The first-generation PlayStation 3, model CECHA, is one of the most captivating pieces of consumer hardware ever built.
Among the many PS3 revisions, only the CECHA (60GB, Japan/US) and CECHB (20GB) models contained an entire PlayStation 2 system integrated on the motherboard — including the Emotion Engine CPU and Graphics Synthesizer GPU.
This meant true, hardware-level backward compatibility, allowing the system to run games from all three generations — PS1, PS2, and PS3 — with perfect accuracy.
It was the ultimate “all-in-one” PlayStation.
A vision of seamless continuity between generations — and, in retrospect, one of Sony’s most daring hardware decisions.
The Dream and Its Flaws
This ambition, however, came at a cost.
The CECHA suffered from an early thermal design flaw, which made it prone to the infamous Yellow Light of Death (YLOD). Combined with its glossy piano-black finish and limited production run, pristine units with original packaging and documentation are now exceedingly rare.
Collectors today search for untouched systems — with uncracked warranty seals and no signs of reflow repairs — like museum artifacts of a lost technological optimism.
The Controller Lineage
To fully appreciate the CECHA, it helps to look back at the evolution of the PlayStation controller itself — a lineage that mirrors the console’s history of refinement.
During the PS1 era, three major controllers were released:
Original Controller (Model H):
A minimalist design without analog sticks — simple, symmetrical, almost toy-like by modern standards.Dual Analog Controller:
Introduced the now-iconic dual-stick layout, giving players precise control over movement and camera — a major leap in input expressiveness.DualShock Controller:
Added vibration feedback, merging tactile sensation with gameplay — an innovation that set the template for all future PlayStation controllers.
The PS2 continued this legacy with the DualShock 2, refining the analog sensitivity of buttons and sticks while retaining the same ergonomic silhouette.
The Silent Gap — SIXAXIS and the Patent War
Yet by the time the PlayStation 3 launched in 2006, something curious had changed.
The launch units — including the CECHA — shipped with SIXAXIS controllers, which lacked vibration entirely.
The reason was not technical but legal.
A company named Immersion had sued Sony, claiming that the vibration mechanisms in the DualShock 1 and DualShock 2 infringed upon its patents.
As a result, Sony temporarily removed vibration feedback from the controller lineup, introducing motion sensing (the “six axes” of movement) as a partial substitute.
It was an odd compromise — and players noticed.
The absence of tactile feedback left early PS3 titles feeling somewhat detached, sterile even, especially for players accustomed to the visceral response of a rumbling DualShock.
Eventually, Sony and Immersion reached a settlement.
By 2007, vibration made its return in the form of the DualShock 3, combining SIXAXIS motion control with the familiar tactile feedback players had missed.
It restored what many felt was the soul of the PlayStation experience.
The End of an Era
The CECHA thus represents a fascinating intersection in gaming history:
a console where the old and new coexisted — full hardware backward compatibility, legacy controller design, and a vision of total integration that would never be repeated.
Later PS3 revisions gradually removed PS2 hardware, replacing it with limited software emulation to reduce cost and heat output.
Backward compatibility became partial, and eventually disappeared altogether.
In hindsight, the CECHA was not just a launch model — it was the last truly universal PlayStation.
Its ambition was unsustainable, but its spirit defined what made the PlayStation era remarkable: a belief that technological progress could still respect the past.
For collectors and enthusiasts, the CECHA stands today as a monument —
a reminder of a time when “compatibility” meant continuity,
and a single machine could carry the memory of three generations.