Sony PS3 Can't Play Some Games A WALL STREET JOURNAL NEWS ROUNDUP
TOKYO -- SonyCorp. said its PlayStation 3 game console, which went on sale in Japan over the weekend leading off a global launch, can't play some of the older games for the original PlayStation and the upgrade PlayStation 2.
Sony had billed PlayStation 3 as compatible with the previous PlayStation machines.
GAME QUEST
See profiles of the next-generation consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, including game screenshots and hardware specs.But Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said yesterday that some of the 8,000 older games weren't working properly on PS3, making the wrong sounds or images, and some couldn't be played at all.
He declined to give a number for the games that weren't functioning, but he said the same problem is expected when the game console goes on sale in the U.S. Nov. 17. About 16,000 different games have been sold for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 in North America.
Mr. Fukuoka said the problems in playing the older games weren't a glitch and had been expected. Sony announced the problem on its Japanese Web page Nov. 11, the day the PS3 went on sale to lines of fans at Japanese retailers.
Users can punch in the name of the PS or PS2 game on the Web page, and a list will pop up, telling users if the game can be played without problems or not. For example, all the "Biohazard" series games can be played without problem, except for one in which a virtual gun won't fire properly, according to Sony's Web page.
"We are sorry for the game fans that they cannot play all the games," Mr. Fukuoka said. "But unfortunately some of these problems could not be avoided."
Downloads to correct some problems and upgrade PS3 software will be offered, but it will be unlikely that all the problems will ever get fixed, he said.
Industry specialists said the glitches appear to be the kind of hiccups that often plague console launches and aren't likely to have a lasting impact on the PS3 business. "There are always sorts of little problems at launch... . It may take some time to make everything compatible, but I don't think it's a huge problem," KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide said.
Indeed, Microsoft Corp. received customer complaints following its Xbox launch in Japan in 2002 that the console was scratching game discs, while Sony's PS2, which it released in 2000, had compatibility problems with PS games.
PlayStation 3 is facing off in a three-way console war for this Christmas against Nintendo Co.'s Wii, which goes on sale Nov. 19 in the U.S., and Microsoft's Xbox 360, which had a year's head start over rivals.
Although response has been enthusiastic to the PS3, the launch hasn't been smooth.
Production problems meant that only 100,000 PlayStation 3 machines were in time for the product's debut in Japan. Roughly 400,000 PS3 consoles will be available for the U.S. debut on Friday.
The console's European launch has been pushed back until March. That was the second delay, as PS3 had been initially promised for spring of this year.
Sony has a lot riding on the success of the PS3, which is powered by the new "Cell" computer chip and is supported by the next-generation Blu-ray video disc format.
索尼PS3无法运行部分老游戏
索尼公司(Sony Corp., 又名：新力公司)称，该公司上周末率先在日本发售的PlayStation 3游戏机不能运行一些为上一代PlayStation和升级后的PlayStation 2游戏机开发的老款游戏。
索尼公司曾表示，PlayStation 3会与上几代PlayStation游戏机兼容。
但索尼计算机娱乐公司(Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.)发言人Satoshi Fukuoka周二说，在过去的8,000款游戏中，有一些无法在PS3上正常运行，有的会产生声音或图像问题，还有的则根本不能运行。
他没有透露不能正常运行的游戏数量，但表示这款游戏机11月17日在美国上市时，可能将出现同样问题。在北美，针对PlayStation和PlayStation 2销售的游戏约有16,000款。
Fukuoka说，发生的这些问题并非技术故障，公司此前已经预料到了这种情况。11月11日，索尼在其日文网站上公布了这个问题，当天PS3通过日本的一些零售商向排着长队的游戏迷们发售。
用户可在该网站输入PS或PS2游戏的名称，网站会弹出一个页面，告诉用户这款游戏能否正常运行。比如，索尼的网站称，所有“Biohazard”系列游戏都能正常运行，除了其中一款游戏中的一种模拟枪不能正常射击之外。
Fukuoka说，游戏迷不能玩所有的游戏，我们感到非常抱歉。但不幸的是，其中一些问题是无法避免的。
他说，公司会提供程序供用户下载以解决其中一些问题和升级PS3的软件，但可能无法解决所有问题。
业内专家称，这样的问题在以往的新款游戏机发布中很常见，不会对PS3业务产生长期的影响。
KBC Securities分析师Hiroshi Kamide说，刚上市时总是有各种各样的小问题，要做到完全兼容可能需要一段时间，但我认为这不是什么大问题。
的确，微软公司(Microsoft Corp.) 2002年在日本推出Xbox后，也曾接到客户的投诉，称游戏机会损坏游戏光碟。索尼2000年发布PS2时也遇到了和PS游戏兼容的问题。
今年圣诞节期间，PS3将同本月19日在美国上市的任天堂公司(Nintendo Co.)的Wii以及去年上市的微软Xbox 360展开销售大战。
尽管对PS3的反响一直很热烈，但上市的过程并不顺利。
产量问题意味着首批在日本准时上市的PS3只有10万台。周五在美国上市的PS3游戏机将有40万台左右。
在欧洲的上市时间则被推迟到明年3月份。这已经是第二次推迟，索尼公司最初曾承诺在今年春季推出PS3。
索尼为PS3的成功煞费苦心，这款游戏机采用了新型“Cell”电脑芯片，支持下一代Blu-ray光盘格式。
