Sony explains lack of 12 GB PS3 in US

Apparently consumers in the US are just too good for a low-capacity PS3.

News of Sony’s newest PS3 hardware redesign has been all over the Web this week, but for those in the US, it was all about the 250 GB and 500 GB models.

Some consumers may not have even realized that the company also unveiled a lite 12 GB version of the console. That unit, however, will only be available in other regions of the world including Europe.

Sony Computer Entertainment America marketing VP John Koller told Engadget in an interview that Americans require too much digital content for a 12 GB version to be viable here.

“When you look at some of the earlier chassis, and the really early adopters — the 20GB, and the 60GB — that consumer had a choice. They could either go out and buy another hard drive — and it’s an easy install, so we make it easy for the consumer if they want to take a hard drive off the shelf and plug it in, they can do that. They had a choice of doing that, or purchasing another PlayStation 3. And what’s been happening is we’re seeing a lot of adoption of second consoles in-house,” Koller said.

So US consumers ended up going out and buying a second PS3 because they wanted a bigger hard drive. He called users here more “digitally inclined” than those in other markets.