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Sony kills off 20GB PS3

Erica Ogg Former Staff writer, CNET News
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur.
Erica Ogg

Sony is axing the lower-end model of the PlayStation 3, according to the gaming blog Joystiq. The blog quotes Sony saying the 20GB version will no longer be shipped to North American retailers.

The PS3 was initially launched last November amid quite a bit of fanfare. Sony was asking $499 for the 20GB and $599 for the 60GB. The $100 discount on the 20GB clearly wasn't all that attractive as Dave Karraker of Sony America reports that the 60GB PS3s outsold the lower-end models more than 9 to 1.

Getting rid of the cheaper version also kills of any hope of getting your hands on a PS3 from a retailer for less than $600.

The news isn't a huge surprise since a Best Buy order sheet surfaced last month listing the 20GB PS3 as "discontinued."