So, who wants to buy a Sony PlayStation 3?  If your wallet or purse is a little light this month they you may want to pick up the comparatively cheaper 20 GB model of PS3 which... huh?  They discontinued it?  Oh, well then I guess your best bet to maintain total PS2 backward computability is to snag a 60 GB model and... oh?  That one's gone as well?  Well, the 80 GB version has... you've got to be kidding me.  That one's going by the wayside too?

Are the 80 GB PlayStation 3's days numbered, after all? The above picture comes from PS3 Fanboy, who say that it's an internal Best Buy memo leaked by an anonymous register biscuit. If this is a) true and b) indicative of a larger trend, then the $500 high-end model of PlayStation 3 is on the way out.

Let's bear in mind that this, if it is indeed real, could mean any number of things. Sony might be removing the current 80 GB SKU and replacing it with a slightly different package: For example, they could be unbundling the Motorstorm game from the 80 GB package, which would be a long-overdue move.

The conspiracy theory generators are working overtime to explain this latest alleged change to the PS3 family.  Some people say that this is a maneuver to kill off PS2 compatibility once and for all in order to drive down the costs of producing PS3s.  Others say that it's all about killing off PS2 built-in compatibility so that Sony can sell PS2 games back to use via digital distribution and use software emulation to make the whole thing happen.  Still others say the idea is to step away from the Microsoft method of perplexing customers with multiple variations of the same basic console.  And then there's the contingent that believes this is related to the supposedly imminent ceramic white PS3 model.  So which of these theories (if any) is correct?  Like most answers in life, I believe that the truth is somewhere in between.  Is that a vague and visionary enough answer for you?  Hmm?