It looks like gamers stuck in the past may want to think twice before throwing down the $600 for a shiny new 80GB PS3, as it's now been revealed that the system has dropped the PS2 "emotion engine" chip in favor of the software-based solution currently employed in the 80GB Korean PS3 and existing Euro PS3s. As you can sort of make out in the image from the 80GB box above, that means "limited backward compatibility" with PS1 and PS2 games, not to mention a likely endless series of software updates to slowly expand that compatibility. No word if the 60GB PS3 will also be going the software-only route, although that $100 price drop could possibly be a sign of things to come. On a side note, our pals at Joystiq also got the official word from Sony on that mysterious red light emanating from the SIXAXIS on the 80GB PS3 box. According to Sony's Dave Karraker, "it is just a lighting trick. Nothing different or new about it."
