US 60GB PS3 clear-out confirmed

Sony has clarified comments made by Sony Europe boss David Reeves at E3 to the effect that the USD 499 price point for the 60GB PlayStation 3 will only last until stocks are exhausted, with a new US statement claiming that stock will last "for several months to come".

Speaking to our sister site GamesIndustry.biz in an interview mirrored on Eurogamer, Reeves had said of the USD 100 'price cut': "All they're doing is taking their stock they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July." When asked to clarify whether this meant the end of the USD 499 PS3 when the stock ran out, he answered: "In America, yes."

Sony has since described Reeves' comments as "inaccurate" in a few places, but its clarification doesn't change much of his meaning. "The 60GB PS3 will be available in North America for USD 499 until supplies of that unit are depleted," spokesperson Dave Karraker had said in a statement. "We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers in this territory for several months to come. We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated." Meanwhile, Kaz Hirai said much the same thing in a Norwegian interview.

Meanwhile, in Europe, there's no revised price point for PS3, but a new Starter Pack adds value to the original GBP 425 price point by offering the console, two Sixaxis controllers and a choice of two first-party titles from Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, Formula One Championship Edition and Ridge Racer 7. Which isn't actually that bad, is it?