July 15 - 3:50pm EDT   Sony on Tuesday announced that it would launch a lower-cost PlayStation 3 with an 80GB hard drive. The new version will have the $399 price and "same functionality" as the 40GB model but hold twice the storage, leaving more room for movies from the company's new PlayStation video service as well as more downloadable game content and personal media. Sony doesn't say whether the functionality will include software emulation of PS2 titles or whether the system will ship standard with a Dual Shock 3 gamepad. [full story]

June 13 - 3:45pm EDT   Sony is developing a unique controller that would help the PS3 offer motion-based games like those found on the Nintendo Wii, GamesIndustry claims. Anonymous sources allege that the gamepad would act as usual in most cases but separate into two distinct parts, each of which would have a built-in accelerometer that recognizes movement. The pad is already said to be in the hands of some companies producing games for the PS3 and would let them implement code to support the controllers in advance. [full story]

April 3 - 11:35am EDT   Sony will phase out its original PlayStation 3 gamepad in the weeks following tomorrow's launch of the Dual Shock 3, the company has told MTV. A tactic similar to the discontinuation of the 60GB PS3 will see Sony halt production of its rumble-free SIXAXIS controllers and rely solely on existing stocks until they run dry; this is most likely to happen in the summer but will definitely take place by the end of 2008, a Sony spokesperson says. [full story]

January 28 - 11:15am EST   Sony is developing a new range-topping PlayStation 3 that will replace the 80GB version once it is phased out, claims a purported source at Ars Technica. The tip suggests that Sony intends to maintain its two-unit strategy for the PS3 and will sell the console with additional storage that could reach either 120GB or 160GB depending on final details. This future system is also said to come bundled with the previously Japan-only Dual Shock 3 controller that adds rumble back to Sony's controllers while keeping the motion sensitivity of the SIXAXIS already offered with international PS3s. [full story]