Sony said on Thursday it will<

That would be the same price as the current 40GB model sold in Japan, and the company plans to phase out the smaller hard-drive machine. Sony already sells 80GB PS3 consoles in Europe and North America.

Sony will offer two packages for the new PS3, bundling one or two DUALSHOCK 3 game controlers and different games. The currently sold 40GB versions of the PS3 come with a SIXAXIS controller. The device will be available in white, silver and black color variations.

Apart from that, the new console has the same specifications as the 40GB versions.

Sony has said it aimed to sell 10 million units of the PlayStation 3 and 15 million units of the PlayStation Portable in the year to the end of March 2009.