The Cell Processor moonlights as a hieroglyphic translator. A week or so ago I posted a story about the rumors of a 40 Gig PS3 for $399 sans backwards compatibility. The comments ranged from "You're letting us down!" to the oft cited point that never seems actually sound relevant "but you get a blu-ray player!" Well, now Sony has confirmed that their quiet, cool, sleek, desolate console will lose the only software upper hand it had just as the rumors stated. There is a nice ending to the story though, the 80 Gig PS3 that Sony recently said was going to be their only SKU and was at "the right price" is now dropping to $499. One has to feel bad for our own Joe. He is now down $300 in price drops after he decided being an early adopter on two fronts. But what of the 60 Gig Playstation 3? The one Sony convinced us would sell out within the month to make room for the 80? That discontinued bad boy is sitting in the back rooms of Gamestops around the country waiting to be sold for what is now the same price as the 80 Gig. Hey, at least that one is backwards compatible. Below is the full press release filled with words that are trying to convince you that this is a good thing instead of the signs of a struggling company gasping for air as it is slowly pulled away by the undertow. Press Release:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Announces New 40GB Playstation(R)3 (PS3(TM)) Configuration and Price Reduction Of Current 80GB Model New 40GB Model to be Available in North America on November 2nd for $399; Effective Immediately, 80GB PS3 to be Priced at $499 FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced plans to introduce a new 40GB model of its PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Beginning November 2nd, to further enhance the HD entertainment experience, the new 40GB PS3 model will come bundled with the blockbuster movie Spider-Man(TM) 3 Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $399 (USD/CND). The company also announced that effective immediately, the current 80GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499 (USD/CND), $100 below the original launch price. "We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available. Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine and a built-in hard-drive," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA. "This holiday season we'll be able to offer attractive retail pricing with a broad portfolio of outstanding games including Ratchet & Clank(R) Future: Tools of Destruction(TM), THE EYE OF JUDGMENT(TM), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune(TM), Heavenly Sword(TM), Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed(TM), Haze(TM) and RockBand(TM)." The new 40GB PS3 will no longer play PlayStation(R)2 titles, reflecting the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles. Consumers looking for backwards compatibility can take advantage of the limited PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility of the 80GB PS3. PLAYSTATION(R)3 40GB Specification Product name PLAYSTATION(R)3 CPU Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.) GPU RSX(TM) Sound Dolby 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch , LPCM 7.1ch, AAC, others *1 *2 Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM HDD 2.5" Serial ATA 40GB I/O USB 2.0 x2 Communication Ethernet X1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) IEEE 802.11 b/g Included Bluetooth 2.0 Included (EDR) Wireless controller (Bluetooth) Included AV Output Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p HDMI OUT x1 *3 AV MULTI OUT x1 DIGITAL OUT x1 (OPTICAL) BD/DVD/CD Maximum Read Speed BD 2x (BD-ROM) Drive DVD 8x (DVD-ROM) (Read Only) CD 24x (CD-ROM) Dimensions Approximately 12.75in(W) x 3.86in (H) x 10.8in (D) Weight Approximately 11 lbs *1 A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch. is required to output 7.1 Ch. audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI OUT connector. *2 This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel. *3 "Deep Color" and "x.v.Color (xvYCC)" defined by HDMI ver1.3a are supported.