'PS3 Elite' In Works?

An 80Gb PS3 could be on the way, from the looks of certain documents. In a request from Sony for a "Class II permissive change" to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) an 80Gb configuration is listed as an “Additional Model” next to the 60Gb model.

SPOnG contacted Sony to see if a new, beefier PS3 is on the way and was met with a (not unexpected) “No comment”.

Could this be a response to the just-announced 360 Elite? While it's a tempting assertion to make, SPOnG thinks not. For starters, the filing is dated “March 2, 2007”. Unless Sony has much better intelligence than the rest of us, it had no concrete knowledge of the Elite at the time of filing. Second, the only other change mentioned in the filing is to additional blue-tooth functionality.

Could an 80Gb PS3 be on the way, though? Yes! Probably not in the immediate future as it's still far too early in the PS3's life-cycle for a new configuration to be released. It would, however, be entirely consistent with Sony's ideas about the PS3 being far more than 'just' a games console.

Speaking last June, Ken Kutaragi said, “It is clearly a computer... there are no 'models,' only 'configurations'” Granted, Kutaragi's been sent up the river now, but he's still a man that knows a thing or two about the PS3.

Also noticeable was the absence of the 20Gb PS3 in the filing. It may well be on the way out. Despite Amazon listings that suggest to the contrary, it seems increasingly unlikely that we'll see the 20Gb PS3 over here, while its being out-performed in the states.

If and when we get an 80Gb PS3, the 60Gb version may become the 'cheap' alternative.

Did you just buy a 60Gb PS3? Would an 80Gb configuration hack you off? Let us know in the Forum.