Sony has announced a new version of the PS3, scheduled to be available this fall. The new system will include a 160 GB hard drive, a copy of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and a voucher to download the game Pain from the Playstation Network. The larger hard drive is intended to meet the needs of consumers who plan on using the PS3 as an “entertainment hub for their digital media.”

This adds another line to the ongoing “my stuff is better than your stuff” battle between Sony and Microsoft in the console gaming world. Were these two console makers children in a schoolyard, I envision their conversations would go something like this:

S: I’m going to make a new gaming console, and its going to play the current systems’ games, the new system’s games plus DVDs.

M: Well, I”m going to enter the console market with a system that plays games and DVDs, plus it has an internal 8GB hard drive, so customers don’t have to use memory cards to save their games unless they want to.

S: So what? My system will always have a bigger game library because I’ve been on the market 13 months longer than you!

M: But I have XBOX Live, the best venue for playing multiplayer games over the Internet.

S: But my online gaming service is FREE!

M: Oh yeah? Well I’m going to beat you to market with a next gen system that’s faster and has better graphics. It’ll have a 20 GB hard drive, play next gen games and DVDs and you can buy an additional accessory that will play HD movies. And for consumers that don’t want a hard drive, a less expensive model will be available that has all the same functions except for the hard drive. It’ll also play some of the current system’s games.

S: Ha! I’m going to manufacture TWO versions of the next gen console, to allow for consumers to have a choice between a 20GB system and a 60GB system. Plus they’ll play ALL of the current generation and previous generation games plus Blu-Ray movies. And online gaming is still free.

M: You’re going down! I’m manufacturing a new version of the next gen console that will make consumers feel extra special. It’l have a 120 GB hard drive and ship with both component and HDMI cables, unlike the cheap standard AV cables your system contains. We’ll call it the Elite model.

S: That’s nothing! I’m going to ship a new version with a 40GB hard drive, and at a lower cost, because no one cares about backward compatibility. And who needs support for more than two controllers anyway? By the way, in case you didn’t get the memo, HD is dead.

S: NO wait! Make that an 80 GB hard drive, and a game, and approximately 85 percent backward compatibility, but back at the higher price.

S: Errr… No, that’s not right. It’s an 80 GB hard drive at the lower cost but without the backward compatibility that no one cares about anyway. And again, no one needs more than two controller support.

M: Ha and Ha! I’m going to ship a 60 GB model at the same price that the 20GB model was priced. And while we sell out of existing stock, I’m going to lower the price of the 20 GB systems by $50. And I still have XBOX Live!

S: Ha yourself! I’m shipping a 160 GB system that includes a game and a voucher for a download, just in time for Christmas. Consumers will use it to store music and pictures, and play games and BLU RAY movies. PSN is taking off, and online play is still free, so there! Oh, but back to the higher price point.

And so it goes. Perhaps a good game of Rock-Em-Sock-Em Robots between the studio heads would bring a resolution to this battle.

- Patty Estill