We all knew the European PS3s use software emulation to play PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games, but all our US PS3s were doing much better hardware "emotion engine" emulation. But if you want one of the fancy new 80GB PS3s, featuring twenty—count'em, twenty—more jiggabytes than the 60GB model, you'll have to deal with software emulation for your old titles. We recommend you get the 60GB now, and make do with a little less space for better compatibility.

New 80GB PS3 eliminates "emotion engine" chip [Gamesindustry]