A friend bought a Spanish DMC 4 accidentally but can't test it because it won't install install on his 12 GB ps3. He is still in suspense about the language in which it will play [emoji23]
The game of course will play in English but let's keep him that way [emoji16]
The reason I said a resounding NO is because a lot of games need installation and 12 GB is not sufficient. You can install a few patches or may be demos but it is not ideal.
It is best to get 12GB ps3 and then adding a HDD on your own as it is a lot cheaper than buying the 500 GB model and it also gives you a lot of flexibility.