At the Tokyo Game Show, Sony revealed that a 250GB “Super Slim” PS3 model would be released in North America, alongside the 500GB model (in Europe, the 12GB model takes the place of the 250GB model). It turns out that the new models were release in part to tempt Xbox 360 users away with cheaper hardware.
John Koller, VP of Hardware Marketing, revealed to GameSpot that Sony has “seen a very high interest rate from Xbox 360 consumers wanting to purchase a second console. We’ve held up Uncharted 3 as our flagship product over the last year and it’s a good opportunity for those types of consumers to come over and own a second console in their household.”
Koller saw a reverse pattern with the PS2 and Xbox consoles, so he’s hoping the strategy works out here too. “We saw the same kind of thing happen in reverse during the PS2 years when a lot of PS2 consumers said they wanted to get an Xbox because of Halo and some other games,” he said.
In addition, Koller promises that the console has plenty of life left in it, confirming that the console will be supported for the next two to three years:
We’re going to continue supporting the PS3 for the next few years. Absolutely. And we’re going to continue supporting it not only that long, but as long as there is a development spigot that’s running hot. And I can tell you right now, the development spigot for PS3 is very hot. A lot of great games coming. Same thing with PS2…it’s kind of stuck around as that old warrior, many years after its launch. But there’s still games launching for it.