Recently, a shaky, grainy video of what may or may not be a PS3 Slim turned up on YouTube (Engadget says it's supposedly a "stolen" PS3 slim that made its way to a street market in the Philippines). However, it's of such poor quality that it's really hard to tell what's what and it looks pretty dubious to us (and other blogs as well).
The "console" in the video does appear to be a little bit smaller than the current PS3 and there's quick flash of the new PS3 logo that we saw in earlier spy shots of an alleged PS3 Slim shipping box.
What do you guys think? Real or fake?
Additional reading: Do new PS3 bundles mean Slim is coming soon?
Alleged spy shots of a new, slimmed down PS3 continue to attract attention.
(Credit: Engadget)Engadget is reporting that its Japanese site received a cease-and-desist notice from a "mysterious Chinese firm" demanding that it take down images of what may--or may not be--a new, slimmer version of Sony's PS3 game console.
Engadget didn't name the firm, but if such a company really exists--and it did send out a real cease-and-desist letter--it would lend some credence to the possibility that the photos are real. Engadget, as we do, finds the whole episode amusing, because in this day and age you just don't retract leaked photos. Once the genie's out of the bottle, nothing's bringing him back in; those images are everywhere.
As for what to make of these demands from this mysterious firm, the most obvious speculation is that the company is somehow involved in the production process of the new PS3 and that one of its employees leaked the photos. However, some Engadget readers aren't buying the authenticity of the letter, saying it doesn't have the requisite legal jargon to pass cease-and-desist muster and it smells like a hoax. Here's the letter as printed by Engadget:
Dear Sir,
We just find that the following web pages on your website contain some confidential document and photos, which were highly possibly illegally released and posted:
(redacted)
We are investigating this violation and will bring all necessary legal actions regarding this matter. In order to protect the confidential information and prevent you from further legal issues and infringements, please immediately remove those pages and keep our request confidential. If you have any question regarding this issue, please feel free to contact us.
Your cooperation is deeply appreciated.
Best regards
The whole thing sounds bizarre to us and frankly, we're a little jealous we didn't get our own cease-and-desist letter.
Comments?
Additional reading: Is a slimmer PS3 in the works?
This alleged spy shot of a PS3 Slim box may very well turn out to be a fake--or not.
(Credit: Kotaku)Back in 2004, after the PS2 was on the market for four years, Sony went ahead and shrank its design down and brought out a new model dubbed the "slim" PS2. It was a great move and Sony initially couldn't keep up with demand for the system.
Now, five years later, rumors have been percolating that Sony might be preparing to trim the PS3, with an outside chance that the company might have something to say about a new design at E3. While early reports we read seemed pretty dubious, a set of alleged spy photos of a PS3 Slim (with a new PS3 logo) surfaced on Chinese Message boards late Wednesday and seemed slightly more promising.
The original report stems from a PlayStation LifeStyle post declaring, "Redesigned PS3 to be revealed at E3." That's a rather bold headline, but the story deflates it rather quickly with a disclaimer that, "Of course, this is just yet another rumor..." However, the site claims to have "caught word" that Sony will not only take the wraps off the new PSP Go at E3, but unveil "another hardware redesign."
"We didn't get any specifics, but we speculate that it could be one of a couple different options," the post goes on to say. "First off, it very well could be as simple as a white or a silver PS3 to go with the white and silver DualShock 3s that have been made available." The writer also admits that the hardware in question might refer to Sony's rumored Wii-like motion-sensing controller, which may also be announced at E3.
T3's rendition of a slim PS3
(Credit: T3.com)I4U News picked up on the story and then Engadget took a whack at the rumors with a bit of its own speculation, suggesting that a trimmer PS3 would be in line with Sony's alleged move to a smaller Cell processor and RSX chip in August.
For the record, it should be pointed out that this whole slim PS3 rumor is actually rather ancient, with T3 and Engadget asking whether the PS3 was on the verge of a slim down over a year ago, in February 2008. In fact, the image to the right is from that original post.
Anyway, that's the anatomy of this latest rumor and you can choose to buy into it or not. On the one hand, Sony could use E3 to radically alter its gaming fortunes with a couple of bold new designs for its hardware systems. Or, it could just announce the new PSP and superficial changes to the PS3 that are designed to trim costs so Sony can finally break even on the system instead of losing money on each one.
All that said, at the end of the day, the most important thing Sony can do now is sell the PS3 for $299. If it can get there by slimming the thing down, and hopefully not stripping out any features, that's great. But I think people would be just as happy if Sony found a way to get to $299 with the current design.
Anybody buying this rumor? Will Sony come out with a totally new PS3? Would a slimmer version entice any XBox 360 owners to switch allegiances?
Note: As for Sony's response to the rumors, it says, "We currently don't have any plans for a redesigned PS3."
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