Sony does not need another high end model they already have. Lower the price of the console instead. Another option would be to do a cheaper model but as we have seen the lower end of the ps3 does not sell well. Its really stupid to just add another 20GB I hope not Sony does this.

.. drop 60 gig to $500 or 450 ... sounds better... 4 hundred and something

 make the new bigger hard drive PS3 at $550...

Wow, cant they just make upgrades like what Nintendo is doing? I mean seriously, if you have coughed up 600 bucks for the PS3 (unless you managed to find and buy the 500 one) would you really want to trade it in (plus a few hundred bucks for it being less expensive than the new one and preowned) for the bigger one? Who even cares, chances are youll never run out of space.  How about an upgraded hard drive...and then something els. What that something els is, I dont know, but try something.

Now there are like 3 Xbox360's and 3 PS3's, and soon a second Wii that has DVD capibility. See, thats something, I realize PS3 and 360 have that, but its just an example. Make it worth buying and try to keep the same low... well, same high price or only a little higher. Same as what Nintendo did with the DS lite. It was much sexier, smaller, brighter screen, and a lower price, and then the old DS was discontinued. There was no reason for the old DS, it had a sinificantly shorter batery life, a feature to turn the backlight off which all it did was made the screen impossible to see, it was fat and ugly, and the stylus was too small. (and it was more exspensive) Thats why Microsoft and sony need to do if they are going to release a new version of there system every month, they need to make it actually meaningfully better than the last, and keep the same price or only raise it a little, making the old version pointless. 

Maybe sony should make a PSlite?

Why not just make a plug-in hard drive for the PS3?

Thats exactly what I said. Make a plug in, just like what Nintendo is doing, enough of this "lets make a new frigg'n console everytime we make a slight needless unnecesary harddrive exspansion."

Because this isn't actually based on "consumer needs." They think that people already interested in PS3 might opt for an even more high-end model, which will be closer to making a profit. If they just offered an add-on HDD, very few people would buy it, but if there's two models, Joe Shmoe might simply buy the more expensive one instead of bothering to find out what all the differences are.

Sony is basically just scrambling for ways to save or make money. They cut the 20gig model because it was taking a larger loss. They cut the PS2 parts for quick-and-dirty cost reduction. Now they're inventing reasons to release a more expensive model.

This is what happens when you're already taking massive losses, and then only reach 50% of your sales goal. They can't produce the volume needed for quick cost reduction, and with a lower install base they can't sell software or Blu-Ray movies fast enough to start off-setting their losses.

Basically, their whole business plan is unraveling, and they need to make corrective measures right away.

 they cut the 20 gig in the USA becaue no one was buying them, retailers were not ordering them!!

i love the anti sony fud. 

Basically everything erikaston said is his bias opionin.

 I was actually thinking that they may have a different color and some flashy new trim. That way they can have a PSTriple Elite, basically sell it for more with production cost being [i[almost the same, unlike the old 20gb.

Thank you, because you're objective all the time 

WAR HUS! 

I think the price they pay the 20 GB drive is close to the price they pay for the 60 GB one.

The 20 GB one could even be more expensive, if it's obsolete technology and seeing as they didn't sell as much PS3 as they wanted (or so I think).

The 80 GB may be slightly more expensive, or same price as the 60 GB drive was 6 months before.

IMHO, they do that because they pay less for these drives. If the goal was to just add storage space, they wouldn't go with only 20 GB more. The iPod has disks that can hold 80 GB, so I think the PS3 can have at least 160 GB disks at 2.5".