Sony phasing out 80GB PS3, slim model due Aug. 18?
updated 10:25 am EDT, Tue August 4, 2009
PS3 80GB Phaseout and Slim
Sony could be in the last stages of winding down existing PlayStation 3 sales in preparation for its slim 120GB version launching soon. A leaked note from a Japanese retailer has the 80GB PS3 unavailable for order after August 9th as the result of a Sony request; the move also asks the store to take down displays advertising the 80GB console. As the 160GB edition isn't sold in Japan, the move would leave the retailer without any PS3s until a future revision.
Simultaneously, RTL now claims that the redesigned PS3 expected to replace it should be unveiled at Germany's gamescom expo, which begins August 18th. The news also cites anonymous wholesale game resellers who have reportedly been told to expect a 100-Euro price cut on the PS3 to 299, matching parallel claims that the American PS3 would drop to $299.
The news surfaces just as Amazon has cut the price of a 160GB Uncharted bundle down to $450 and reinforces rumors that Sony intends to replace both of the larger consoles with a single 120GB model while slashing the price, both reviving interest in the design itself as well as putting it into much closer contention with the Xbox 360 Pro, which sells for the same price today but has just half the hard drive storage and lacks Blu-ray. [via Engadget and Kotaku]
