The European version of the PlayStation 3, which goes on sale next month after a long delay, will be compatible with fewer PlayStation 2 games than versions launched at the end of last year in Japan and the US.

In those markets, the consoles played 98 per cent of the older games. Sony has not said what proportion will work with the European model, but it acknowledged that it would be lower.

“Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3,” David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said in a statement.

“Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games,” he said.

A spokesman for the company said that more PlayStation 2 games would become compatible with the new console after launch, as downloadable updates to the system were released. The first release is scheduled for March 23, the day of the console’s release.

Prospective buyers will be able to check whether the games they own are compatible with the PlayStation 3 by visiting a website which will also be available from March 23.

Today's announcement follows a troubled and protracted gestation for the new console, which has won praise for its speed and graphics but alienated many potential buyers with long delays and high prices. When it launches in the UK, the top-end models will cost £420, compared with £280 for the full-spec version of Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Sony cut the price of the console in Japan just before launch and has announced that it will bundle Blu-ray disc versions of Casino Royale with the Australian edition, also released next month.

Analysts suggested that this betrays a lack of confidence within the company that they are giving customers enough of an incentive to buy. “They have to sweeten the deal a little bit,” Hiroshi Kamide, a games industry researcher expert at KBC Securities Japan. “The problem with the product so far is that no one has fully understood why it’s so expensive.”

The PlayStation 3 was initially supposed to go on sale in early 2006, but the launch was put back when Sony encountered technical problems with the built-in Blu-ray disc player, a high-definition successor to the DVD. The delay meant that the company missed out on the Christmas sales peak in Europe.

Meanwhile, Nintendo launched its Wii console to an enthusiastic response. The Wii is much cheaper (£180) and less technologically advanced than either the PS3 or the Xbox 360, but it's wireless controller gave it novelty value and brought a new audience to video games.