Rumor: Sony abandons 80 GB PS3

If PS3 Fanboy is to be believed, the 80 GB PS3 might be soon retired by Sony in North America, the only major territory where it is even still available. An anonymous Best Buy employee leaked an internal letter to the website, which informs employees about the discontinuation of the 80 GB PS3, which is priced at $499.

The letter reveals that the “80 GB PS3 version is going closeout and won’t be replaced at this time.” The letter further notifies the Best Buy employees that the 80 GB version will come off the “planogram” on January 28, 2008 and only the 40 GB version will be sold in Best Buy stores. The letter might signal the end of the road for the 80 GB PS3, currently the only backwards compatible PS3 version. Sony has not confirmed that the 80 GB system is permanently out of production.

Sony has been trying hard to reverse the abysmal fortunes of the PS3. It has retired the 60 GB, 20 GB and 80 GB console versions around the world except, of course, North America, where both the 40 GB and 80 GB SKU are available. The company seems to be of the view that a cheaper PS3 is the best way to increase console sales even if backwards compatibility has to be sacrificed to reign in on the price.

Read [PS3 Fanboy] via [PC World]