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Ever since before the big Electronics Entertainment Expo 2009, industry analysts have harped on the Playstation 3′s surprise to be a $100 price cut that would bring the console back into competition.

Of the next generation consoles, PS3 remains the most expensive and the tough economy have made sales of the much cheaper Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 brisk while Sony struggles to regain market dominance. However, the ‘bombshell’ released during E3 was not the much anticipated price cut but a new motion control device, which was rather interesting but didn’t really translate to people going out to streets and buying a PS3.

PS3 Slim

Well it appears that the price-cut rumor is true after all, just a few months over due. And the best part is its not ‘just’ a price cut but a completely new redesigned PS3 called the PS3-Slim, which in line with its name means a smaller package which looks sleeker along with the much expected $100 price cut for the two models currently available, bringing it to $400 and $300 for the 160GB and 80GB system respectively. The more expensive model also comes bundled with an original copy of Uncharted, a popular game for the console.

PS3 Slim console

The new console, similar to the PSone and PS2 Slim before this, is redesigned using more efficient manufacturing processes allowing Sony to squeeze the chips and motherboard into a smaller package. It retains the same general curves as the older, fatter sibling, but the smaller size and more efficient manufacturing process means it’s going to consume less power, put out less heat and as a result, be quieter in your living room when turned on, not that you will notice it with the volumes cranked loud during your gaming sessions. :)

The exterior of the console is a big difference though; the PS3 used a more expensive-looking, lustrous and fingerprint-loving outer casing whilst the new one uses the more normal/common matte plastic, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your tastes.

If you ask me, all you need to go is get the cheapest model of PS3 and slap on your own 1TB 2.5-inch hard disk into it, for basically about the same cost as getting the most expensive model. Performance wise, everything remains more or less the same, so you can hold on to the older PS3 if its still working fine. Sony’s strategy of showing off a new hardware at E3 then releasing the console price cut seems to be working, and hopefully it will allow PS3 more breathing room as more people start unlocking the true potential of the PS3. It took them roughly 4 years to redesign the PS2, which was nearing that console’s life and way past its prime. Let’s hope this is not the case for the PS3.

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