Sony adds credence to FCC filings of an 80GB PS3.
A spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said today that the company is considering launching a new version of PlayStation 3 with a larger hard disk drive.
“For users who vigorously store (games and other entertainment content) in the PS3, 20-giga is probably going to be too small, and even 60-giga may not be big enough eventually,†Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka said in a Reuters report.
“We are not likely to change its core components and functions such as the Cell, RSX, Blu-ray drive and network capability. But outside that realm, addition and deletion is quite possible,†he said.
Fukuoka’s comments come just a week after SCEA confirmed that the 20GB PS3 is discontinued in the North American market, though it will still be offered in Japan. The European PlayStation 3 has already experienced hardware ‘deletion,’ as the console does not include the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer chips used for hardware PlayStation 2 emulation.
Adding the plausibility of a larger hard disk drive are Sony’s filings with the FCC detailing a PlayStation 3 console with an 80GB drive, which another Sony spokesperson commented on saying that the “Application to the FCC has been made with various possibilities in mind, however, it does not lead to a new product announcement at this time.â€
Sony competitor Microsoft will be launching on April 29 an upgraded version of the Xbox 360 with HDMI and a 120GB hard disk drive, perhaps providing some of the motivation behind Fukuoka’s comments.
