Finally comes Sony’s PS3 Slim: slick, black, with 120GB hard drive and for $299. This slimmer console is 36 per cent lighter and 33 per cent smaller and will consume around 30 per cent less energy. Uhm… It’s quite slimmer indeed. And because of its slimmer price, the current $399 PS3 model, with an 80-gigabyte drive is expected to cut price imminently. Now, it seems that getting slim is actually a good idea.

It’s reported that the new PlayStation 3 will become available in stores from September 1, 2009. Here are some pictures:

By now, rumors about PS3 Slim have spread like wildfire. Whether they are true or fake, something is certainly happening in Sony land. Now let’s review these rumors:

• On Friday, July 31 Amazon Germany has the “PlayStation 3 Konsole Slim” listed but without price, picture or release date. But the list has been removed.

• On Monday, August 3 the Web site Kotaku posted what is said is a leaked memo from retailer Seven-Eleven( selling video games in Japan), saying it will no longer accept pre-orders for the black, white and silver 80-GB PlayStation 3 as of August 9.

• Another rumor is that Sony will reportedly make an announcement about the new Slim at the GamesCon conference in Germany on August 18.

All these rumors come at a time when Sony’s PS3 production cost has dropped 70 percent since its launch in 2006. So far none of that stuff has been confirmed. And I’m wondering that, why does the PS3 need to be slim? Personally, I’ll prefer fat PS3, as the slim one means cheaper making. So, I’d rather spend more time on my PS3 maintenance instead of those unconfirmed rumors.