The FCC has recently approved a brand new SKU for the PlayStation 3, although we haven't received any official details on that new model just yet. We've seen four total iterations of Sony's next-gen console - 20GB, 60GB, 80GB, and 40GB versions have been released - but it seems Sony underestimated the growing interest in their system with the 80GB model.
They planned to phase it out in favor of the 40GB version, but it's still available in most retail locations. As it turns out, Sony didn't really expect the demand for the 80GB model to be so high, so says Sony vice president of marketing, Scott Steinberg:
"Our strategy at the end of the year was to offer up a $399 40 GB, which we thought was the magic price for a Blu-ray machine and then a $499 80 GB. What we were surprised to see is that $100 really didn't matter to a certain customer. Our sales were fairly equitable according to TRST and our internal numbers through the holidays and even into January; we're pretty dry on the 80 GB as a result of us underestimating the demand for the 80 GB and thinking that most folks, because the price message was such a big part of the pundits and the analysts decrying the differences between the 360 and the PS3, [would prefer the 40 GB]. Reality is the price wasn't that big of a deal and $499 sold a lot more than we thought, so the 80 GB got dry at retail not due to us artificially compressing it but the demand became greater than we thought. So you'll see us replenish these in the marketplace. We're still committed to our current strategy and there is much to do about nothing, I think is the way to think about it." (source- GameDaily)
Well, it seems Sony is going to be "replenishing" the 80GB PS3, which certainly goes against their initial plan to just let it die out. As they say, the extra $100 really didn't seem to be a crippling issue, so why not keep the more expensive model around? Of course, we'll be sure to let you know as soon as we receive word about mystery model CECHE01...
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