Retailers have told CVG that they expect the 80GB PS3 - currently out in the US - to hit UK stores by the end of the summer. Both Costco and HMV staff told CVG they expect this new 80GB PS3 to be hitting store shelves within the coming months.
Even the PS3 customer service in the UK gave a similar answer. They even dropped Sony a call only to get the official line of: "There's no official word on an 80GB PS3 coming to the UK". Yet this technically isn’t a denial made by Sony by no means.
A bigger HDD SKU coming this summer wouldn’t be a surprise since more games require bigger space and the new features such as Play TV launching later this year. Until the UK sees the new PS3 hitting store shelves and sites, this will remain a rumor.