@ultraslick:

Actually, Sony has stated that for all the regions for which the 40GB has been announced, all other SKU's will be discontinued effective immediately, meaning that before very long there will be no BC PS3s available on retail shelves.

""""""""Actually, Sony has stated that for all the regions for which the 40GB has been announced will have all the other SKU's discontinued effective immediately, meaning that before very long there will be no BC PS3s available on retail shelves.""""""

==> BS

except if you have a link stating the same thing ??????????????????????

(I think Sony will just clear the 60gb model and replace it by a 80gb model which still have the BC)

Actually, GooseGaws that's not true. They're discontinuing the 60gb in Europe, the 80gb will still be avaliable in the US.

It's pretty much obvious that when the 60gb sells out in the Europe, the 80gb will be released there. And when the 60gb sells out in the US, the 80gb will drop to $499.

As for Japan, I'm not sure, I think that Sony will first discontinue the 20gb as that makes everything more confusing (the 40gb is cheaper than the 20gb). I'm not sure whether they'll discontinue the 60gb or release the 80gb first.

I think it's pretty much inevitable that Europe and the US will both have just the 40 and the 80 by March next year. And most likely that Japan will just have the 40 and the 80 by some point next year.

PS2 is not a reliable piece of hardware, buying a new one is only putting a band aid on the problem and I would like to graphically upgrade my titles as well as invest in the next gen. For the record neither the 60gb or the 80gb are 100% backward compatible. I would also want to play PS3 games, but as I clearly said, I can wait for better ones, what I would want a PS3 for now is BC, and I'm sorry, I'm not shelling out $500-$600 dollars for something that isn't 100% and still needs firmware update to make it work right.

Even if you think the 60Gb is the solution to all problems, the fact Sony is phasing it out is all the more testament to the direction that the PS3 is going and all the more reason I don't want to invest in an uncertain product with no garantee I'll be able to buy a new one or get my old one replaced with one that has the same level of BC.

@libellule:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180547.html?tag=result;title;2

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6180611.html?tag=result;title;0

I may be mistaken about Japan though; I thought I had read it somewhere but cannot find a link. Regardless, I can't imagine that they'll continue to stock three different versions there, especially after discontinuing the comparative models in every other region.

@SamuelRSmith:

According to Sony's Web site, the Value Pack will remain on sale only "while stocks last." From then on, "once stocks are exhausted, the new 40GB model will be the only one available in SCEE territories."

[emphasis added] 

Also, the 40GB hasn't even been announced for North America, so it remains to be seen what will happen here.

Ah, yes, how foolish of me for taking the things that Sony said with a pinch of salt.

Remember the 60gb pricecut? And how that high-up guy stated it wasn't true, like 3 days before the price cut happens.

I know Sony aren't the most smartest of companies but they're not going to announce the replacement of a sku before they've replaced the sku.

I can imagine it now

"We are pleased to announce the release of the 40gb. Along with this release we're discontinuing the 60gb sku, to do this as fast as possible we've dropped the price.... or you could wait a few months and we'll release the 80gb, which will probably have some better bundles in the shops and there will be many more great games out then, with other games (like Resistance and Heavenly Sword) at a reduced price"

Yeah, real smart.

@SamuelRSmith:

That's kind of the point of what has been said. It is becoming increasingly difficult to believe anything Sony says, as they constantly waver back and forth on their PR strategy. If you look at what they have been saying about the 40GB announcement, the message is clear: "We think BC is no longer relevant and are now solely devoting our resources to more important facets of the product rather than wasting more time and money on pointless features." If they turn around and say, "Oh wait, that was all just a big show," it can only hurt their consumer relations further. Why go to all the trouble just to shoot themselves in the foot (again)?

Because, frankly, the Sony PR team are, in a word s**t. They never look more than 3 weeks into the future.

Sony are going to want to completly sell out the 60gb this side of Christmas. After that they've basically got to release the 80gb. One would assume that this has a smaller CPU and GPU. They also need to new SKU release to bundle the Dualshock 3 with.

Besides, it's not the first time Sony have shot themselves in the foot.