One of the smartest ways to increase sales of a new generation of console is to allow gamers the opportunity to play their entire back-catalogue of games on the new hardware. It makes for a smooth and easy transition. Hence the introduction of backwards compatibility. However, shortly after the launch of the Playstation 3, Sony began to issue new console SKUs, slowly dwindling down the number of consoles possessing the Emotion Engine chipset that allowed the Playstation 3 to play Playstation 2 titles. Until there were none.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A new patent issued by Sony Computer Entertainment of America in the US leads many to believe the Playstation 3's backwards compatibility capabilities are returning, and to sweeten the deal you might not even need new hardware.

How this works is that the new cell-based Emotion Engine that was patented allows the Playstation 3 to process Emotion Engine data, translate it, and store it within the console. Meaning, the PS3 will no longer require an Emotion Engine chipset to be installed inside the system. Instead, a simple firmware update, in theory, could allow all old and new PS3s to have backwards compatibility enabled no matter the hardware they came with. No date has been scheduled when this new emotion engine would be implemented into the Playstation 3 but it's a definite step in the right direction. And for Sony it's an extremely cost effective technology that helps bring back one of the best features the PS3 can offer--the ability to play thousands of video games from a single console.

Speaking about this from a person angle, I've wrestled with the idea of rebuying a Playstation 2 for some time now. My personal 80gig PS3 doesn't have backwards compatibility and the lack of this feautre absolutely kills me. There have been countless days where I've wanted to go back and play Shadow of the Colossus, the Jak & Daxter trilogy, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, and a number of other classic Playstation 2 titles. If Sony has found a technology that will turn my own PS3 into a backwards compatible beast I will be eternally grateful.

More as this develops and if you want to see a little more about how the actual patent works, visit Siliconera.