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An anonymous Best Buy employee has sent us a scan of an internal letter, which notifies employees that the 80GB system is being discontinued. "The 80GB version of the PS3 is going closeout and won't be replaced at this time," it reads. "It will come off the planogram on Jan. 28. The 60GB version should already be gone from stores. Only the 40GB version of PS3 will be sold in Best Buy stores at this time."
The 40GB model currently costs $399, and is the cheapest PS3 available. However, it does have a few limitations: it lacks memory card readers, features only two USB ports, and most importantly, loses backwards compatability, as noted in the memo. "This means that there currently isn't a version that is PS2 compatible," it notes.
There have been very shady rumors suggesting Sony is planning on introducing a cheaper $299 version of its console (although that has been repeatedly denied by Sony). Earlier in the week, we also discovered an FCC filing for a white model PS3. Whatever's going on, it appears that Sony's making moves for a big change. Stay tuned.
