An interesting rumour sparked by CVG yesterday claims that Sony is on the brink of introducing a new model of PS3 into the market. The rumour has since been rubbished by Sony, but, hell, it’s not like that hasn’t happened a hundred times before.

The stripped down version apparently won’t have backwards compatibility or USB ports but will sport a 40GB hard drive. This begs a few important questions: if backwards compatibility is software driven only, then why would removing it save Sony any manufacturing costs? And how the hell do you charge or sync a Sixaxis controller without USB ports?

Analysts have been predicting a further real price cut later this year or early next for Europe and it seems likely, although it wouldn’t be unusual for Sony to just introduce a new SKU to fill that gap. This whole thing seems fairly symptomatic of Sony’s lack of coherency when it comes to marketing the PS3. Is it a serious gaming machine with Blu-ray generously thrown in? Or is it a cheap Blu-ray player with gaming latched on? Time and again one Sony exec or other steps and clearly says “it’s a games machine”, but then in reality the focus falls back on Blu-ray.

Fair enough; it isn’t like the console actually has a decent enough selection of games to support the gaming machine claim. Lacklustre responses to big budget titles like Lair and Heavenly Sword haven’t helped either. Luckily, part of the problem should be remedied before Christmas as a whole ton of PS3 games are set to come out between now and then. The trouble is that precious few of these are actually exclusive titles and most are also coming out on the Xbox 360 as well.

The risk with that strategy is all too obvious – why on earth would any rationally minded buyer fork out over £100 extra (and that’s compared to an Xbox 360 Elite) for a console that basically plays all the same games and less?

Sony fans and early adopters are hoping, sometimes praying, that this situation will change, but with every new setback – GTA IV, Home, possibly even UT3 – it is looking less and less likely that Xmas 2007 will be the time for the PS3 to shine.

That’s why a new SKU of the kind being rumoured makes a strange kind of sense, even if it means nerfing the gaming abilities (such as by removing the USB ports). If Sony can market a device that acts as a decent Blu-ray player, but that also allows you to play some quality games, muck around in multiplayer for free, browse the web, and check out an online store – all for little more than an ordinary Xbox 360 (or less than a 360 Elite), then it might do a better job of convincing people to check it out. The upcoming surge in Blu-ray movies discs won’t hurt matters either. In a peculiar sense, dropping the focus on games and talking up the media centre / Blu-ray playing abilities might actually turn the consoles fortune’s around.

This won’t help improve the all important attach rate of course, but bear with me. For hardcore gamers, the top priced SKU is always going to be the first choice and all those extra features are going to merely be a sweetener in the deal. For them, the gaming abilities always will be paramount, but without the Triple A titles to back it up, Sony faces a fight it simply can’t win – gamers just aren’t going to make the leap.

Shifting to a new SKU with a lower price, a greater emphasis on Blu-ray may be necessary just to get more consoles into peoples’ homes. Doing so would mean that publishers will be drawn to the improved install base. More publishers equals more, better quality games which would please the hardcore niche and the presence of a sizeable hard drive would even allow Sony to focus on more casual, downloadable titles for those consumers who treat the console as a Blu-ray player with added extras. It would be an unusual, undoubtedly risky strategy for Sony to pursue, but there’s an odd kind of logic to it.

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