PS3-4000 skips gamescom, 16Gb Flash SKU goes cheap

A VG247 source has claimed that Sony will not announce PS3-4000 at its gamescom press conference on August 14.

PS3-4000, the latest, slimmest version of Sony's current console, will not be announced at the main Sony gamescom press conference on August 14, VG247 has been told.

A gamescom reveal had been planned, but stock levels of the current build are said to be too high for Sony to move onto what is probably the last take on PS3 before PlayStation 4 is announced next year.

In addition, a source today said that the rumoured 16Gb version of PS3-4000 is in fact real, and is based on Flash memory. There was some confusion surrounding the figure, which originated from Anatel, the Brazilian Agency of Telecommunications, with many assuming it was intended to read 160Gb.

The new model will stack up against Microsoft's 4Gb Flash-based Xbox 360. As the 16Gb PS3-4000 will have a flip-lid disc input and low-capacity storage, we've been told today that the announcement "may" be accompanied by a huge price cut, with the entry version potentially dropping as low as £99.

We've since been told, however, that there are no plans for a £99 PS3.

In addition to the 16Gb version, 250GB and 500GB options have been rumoured.

First apparent images of the device emerged in mid-June.