Obviously, the biggest rumor floating around is the apparent news that Sony will soon be discontinuing production of the 80GB PlayStation 3 model. Best Buy was the first retailer to post a bit of “closeout” evidence and we’ve also just heard from an inside source at GameStop that said the 80GB model’s SKU was “deleted” in the store’s inventory. But this rumor has prompted another rumor…an even bigger one, believe it or not.
According to ArsTechnica, an inside source of their own who “has been right almost every time” recently spoke about the discontinuation of the 80GB PS3 plus the fact that Sony will continue their two-SKU market approach. Yep, two PS3 models, with one of them being the 40GB model that’s currently on store shelves. But what’s the other version? Here’s what their “mole” had to say-
“Sony is, in fact, phasing out the 80GB PS3. Sony is going to stay with the two-SKU approach though, and the prices look to stay the same. The Spiderman 3 pack-in will disappear as well once the 80GB unit is gone. In order to maintain a similar value proposition to the 80GB/Spiderman 3 bundle, I expect to see a storage increase to 120 or 160GB at the same price point, plus the new Dual-Shock 3 controller…”
Woah. So we’re looking at a $499 PS3 with at least a 120GB hard drive and the Dual Shock 3 included? We’ve known for a while we’d eventually get the DS3 (it’s already available in Japan), and we also knew Sony would be “evaluating consumer demand and market trends” to decide on new PS3 models. But this “underground info” is certainly news to us, and big news at that. Could it be true? Only time will tell…
Unofficial Sony Blog 
