Faced with the threat of the 120GB Xbox Elite and with sluggish sales for the entry-level PlayStation 3, Sony finally confirmed what everyone knew: that the 80GB PS3 will come out early this summer.

Sony Korea’s official site has confirmed that the 80GB PS3 will debut only in Korea on June 16, and will lack the famous Emotion Engine that ensures hardware backwards compatibility of PS2 games with PS3. The EE has been removed from PAL PS3s in March 2007, in a move that is said to have saved Sony about $27 with each manufactured console. Currently, the Emotion Engine is only offered in NTSC PS3s sold in Japan and the US.

Sony also confirmed for CVG that the 80GB model- which will cost around 518,000 won (approx $558/ £232) - will only be available in Korea as the only option for gamers (no 60GB model on sale).

Sony said in a statement that the Korean PS3 version is "identical to the European model in terms of all other technical specs [apart from the size of the hard drive]."

Europeans have never had the chance of getting their hands on an entry-level PS3 (which costs less because it is equipped with a less capatious 20GB HDD) and Sony recently announced that this model will be discontinued, further fueling rumors about a possible debut of a 80GB console.

Just as Microsoft declined to comment on an information which appeared in December 2006 on Gizmodo.com about an HDMI Xbox 360 (which later turned out to be the black Xbox 360 Elite), so did Sony in March 2007, when an inquisitive eye spotted a patent filled by Sony which pointed to a roomier, 80GB PlayStation 3.