Three Hundred and Ninety-Nine US Dollars

So I'd like to get a PS3 (partly for its functionality as a Blu-ray player, and partly for some of the exclusive titles such as Ratchet & Clank, MGS4, God of War, etc.)

I saw today that the 80GB model is only $500, which surprised me as I didn't realize that there had been a price drop, but I also found out that Sony just announced at E3 that in September they're releasing a new 80GB model (to replace the current 40GB one) for only $400. The thing is, there's some question as to whether or not this new model will have backwards compatibility or not (the 40GB one doesn't, and the new one is supposed to offer the "same functionality" as the 40GB model). So for $500 I can get an 80GB model with software PS2 compatibility (which is sketchy for some games, but they keep releasing patches to fix playback issues although they're going to stop eventually), for $400 I can get an 80GB model with no compatibility (maybe), or for $450 I can go halvsies and get a 60GB model with hardware PS2 compatibility (which supposedly works perfect for all games). Except they don't make the 60GB model anymore, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to find.
I've already got a PS2, so it seems like a waste to pay $100 more just to be able to play games for a system I already own, but on the other hand I don't want to have two consoles when one will do. I've considered selling my PS2 to help pay for a PS3, but I doubt I would get even $100 for it, which kind of defeats the purpose, except to free up some space on my shelf. I don't even play my old PS2 games that much anyway, but it would be nice to know that I can, and also I might eventually go back and buy old games that I missed the first time around (like I did with RE2 and 3, Silent Hill, and FF7 for the PS1).

What does /games/ think?  Can anyone offer opinions as to the quality of the PS2 compatibility (hardware vss software)?

i would go with a 360. seriously 60gb model is 200 now

Thanks for the recommendation, but you weren't paying attention. 
I want a PS3 because it has "a Blu-ray player, and ...exclusive titles such as Ratchet & Clank, MGS4, God of War, etc."
X-box 360 may be a fine system, but it has none of those things, which are currently the major selling points for me.

get a fleshlight, it will give you a lot more fun

fleshlight > ps3 > xbox > wii

From what I remember the PS3 does a HORRIBLE ass job converting quality, to the point it even downconverts it.

I haven't looked at it in a long time though.

Doesn't PS3 only have one game that acually fills up most of the disc

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i started out with a coeco.  was state of the art (haha).
im tellin ya it worries me to see yall droppin all this money on consoles. 4 that much cash get a p.c.  is the best game system,  always has been,  always will be.  after all, games aint developed on a console, r they?  $600 will get u a machine, drop in a new graphix card and youll have maps 3 times bigger than any console, ai thats actually smart, free downloads,  every form of endless free porn ever invented, computers can do damn near anything now,  and the grafix are astounding!  or, u can buy a console.  im lookin at an ad rite now--$179 for 1 TERIBYTE hard drive.  thats 1000 gig, wich is 1000 megabytes. straight up,  sell ur fuckin console.  it takes work, ya gotta learn some things,  but ya sound like a serious gamer there,  and trust me,  the payoff in gaming is worth it 10 times over!

Save your PS2 in a box if it still works well but you want the space.  If you intend hang onto your games you will want the real deal over emulation in the future.

The $399 80GB will NOT be BC, it has no card readers, and it only has 2 USB ports. I have the $499 80GB and I played the entire MGS Saga start to finish on it without experiencing any problems. Just go here to see if there are any issues reported with the games you want to use BC for.

http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus

>>11
How good is the PS3 as a DVD player? (Blu-ray or regular).  My current PS2 is the shittiest DVD player I've ever had.  It constantly has disc read errors, even on brand new discs, and sometimes it can take me an hour just to get it to recognize a PS1 game.  It plays PS2 games flawlessly though.  Is the PS3 any better at this?

>>9
I don't think you quite grasp the concept of "exclusive titles."