Sony cheapens PS3...or boosts its HDD size, depending on your perspective

Sony Computer Entertainment lowered the worldwide price of its PlayStation 3 by another $50 on Tuesday, knocking its 160GB model to $249, and its 320GB model to $299.

The five-year old video game console has already gone through a handful of iterations and price reductions, as well as one major structural redesign. The first PS3 price reduction took place in July 2007 and knocked the 60GB model from $599 to $499. Subsequent models introduced higher storage limits and lower prices.

By 2009, Sony had retired the original "fat" PlayStation 3, and replaced it with the thinner, lighter PS3 Slim which was 20% smaller, had a 120GB hard drive, and a $299 price tag.

These latest models were introduced one year ago, and are essentially exactly the same as the 2009 slim models except for the vastly increased storage. So the two years the PS3 Slim has been available, its price has remained the same, but its hard drive has nearly tripled in size.