I know that you can play ps1 games on the ps3. Though sadly most of my games are burnt, so they don't play. You can also create a virtual memory card on the ps3, you need one in order to play ps1 games.
An easier way might be to find a ps1 with a burnt chip so you can download iso's off the net, burn them to cd and play like that. Shouldn't cost you too much. Just an option. Luckily I already have a ps1 with a burnt chip. just need to blow about five kilos of dust out of it.
