Slimline PS3 – fact or fiction?

Pictures have appeared online of what appears to be a brand new and dramatically slimmed-down PlayStation 3. But are they real?

You’ve got to wonder.  On the one hand the dodgy box looks about as far away from the slick packaging that bedecked the original console as could be imagined. The photos appear to have been snapped on an ancient Instamatic too (see our original news story for more). And then there’s the new logo, which specifies ‘PS3’ rather than ‘PlayStation 3’. In a word, hmmm...

A Far-Eastern knock-off, then? Maybe so. Then again, Sony morphed the original PlayStation into the ‘PSOne’ back in 2000, so they’re plainly not averse to mucking about with names during the lifespan of a brand. Secondly, making slimmer versions of their big consoles has proven to be hugely lucrative in the past – sales of both PlayStation #1 and #2 went properly stellar after the skinny versions came out. Thirdly, making efficiencies in the manufacturing process – such as changing the size and shape of the casing – are a good way to introduce price cuts. Rumours of the latter being imminent continue to abound, in spite of Sony’s best efforts to quash them.

Moreover, though, this whole thing is being taken quite seriously by a number of reputable gaming websites. The games business itself is rife with talks of price cuts and new models too. Although it’s easy to understand how the movers and shakers of our beloved industry might be given to such flights of hopeful fancy when the PS3 market is so stagnant.

Finally, we note that the offending pictures have been removed from the Chinese games blog site they were originally posted on. Forcibly and at Sony’s behest, perhaps?
 
So what do you think – is the new slim 'PS3' the work of evil piratical pranksters or is this the real deal? If so, what do you think of the slender new look? Assuming it’s cheaper too, will it be enough to restore the PlayStation glory days?