Gameindustry.biz has stated that SCEE president David Reeves has clarified that the 60GB PS3's days are numbered. At an E3 event in which Reeves revealed the PlayStation 3 Starter Pack for the European region, he was questioned over whether SCEE should have given Europe a price cut, as has happened in America. Reeves claims that "they aren't really" getting a price cut "because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game."
Reeves went on to say that "all they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July." When asked whether this was truly the end of the 60GB model, Reeves replied with "in America, yes."
We see this as a very strange move on SCEA's part. Why undermine your announcement of a price drop by phasing out the lower end unit? Because the 80GB systems have had their Emotion Engine removed (which means PS2 games will now be software emulated, as in Europe) they are cheaper to build than the current 60GB models. Will we see this saving passed down to the customer with another price cut before the end of the year? This doesn't really bode well for those waiting for it to drop below $500 dollars.
Our solution? Drop the 80GB to $500 in a couple of months, in time for the big Christmas releases. Then bring back the 20GB system, without the Emotion Engine, for $400 dollars. Things would make a lot more sense if that were to happen.
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