At the E3 Media & Business Summit, Sony announced it was introducing a new PlayStation 3 model with a built-in 80 GBhard drive for $399, replacing Sony’s current 80GB PS3 which retails at $499. The new 80GB model essentially doubles the storage capacity of Sony’s currently offered 40GB PS3 model, which is also priced at $399. The new 80GB PS3 will start shipping in September, according to a statement on Sony’s Web site. The new 80GB PS3 will also include integrated Wi-Fi and a built-in Blu-ray player, but like the old 40 GB model it will not be backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 games. The 40GB version of the PS3 will eventually be phased out, Reuters reported.
Sony’s announcement comes after Microsoft cut the price of the 20GB Xbox 360 to $299 from $349. Microsoft also plans to introduce a new 60GB Xbox 360 model that retails for $349, to eventually replace the 20GB model, which will be gradually phased out. This price cut is not Sony’s only salvo against Microsoft. Sony announced earlier at E3 that it would be introducing a new video distribution service, as competition for Microsoft Xbox Live, according to Reuters. In addition to watching videos on their PS3s, users will also be able to transfer downloads to their PSPs for portable viewing. With these new announcements from both Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo’s next move is open to question.
Source: CRN
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