Well personally, if I can't get a PS2 compatible PS3 I won't be getting one at all. And I can't afford a PS3 until after Christmas. So I might not bother at all. I can't stand the thought of putting a PS2 disc into a PS3 and getting an error message. That's hardly "next-gen", and I'd always look down on it as an inferior version of a mighty console. I dunno where I am gonna find £350 from before the proper PS3s sell out, so I am buggered. Thanks, Sony, for really screwing up the transition into the next-generation. It should have been so simple, but the company seems to be over-run by idiots.

Well i work in Gamestation and i know for a fact we've yet to sell a single 40GB model, in the past week since the price drop we've shifted about 20-30 60GB models and now we're out of stock with no one wanting a 40GB.

I didn't really want a PS3 when they came out. But, in honesty, when I heard that if I was going to get a backwardly compatible model it would have to be now, I considered it.

An odd reaction, given that I didn't really want one in the first place. I wonder if other people have had a similar response? It's a great tactic from Sony to boost sales in the short term, which could lead to all-important sales over the Christmas period for games and accessories, not to mention stripping people of disposable income to spend on other consoles.

(I've since come to my senses, and concluded I really, really don't need a PS3, and if I want to play PS2 games so badly, I'll use the PS2 sitting in the corner.)

Well, I think Sony has made a big mistake with the new no-compatible ps3. If they based their decision on some stats they might be wrong.
As the ps2 has more than 2500 games available, the ps3 could really enjoy the nostalgic experience because that is what I am talking about.
No-compatible ps3 will enjoy the next generation games but unfortunately there have not been created yet.

They still have the 60GB ps3. it is compatible with ps2 games. the 40GB one is only to reduce price and to compete with the 360 elite and to attract gamers that didn't have any other of Sony's consoles, therefore it doesn't have backwards compatibility and is much cheaper, and as a result, sales have risen.