I am a long time Nintendo Nerd, but I want to try new games now that I have a steady job/paycheck... only problem is now which model should I buy?

I want to enjoy some games like Kingdom Hearts II as well as newer online games, like Simpsons Arcade. But I heard that some PS3 models are NOT backward compatible with the PS2 games... so I was wondering which model should I try and how much it would cost me.

Any advice?

@silverzeo: PS3s haven't had compatibility with PS2 games since 2008. Getting a used model that old just to play PS2 games is a risk because it's a time bomb waiting to break. I'd say just get a new model. A lot of the important PS2 stuff was remade or converted to work on the new PS3s that you can download from PSN. Get a PS+ subscription. Last year the North American PS+ got you $1005 worth of games totalling 163GB of data, so its a good value but you'll need a sizeable hard drive. Many consider the European PS+ offering this year to have been better than the North American offering.

The backwards compatability issue is tough. Only the launch PS3s had actual backwards compatability, and the second version of that generation did software emulation. Those consoles haven't been in production since about mid 2007 though, so if you really wanted backwards compatability in a PS3 you'd likely need to buy one used. There are also a bunch of PS2/PS1 games available for purchase digitally on the Playstation Network store, which you can access from the Playstation website, and see if they have the games you want or not. You shold probably stay away from buying that old of a used PS3 though, as those early generation consoles are the most likely to suffer from the "yellow light of death", which is just a fancy way of saying an internal hardware failure that kills the console.

I'd say go for a 500GB super slim, and buy new if it's affordable($300 CAD/USD). Although you won't have backwards compatability, if you've got somewhere to hook it up, you can buy a good condition, used PS2 for around $40, if not less. I would also caution you to maybe hold off on the PS3 for a little bit (you could get the PS2 whenever). With the new consoles coming soon, you might see another price drop for the PS3 relatively soon, or an even better bundle.