Sony Responds To 80Gb Discontinuation Rumors

January 26th, 2008 by Brian Lockhart in News, PlayStation 3, Rumor

In actuality, Sony’s response was an extremely weak one when questioned about the rumors surrounding the discontinuation of the 80Gb model of the PS3. Yesterday rumors started when a leaked screenshot of a Bestbuy internal memo suggested that the 80Gb units would no longer be stocked and all units left in stock should be sold and removed from retail space. This is far from the first time that a PS3 SKU has been rumored to be discontinued in this manner, only to be officially cancelled by Sony shortly after.

However, a PR representative has taken the time to remain fairly mum on the subject. They have to say, “I caught up with all of the posts and news last night, and as you know, we don’t comment on rumors and speculation.” Seems like a weak response to me, in what is very likely a true rumor. Had the rumors has no substantiation, you can bet Sony would be much quicker to deny them, then simply not comment.

What remains to be seen from this point is if they will instead release a new SKU for the higher price range, or if they will decide to simply focus on one. If they do decide to release a new SKU, a larger hard drive seems likely, as does the complete removal of backwards compatibility in order to cut costs.

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