Days appear to be numbered for the 120GB or $299 model of the PlayStation 3. Sony is apparently set to transition from using a 120GB hard drive to a 160GB hard drive. While a release date has yet to be officially announced, we suspect that the news will come later today at the Gamescom press conference.

From what we have been told, despite the addition of 40GB of hard disk storage, Sony will be sticking with the $299 price tag. The move to the 160GB hard drive is said to be a decision that is apparently being driven by the hard disk manufacturers that Sony is using in the PlayStation 3.

As we have seen before, size and capacity are an issue when hard disk manufacturers transition to new standard platter sizing, making it not very cost effective to provide the lower capacity drive. In fact, often times the hard disk makers offer the higher capacity drive with little or no price increase, and even sometimes a slight price decrease.

Expect the 160GB version to be available at your local retailer soon. Also, we might see some movement on the 120GB units that are left; but expect those to go quickly in sales promotions, and don’t expect to see Sony slash the price anytime soon. Now that Sony is making a few dollars on every console sold, we are hearing that a price reduction isn’t in the future yet, but if sales are not strong for the holidays, things could change.