Sony to release new 80GB PS3 bundle - report

US retailer Best Buy is set to offer a new PlayStation 3 bundle made up of the 80GB console and best-sellers Metal Gear Sold 4 and Killzone 2 for just USD 400 - the same price the PlayStation 3 hardware alone would normally retail for.

The bundle will go on sale this Sunday, according to several Best Buy employees talking to Kotaku, and could put Sony in a better position to compete with the Xbox 360 over the US holiday season.

Best Buy currently sells the Xbox 360 Elite game of the year bundle - the 120GB console with Fable II and Halo 3 - for USD 399.99, and the Xbox 360 Elite bundle - the same hardware with Lego Indiana Jones and Kung Fu Panda - also for USD 399.99.

The move seems to tie-in with recent speculation that Sony could be planning to sell through its stocks of the 80GB PlayStation 3 using bundles as incentives in order to replace it with the 160GB model.

Some sources have predicted Sony will then drop the price of the PlayStation 3 towards the end of the year prior to the release of new slimmer hardware.