PS3 Slim and price drop coming this year says Unnamed Source

Ars Technica are reporting that their “favourite inside source” has gained info on the upcoming hardware plans of both Sony and Microsoft. Both plans are ones of bigger harddrives and lower prices, so consumers should be happy.

First off for Sony, the source says that they will begin phasing out the 80GB model of the PS3 and replacing this with the 160GB model. Then later on in the year (possibly August or September) they will simultaneously drop the price of the 160GB model and launch the much-rumoured PS3 Slim. The source was unable to say how much will be knocked off the PS3’s price, but if this news turns out to be true then we can expect a huge boost is PS3 sales this year.

Microsoft have a similar strategy in action, says Mr Mysterious. They will be shifting the remaining Pro 360’s over the autumn with some attractive bundles, then in early September a price cut on the 120GB Elite system will see it replacing the current Pro’s. In October a very attractive Elite holiday bundle should emerge, but we don’t yet know which titles will be included.

All of this information can only be classed as rumours right now, until we hear anything official from the console manufacturers, but it all makes sense. The PS3 is long overdue for a price drop, and slimming down a console always revives interest from gamers. Giving gamers more storage space is a smart move too, with both companies pushing digital distribution harder all the time.

Also, the reputation of this unnamed source is a good one. The same guy (or gal) successfully and correctly predicted  the capabilities of the PSP Go, the red Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 bundle and last years Xbox 360 price cuts. We wouldn’t be shocked if he’s right yet again.