The low cost flash based PlayStation 3 is finally arriving in North America. The new PlayStation 3 option includes 12GB of flash memory rather than a hard drive. Previously this low cost version was only available outside North America, but finally Sony has elected to the release this unit for $199.99 in the US and $259.98 in Canada.

Currently retailers on both sides of the border are starting to take pre-orders for this low cost PS3 which will include Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception GOTY Edition and The Last of Us as part of the bundle for the 12GB system which makes it an outstanding deal.

The best part is that you can upgrade it with the hard drive of your choice, but you will need the required PS3 hard drive bracket. The required hard drive bracket is available from a number sources around the Internet for about $10, so this does become quite a nice deal when you considered the games bundled with the unit.