The upcoming removal of the Emotion chip that has been announced for future PS3s will eliminate hardware emulation for backwards compatibility and replace it with software emulation. I’m trying to figure out how this will affect timing issues in fighting games, and whether there is a window of opportunity that is closing with regards to backward compatibility for fighting games. Lots of questions here… sorry if these were asked before but I’ve been searching all morning and still can’t answer them.
Where are we now?
(wordier: For existing PS3s with the Emotion chip, what fighting games have timing issues? interested mostly in Capcom and SNK 2D fighters)
Where is the EU now (aka where will the NA soon be)?
(wordier: The initial EU PS3 has no Emotion chip and uses software-based emulation. Do they have timing issues on fighting games that the NA does not?)
How does future support look for software emulation?
(wordier: Has Sony made any claims or shown any progress that indicates that software emulation might be able to eliminate timing delays in fighting games?)
How does future support look for PS3s with the emotion chip?
(wordier: Will Sony support this model less than the newer ones? Or will they do a firmware upgrade that causes the existing PS3s to ignore the Emotion chip and act like the new PS3s? It would be just like Sony to do that… easier to support anyway.)
Overall, what is your recommendation for the soon-to-be-gone PS3 with an Emotion chip?
(wordier: Are the timing issues severe enough on the existing PS3s that there is no point getting an Emotion chip PS3 for use with a previous-gen 2D fighting game? Is there enough hope for the software emulation that the Emotion chip PS3 should be avoided? And overall, is there a point getting either PS3 for use with previous-gen fighters? In other words, could someone eventually use one or the other or both of these PS3s for a tournament without the participants crying foul?)