PS3 to get digital tuner in 2008

Rumours are flying about the PlayStation 3 again, this time about the possibility of a new hardware attachment coming out in 2008.

In a recent interview with New Zealand press outfit, 'The Press', Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand, headed by a man with the enviable name of Warwick Light, let slip the news that Sony may be unveiling a new digital tuner device for the PlayStation 3 in 2008.

"We are hoping next year to release a digital tuner for the PS3, turning it into a programmable TV recorder." Warwick told The Press, going on to say that the device will hopefully be available in the first quarter of 2008 - just in time for the New Zealand launch of Freeview.

Sure, Freeview is already available here in the UK - but you've got to give the rest of the world time to catch up to us. Not everyone can be such a trendsetting nation as the UK, right?

How exactly the new device will become part of the PS3 isn't yet known. It may be that it'll become available in a whole new model of the PlayStation 3, but it's much more likely that the tuner will be an attachment which connects through one of the PlayStation 3s four USB ports.

Still, the general consensus right now is that Sony will unveil more information about the tuner attachment at the upcoming Leipzig Games Convention at the end of this month. We'll be attending the show though, so we'll be sure to feed you new information as it becomes available.

Want to speculate on uses for those other USB ports? Well, what are you waiting for? That's what forums are for!