Basically I have accepted that I will some day have a PS3 in my room. Mainly because I want Blu-Ray to go with my lovely HDTV, but obviously there are a few exclusives here and there that would interest me.

Now, a major thing for me (probably the selling point tbh) is Backward Compatibility - is it still possible to find the old 60gb's around? I live in Scotland, so did the early European models have this BC, or would I have to buy an American PS3?

And furthermore, can I swap out the HDD for a larger one without having an effect on the BC?

Finally, is it true, full BC? Or will there be issues with some games?

No effect for swapping harddrives, full BC if you can find a 60gig version, but that is the catch, you have to find a 60 gig version.

Seemingly eBay is full of them, however is there any element of scamming in that scene? By that i mean are people ripping 80gb HDDs out of the standard model, putting in 60s and then selling them on as legit 60s?

BC games are still region locked i think. My friends got a 60gb launch kit but its for japan so hes boned.

"If I were to purchase a PS3..prepare to bend over to pick up the soap"

Haha ahhh that is good to know - I would be in quite the situation if I imported then!

I used to be concerned with BC on consoles, but then I got to thinking: I buy new hardware to play new games. Why would I care about BC, especially if I already own a last-gen system? You can just hook both of them up. Sure, it's a pain, but is BC really all that important? The folks buying DSi's don't seem to think so.

Swings and roundabouts.  PS3 no region lock, good, no backwards compatibility, bad.  PS3 great hardware, good, shocking price, bad.

I've got a 60GB UK PS3 and it has some BC issues.  When I'm played Black on it I'd have to restart it any time I died. But that's just one game.

Do you know what - I genuinely think it's just easier to buy a current PS3 SKU and get a PS2 off ebay for £20. To be fair, you probably won't spend much time playing PS2 games as it is.

But if it really concerns you, make sure the seller is literally saying "this is an original 60GB with backwards compatibility". Be prepared to pay silly o' clock for it though.

"Do you know what - I genuinely think it's just easier to buy a current PS3 SKU and get a PS2 off ebay for £20. To be fair, you probably won't spend much time playing PS2 games as it is.But if it really concerns you, make sure the seller is literally saying "this is an original 60GB with backwards compatibility". Be prepared to pay silly o' clock for it though."

Why are people so concerned about the BC? Dont get it. I still have my PS2 laying around and since it's connected to my TV so whenever i want to play the games i havn't gotten around to i just pop them in. I could imagine that most people still have their PS2 somewhere, so why the f does it matter if PS3 has BC or not?

Ebay has them, last time I checked, the 60gb BC models were the same price as the current 160gb models.

Which is what I well be getting, when I can finally afford it... Sometime next year.

I'm in Ireland, so I got one of the european launch ps3s - 60gig, but i gotta tell you, the BC isnt perfect. Not all games run well - the Ratchet series run horribly slowly, all out of sync, as does a few of the Jak games. Some others like one of the Smash Court tennis games doesnt run for me at all on my ps3...anyway, just to be aware - not every game seems to run perfectly (at least for me...i could have a dodgy console)

Well right now all the BC PS3s are virually nonexistant. If you have the money you can go to Ebay or Amazon and find a PS3 with BC. Or since the recent price drop of the PS2, you could just pick up a PS3 and PS2 for around $500. 

I wouldn't mess with a used PS3 on ebay. If you can find one that is new like that MGS bundle. Try that. I'm skeptical of used systems. I personally bought a new, non BC PS3 and still have my ps2 hooked up, although I hardly use it.