I think in the EU it was different which is probably why it didn't even come to mind when speaking about BC.
That's just PR talk, there's absolutely no reason a controller gimmick would stop you from playing a game. Imagine not being able to play GT7 because your controller triggers don't rumble. The sad things is third party games may not even use it and you still won't be able to use the old controller...
Sure, additional controllers will be sold exactly because Sony doesn't allow the old one to be used. You also may see it differently but the vast majority of of PS gamers would prefer if they had full support. Since this post is about the console being pro consumer or not that's still a negative point I'm afraid.