Why Sony PS3 80 GB does not do well in Singapore

Sony PS3 80 GB model was probably launched in Singapore Nov 2007 at $799. It replaces the 60 GBb model. However almost of the shops in Singapore don't carry the 80 GB model anymore. What happened? Why does it fade to oblivion within such a short period of time?

Let's venture a guess.

Sony Ps3 comes in 2 flavours: 40 GB and 80 GB. Apart from the obvious difference in storage space, the main difference lies in their ability to play PS2 games. A 80 GB model which costs $240 more allows the owner to play PS2 games. However the catch is you can only play PS2 games that are coded for your region. So a PS3 80 GB owner in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand can only play NTSC-Japan PS2 games. Most of the games under this region coding are in Japanese. So they can play popular games like Devil May Cry 3, Oninmusha 3, Final Fantasy XII and Metal Gear Solid 3 in Japanese. Sadly almost all the people in these 3 countries are not literate in Japanese.

So it does not make sense for one to pay a princely sum for function that they rarely use.

Apart from the PS2 backward compatibility, the differences between these 2 models are subtle. E.g. there are 4 USB ports on 80 GB model but only 2 USB ports on 40 GB model, only the 80 GB has a built-in card reader. No worries, just connect an external card reader (cheap, cheap) to one of the USB port.

What? 40 GB model cannot play SACD. Sorry I don't know what this is. Since I don't it, I probably won't use it. Great! Ignorance is bliss.

So if one is given the choice, he is likely to go for the 40 GB model. Save the $240 for something else. E.g. buy new PS3 games like GTA4, MGS4, COD4.

Wait.... somebody just reminded me .. How can I missed that out. The 80 GB model has double the storage space of the 40 GB model. Hmm.. .. ..

Let me see. Buy the 40 GB model, pay S$240 less. Use S$15 to buy a card reader. Spend another S$200 for a 320 GB harddisk and you get a PS3 320 GB model !!

And we shall call it.. ..

PS3 Elite Edition !!