Major news agencies are reporting a couple of quotes made by Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka in which he indicates a new configuration for the PS3 - one of which could contain a larger hard disk drive.

Fukuoka says, "For users who vigorously store (games and other entertainment content) in the PS3, 20-giga is probably going to be too small, and even 60-giga may not be big enough eventually."

Okay, so there is absolutely nothing whatsoever in that quote to indicate that a brand new 80 or 120Gb PS3 is sitting on shelves at the Chinese fabs (fabrication plants) waiting to be flown into your nearest vendor. What the quote does indicate is that Sony, along with every other platform holder, wants people to save lots of data to their unit. Clearly, this does not simply mean saved positions or downloaded games. You have to remember that the PS3 - like the Xbox 360 IPTV, media player (and hopefully a internet browser in the not too distant future) - is aimed at being more than a games machine. Larger storage capacity is, therefore, an absolute certainty, a total 100% locked in fact.

Further changes to the PS3 are not on the cards, however, and this is confirmed by another Fukuoka quote, "We are not likely to change its core components and functions such as the Cell, RSX, Blu-ray drive and network capability. But outside that realm, addition and deletion is quite possible."

Outside that realm leaves rumble in the Sixaxis, new colours (beloved of Japanese gamers), and additional media slots to state just a few.