of the games that have been designed for earlier versions, the PlayStation and PlayStation2. The news comes just a few days before the scheduled launch of the console in the crucial American market.

 

The snags surfaced when the console hit the Japanese market during the weekend. Sony has admitted that the PS3s have encountered some blips like dropped audio, freezes or controller error with around 200 out of 8,000 older titles. The games with which the console has suffered glitches include popular titles Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy.

 

The customers can, however, rectify the problems with the update downloadable on Friday on the PlayStation Network and on playstation.com. “I can’t guarantee it will make the system 100% backward-compatible with all 8,000 titles,” explained Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold. “We are evaluating every title and will work to provide compatibility fixes through regular firmware updates.”

 

The release price of the PS3 has also met with raised eyebrows. Priced at $499 for a 20GB hard drive and $599 for a 60GB hard drive, PS3 stands to be the most expensive console to date. PS3 is priced almost $200 more than what PS2 cost at its launch six years ago. Microsoft (News - Alert) Xbox 360, which was introduced last year, costs $100 less.

 

In Japan, Sony had to cut down the price of the PS3 in order to sustain its share in the video game market.

 

Though Sony is still a key international player in consumer electronics, it has buckled under competition in the flat-screen television and digital music player segments. Success of the PS3 is crucial for the Japanese giant more so because the development costs of the console have been so high. “It has taken much more than Sony expected to get the PS3 out through the door and it will dent the company’s bottom line through next year,” said Mr. Evan Wilson, analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. “It is impossible to say if this is the end of the problems, but one thing I would point out in Sony’s defense is that Microsoft had similar problems with the Xbox last holiday season,” he added.

 

Sony also hopes that its new DVD format, Blu-ray (used in the PS3) finds wider acceptance after the launch of the console. Blu-ray is facing tough competition from rival HD-DVD.

 

All in all, the Christmas season will be a blast for video game enthusiasts. “This holiday season is going to be absolutely nuts,” remarked Sam Bishop of Totalplaystation.com. “Between the Wii’s controller, the PS3’s raw horsepower and the Xbox 360 getting some absolutely killer second-generation games, its game-geek heaven right now.”

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Divya Narain is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.