Sony has admitted that the European version of its PlayStation 3 console will not play as many old PlayStation 2 games as the versions already launched in the US and Japan.  

The electronics firm said that PS3 consoles built for the European market are slightly different to those in other regions because they use software to carry out some of the functions of the dedicated chips.

Japanese and US PlayStation 3 models play 98 per cent of Sony's previous games.

"Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3," said a statement by Sony Computer Entertainment.

The news is a further blow to European gamers, who will not get their hands on the games console until 23 March, four months after the North America and Japanese launches. 

Sony expects to have around one million units available at the European launch.