Rumor Mill: PS3 Price Cut and PS3 Slim Due in Fall, Xbox 360 Elite Will Replace the Pro

The console war has been waged on many different fronts, including bundles, statements or feature races, but a sensitive issue has always been the price/quality ratio, as many users preferred the lower-priced Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii to the higher-priced PlayStation 3.

This led to a slow adoption rate for Sony's device, which has generated disapproval from a lot of executives in the gaming industry, with Activision's Bobby Kotick threatening that, if Sony didn't make the oft-rumored price cut, things might be bad for the company.

Now, the rumor mill has started spinning once again, as Ars Technica has published a piece of information it has from a tried-and-true “mole,” which reveals that a price cut for the PlayStation 3 will be made this fall and that it will also be coupled with the release of a Slim model of the device.

This PS3 will appear as Sony will constrain the availability of the 80GB model and leave only 160GB models on store shelves. No details were given about the price of this new model, which might give a much needed boost in sales for the PS3 platform.

This mole has also revealed some interesting details about Microsoft's strategy, which is seemingly preparing to phase out the Pro model, especially through bundles like the Halo 3 and Fable 2 one. Once the models will disappear from store shelves, the 120GB Elite model will see a price cut and replace the spot left open by the Pro version. While there are no details about the amount of price slashed, it might go down from the present $399 to $299, which is the current price for a Pro model.

Overall, these are some very big news, which will make a lot of gamers very excited about this fall season, when not only are a lot of high-profile releases scheduled, but also some major moves on the hardware market. Until then, though, this is just a rumor.