Those rumors that Sony is planning a Playstation 3 without Blu-ray? Poppycock, according to the company's marketing manager.
"Blu-ray will always be part of PS3," Kim Nguyen said in an interview with Silicon Alley Insider. He further stated that all of the console's games are built on Blu-ray, and removing the format would "destroy the PS3's backbone."
The rumors came from a prediction by Janco Partners analyst Mike HIckey, who said that in addition to a Playstation 3 without Blu-ray, Sony was set to announce a price cut in a matter of days. That was at the tail end of February, and neither of those prophecies have came to fruition. In fact, Nguyen did his best to lay the PS3 price cut rumors to rest once again.
Silicon Alley's interview has a couple of other nuggets that may come as a disappointment. The company has "nothing to announce" on a Hulu or YouTube streaming interface for the PS3 (though YouTube already offers its own at youtube.com/tv), and no chance of a a cheaper, offline-only console with optional online membership for a price.
There are also no plans for a "PSP phone," Nguyen said. Is it just me, or do all these rumors read like some sort of fanciful wish list?
