According to Ars Technica, Sony has some big plans for a PlayStation 3 refresh, starting with a phase-out of the 80GB model. According to an “inside source” — which Ars claims has been consistently right on video game-related predictions — the console-maker’s new plot is starting to take shape, holding fast to a two-SKU approach on packages, upping the hard drive capacity on systems, and including the Dual Shock 3 controller. The new bundles will take the high / low road, with the source stating that the 40GB model will remain on shelves, while the 80GB, Spider-Man 3-inclusive system will disappear, only to be replaced with a 120GB or 160GB configuration. Of course, right now these are just words on a screen, though in light of Best Buy’s recent stock changes, there certainly is an air of movement over at Sony.

[Thanks, Khattab]

After questioning Sony’s ability to deliver their 11-inch OLED TV to market earlier this year, Samsung comes into CES with a pair of Sony trumping TVs. Their 31-inch and 14-inch OLEDs easily best Sony’s 27-inch prototype and 11-inch production sets. Both of the Sammys feature the same amazing contrast which makes us swoon over OLEDs while offering 1080p video in a crazy thin panel. Samsung has no plans to take these production. Then again, with Sony’s XEL-1 already out there, we all know how Samsung hates to be second-best.

The homebrew scene hasn’t gotten a whole lot accomplished with this latest round of home consoles — which isn’t surprising given the difficulty of the task and lack of incentives to succeed. Especially with the PS3 shipping with Linux compatibility, the Wii boasting VLC, and the 360 being such a chore to hack and keep hacked, there’s really not much of a point. The Wii was compromised pretty early on to be able to play burned discs and GameCube homebrew such as Linux, but until now Nintendo has managed to isolate Wii hardware such as the extra horsepower of the console and wireless connectivity from hackers. But the walls are coming down. Some hackers from Germany have just showed off their fully hacked Wii at the 24th Annual Chaos Communication Congress. Nothing fancy is running yet, all they’ve achieved so far is a proof of concept that they’ve bypassed the Wii’s protection with some encryption codes they swiped from the Wii’s memory. Apparently a bootable Linux DVD is on the way, and we can’t wait to see what homebrew coders manage to pull off with that Wiimote pointed where it belongs.

[Via WiiNintendo]