Borkachev on 28 January 2008
I absolutely don't see the point in releasing an 120-160 GB PS3. Even if it does have a dualshock 3 coming with it. Except for the HDD storage and controller everything will be the same as with the 80 GB sku, right? So what's this for then? As far as i can tell, this move won't spur any big sales. It might actually put of some of the customers IMO.
Well, the bigger harddrive isn't really the point. The 80gb bundle has just been out for a long time, and it's time to update it. The Motorstorm pack-in is outdated, the Sixaxis needs to be replaced with the DS3, and the processor needs to be upgraded to 65nm (presumably along with some other hardware refinements). With all those changes due at once, that makes it a good time to up the harddrive size while they're at it. Doing so will help distinguish the new bundle from the previous 80gb SKU, since harddrive size is the main identifier Sony has been using for its different PS3 packages. It's also likely that at this point the larger harddrive costs little or no more than the 80gb, so there's no reason for them to stick with the smaller one. And finally, the larger harddrive increases the system's value without the need for an actual price drop (unless there's going to be no replacement for the Motorstorm pack-in, in which case the larger HD will be used to compensate for that loss).
