Rumor: Taiwanese firms awarded PS3 Slim manufacturing contracts

I want one.

If this is true and we are so close to the release already, why didn't they announce this during E3?

I just saw somewhere that these are going to have PS2 emulation which would be cool for all the people that dont have an 80GB like me :-)

And the rumor mill goes right round baby, right round.

Kind of getting tired of rumours here and there. Let Sony make a huge un-foreseen announcement once in a while and throw a whole bunch of exclamation points at the end of the statement.

Either some people (insiders) can't get enough attention or the journalists have way too much time on their hands that they have to analyse every single word of a Sony official to speculate some more.

TGS is just a few more months away. if we dont hear about a slim model then I wouldnt expect to see it until January at CES as that is more of a Hardware oriented show. But if I remember correctly PS2 Slim was unveiled at TGS in 2004...

If Sony can do one thing, it's to streamline a product and reintroduce it at a higher price point.

OH SNAP!

I'm totally stoked. All of this news just coming together. My PS3 died recently (June 6th) and I'm totally holding out to get one of these, should they be real.

They've got to clear the retail channel of their 80GB stockpiles (the 160GB bundle sells well), hence all the 80GB bundles and deals.
I'd say that this Slim will be probably a 120GB unit for 299, and the 160 will probably get a boost to 180, lose Uncharted and Pain, and be 399 until they discontinue it.

If it doesnt come with a price drop, then whats the point

I wonder if the slim has a new 'brick' powercord like the 360, I have noticed alot of ps3 bargain deals recently, maybe Sony gave them the go ahead to start getting rid of PS3 stock in anticipation of the new slim?

If the features are right, I'm dumping my refurbished 60 gb for one of these babies.

If they were really so annoyed with leaks, they should just make announcements sooner, if you wait until your making manufacturing deals there's bound to be leaks (assuming this is true).

I wonder if I should go for the PS3 bundle they have at Best Buy, or wait to see if they drop the price on the PS3 fat. Any thoughts?

That is awesome. I'm def picking up a ps3 slim when it dropss!

I am looking to make the leap to blu-ray this Holiday season. If the PS3 slim comes out around that time,for the right price, it will be a hard deal to pass up.

No worries Jack (Raiden). Sony isn't the only company having a hard time keeping things under wraps within their business. Microsoft is having the same issues so yourself and Sony aren't alone. I was leaping back in time on YouTube taking a look and my old Retro gaming buddy, the SEGA Genesis. I was watching TV Advertisments and carefully observing SEGA's tactics in its vicious battle against Nintendo. To start, SEGA Genesis was out the door first as the MEGA DRIVE in 1989. Sony, hasn't had that advantage. The SEGA Genesis was also reported to have had half the RAM of the Super Nintendo (which the Super Nintendo has smoother graphics, but still ran chuncky in games like Street Fighter II Turbo) and sleightly better sound thanks to Sony on that one. But the SEGA Genesis had half the RAM as the PlayStation 3 does the 360, but the processor was twice as fast. Call me crazy, but I believe the PS3 has a much more powerful processor being the CELL PROCESSOR.

The other advantage the SEGA Genesis had over the Super Nintendo was the cost of the System. Nintendo wanted $179.99, while SEGA only wanted $129.99. Microsoft has played this right, thus far, but Sony could still change this around. THE GAMES for the SEGA Genesis ALSO COST LESS FOR SOME OF THEM! Super Nintendo games were going for $40-$70 whiles Genesis games were going for $20-$50. There was also the reputation that Nintendo was for Weenies or for whimps. SEGA welcomed 'Mature' type games on their console while Nintendo was much more selective. This was an advantage SEGA could use to their advantage.

Finally, I think was their advertising. SEGA didn't just sit back and let the console roll on through by word of mouth. NO WAY! They were aggressive to the core just like their console was. They knew they had a slew of great games and could appeal to TEENAGE crowd. The TEENAGE crowd I believe was the start of the true hardcore gamer.

Right now, Microsoft is taking a break. They have a few Halo games, which made Microsoft big with its Xbox and a Splinter Cell game. If you wanna call Mass Effect some hardcore material, that's ok. But then Microsoft goes on to pull the same thing Nintendo's doing. Nintendo is looking for the gameplay to save them, which is the Wii's primary success. But just as with the NES, gamers were getting tired of casual stuff and the advertising SEGA used, knew exactly how to draw them in. I'm convinced SEGA sat down with some psychologists and hypnotists and said, how can we best market this product. What's gonna appeal to the crowd. Sony can use this to its advantage. Drive in the motion sensing advertising. Microsofts been forcing themselves onto shows and even when the Tonight Show makes fun of Natal, Microsoft lets it go with a grin on their face because its promoting the name and locking it in peoples mind. SEGA's slogan was always SEGA does what Nintendon't. Sony can use this. They have a great line-up of hardcore type games. MAG, Uncharted 2, God of War III, soon can have backward compatability, promote Capcom's upcoming titles as Capcom's always a strength with quality games. Promote Bayonetta now and get in good terms with SEGA again. Developers with put time and effort into a system everyones excited for. ADVERTISE THE HELL OUT OF THE SLIM! Drive into gamers skulls the benefits and power of the PlayStation 3, make them understand your Hardware. Don't be content to let Microsoft walk all over you. Show them what the processor can do. Those processors are powering a super computer! Treat the PlayStation 3 Slim, as though its a brand new console! Advertise it anywhere you can. Team with Capcom to have Street Fighter tournaments on a PlayStation 3 console. Donate consoles to hostpitals. Attack TV stations, radio stations, posters, billboards. Be aggressive. A lot can be learned from Sony's former competitor. Even with the Super Nintendo, SEGA fought and Sony viewed it all. Sony, I believe if you do this right, you can get a lot of your developers back. You may even impress Valve and Epic with your drive, determination and desire to give gamers what they really want and I think developers will help you accomplish that, but you've gotta proove to them, that your that big and that bad.

I would suggest Sony review SEGA's adds, and immitate them. The gaming world is gonna get tired of casual games just as they did with the NES and their views with the SEGA Genesis. SEGA's fall was coming out with too much too fast and not promoting it well enough after the Genesis. But what was the outcome of the Genesis in the end? PS3 owns Japan and Europe is looking good but could use a little more effort. Ultimately in the end, the Genesis was able to sell Mortal Kombat on their system 4:1 because they'd advertised they were that big and that bad. Sonys got a start. Microsoft at game conferences plays the Beetles (they were good) But Sony shows its rough side playing "Burn in My Mind" by Twenty-Four Flowers. Its an image. That's important. But in the end, SEGA has a faster processor, sharper images with more contrast, a bad ace line up of games and that never say die attitude carried them causing sales of the SEGA Genesis to sky rocket in some reigons. I remember being at my grandparents. I and my siblings were little kids, my cousins walk through the door and the subject of game consoles came up, and my cousins who were teenagers had convinced my uncle not a whole lot older than they were, to buy a SEGA Genesis. We played and loved it and my parents feeling bad my brother left the Atari on to get burnt out, bought us our first real game console. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was our first game and we raced through it and were blown away. That's the power of aggresive advertising and never surrendering. Sony, treat this PlayStation 3 Slim, like a new console. Go about this differently. Maybe you can add some RAM to the console to boost a newer model much more competitive to the 360. They found a way to include it in the arcade unit and still keep it cheap. Games will then have plenty of memory to run off of. Some of your current PS3 fans may be impressed by this and purchase the newer model of PlayStation 3. Well, maybe upgrading won't work. Games will run well on the 512 but lag and chop on the PS3. Think Sony. Your educated. Don't just whip the Slim out and expect it to sell by your good name. Its gonna take some slick and sly work but you can pull ahead. You've done it twice before.

With the patent announcement on the PS2 emulator I would guess that if the slim model does come with it then I think Sony should offer the emulator to everyone. Granted I have an PS3 w/emulator but if the new one is actually better open the gates and get us all the best possible one. If there is one and it might start to spur people into buying a PS3 rather than the PS2.

This is looking true , when the first pictures were leaked a lot of sony fanboys said it was too ugly , sony wouldn't release a ps3 that doesn't look as good as the more shiny fat ps3 , what they fail to understand is the ps3 is in 3trd place in overall consoles sold , and sony needs to improve ps3's market share , right now sony losses money on every ps3 sold , the solution ? make a ps3 that have cheaper inside components , a not so flashy paint finish , maybe a ps2 emulater to sweetin the deal.

I don't care if they don't whore the system like Microsoft and Nintendo. The PS3 is the better system, all of us PS3 owners know it. I had a 360 and it was a piece of crap. I like being the underdog with this generation, its like our own private club. XBOX owners are like VW drivers.

to be honest guys, would any of you who owns a normal ps3 go and get a slim one? I am pretty happy with my original one with a 350 gig harddrive.

They can draw more sales from home theater owners if they add a IR sensor for Logitech Harmony universal remote support. I know there is a IR to BT add-on for an additional $60.

I just bought an 80 gig last week at Target, yes it had a deal of 2 free games and an extra controller.

I was dubious about the PS3 Slim at first, but look at the PSP Go, it was the worst kept secret in gaming and ended up being real.

The slim will almost definitely have to have a price cut... Assuming they have cost reductions in there, and of course it's physically smaller which equates a lower cost to consumers.

Imagine what Sony could do with a $249 SKU... but $299 is probably where it'll be.