World Wide Gaming

Looks like I’ll be the only kid on the block with a 20 GB PS3 from now on.

Posted on March 4th, 2007 by George Gardner

Gamedrift.coms Editor in Chief, Alex, was recently troubled to discover that Sonys 20 gig version of the 3 month old PS3 had seemingly gone missing. After a day of investigating, he was led to believe that - quite possibly - the 20 gig Playstation 3 had been discontinued.
Gamedrift, at this point, is still calling it âœrumor; however, the details behind this story will make even the most optimistic question Sony.
Alex started off by contacting all the stores in his area, not surprised to find that any were available. One store, which he labeled one of the nations larger consumer electronics stores had in fact told him that they had that particular console listed as discontinued.
Several Best Buy employees that I personally contacted do say that their stores list them as discontinued; although, this may only reflect what Best Buy is stocking in their stores, and not what Sony is or is not manufacturing.
After calling many electronics stores, Alex was clearly convinced that there was something going on. “When I was first told over the phone that the 20 gig PS3 had been discontinued after only 3 months, I was admittedly skeptical, said Alex, “my suspicions began to grow. After a bit of digging into the Internet, Alex decided to phone Sony himself. He drilled the Sony representative while making mention of the retailer stating that the console in question was in fact discontinued.
Silence. Had I stumbled upon a dirty little secret Sony has been hiding? Alex added, “I was put on hold¦ When the call finally resumed, the Sony rep again repeated the fact that the 20 gig models were still in production and that my retailers were still just out of stock.

So what would Sony have to gain by dropping their cheaper version of the PS3? iSuppli Applied Market Intelligence has pointed out that Sony actually has - not more to gain, but - less to loose by not offering their 20 gig model. At an estimated production cost of $805.85 for PS3s 20 gig version, it would almost seem foolish to keep it in production.
Its obvious that the 60 gig model is the better buy. I would gladly pay the extra money for the significant boost in enhancements; although, many gamers just arent ready to shell out the money for Sonys 60 gig console, and would gladly accept the less attractive version for a more attractive price.

Source: http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/03/04/20-gig-playstation-3-may-have-met-its-end/