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Another bit found:

According to the document we just received, Sony has an unannounced PS3 product that is to be revealed during the Sony GamesCom Press Conference tomorrow.

The conference which is to be presented by Kaz Hirai and Andrew House, lists the following during the presentation:

2 x PlayStation 3 TOOL

1 x PlayStation 3 (Unannounced Product / Discretion advised by Client)

2 x PSPGo!

1 x White
1 x Black
2 x PlayStation EYE Camera (NOTE: Is not a Video Camera for recording Presentation, no fee required)

Since the unannounced PS3 is listed with the rest of the hardware, it’s suggesting that  it’s some type of new PS3 SKU. Then again, this was sent in as by a tipster so we cannot confirm the validity of the document especially when the document has the incorrect date of 18/09/2009. However the tipster mentions that this is “100% legit” from a GamesCom employee.

We will find out tomorrow, stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle for our GamesCom coverage.

Sony GamesCom Document Reveals New PS3

Times like this make me miss ABigSmall: "Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzz!!!!!!" ..

As expected, Sony officially announced the PS3 Slim at Gamescom today. Sporting a matte black finish and 120GB HDD, Sony says the PS3 Slim is 36% lighter, 32% smaller and consumes 34% less power than the current PS3. The Slim will ship Sept 1st with a $299 price tag. In addition, as of today existing 80GB PS3 consoles will also be sold for $299.

Sony also announced their next major system update, version 3.0, will feature a new XMB that's been designed to be easier to use. Other new features include:

“What’s New” – The “Information Board” will be replaced with a “What’s New” section, which allows you to enjoy interactive PlayStation news every time you start the PS3 system. Located under the PlayStation Network icon, “What’s New” displays the latest and greatest game, video, PlayStation Network and PlayStation news and releases, as well as your recently played games, in a sleek, new animated format.

Status Indicator – In the top right corner we’ve added an indicator bar, which displays your user icon, friend icon, the number of friends you have online and a small message icon to let you know if you have any new messages. The indicator also includes a scrolling ticker that features the latest news from PlayStation Network. In addition, when you press the PS button, the battery life indicator will no longer cover up the clock.

Friends List – Now your PlayStation Network friends will appear in a slightly redesigned format on your Friends List. Also, messages will now be viewable from each of your friends’ respective profiles.

PlayStation Store Shortcuts – We’ve added a handy shortcut icon to the PlayStation Store under both the Game and Video categories so you can access the latest content quickly and easily.

Personalization – Personalize your PS3 with new dynamic custom themes and avatars. Dynamic themes as well as free and premium avatars will be available through PlayStation Store. A dynamic theme takes your screen to a whole new level as it incorporates animated objects into the background.

Trophies – Showcasing your hard earned trophies just got better. Update 3.00 gives game developers the ability to modify how they display trophies for add-on content. Base and add-on game trophies will continue to be combined into a single list so you can see where you stand in a game as a whole. Within that list, trophies will be broken out into subcategories—base trophies and add-on trophies—that way, you can easily view the percentage of your base game trophy collection, and separately track your trophy progress in add-on packs. Look for this enhancement to be included in upcoming games.

An official release date for the 3.0 update wasn't given, Sony just says it's coming "soon". A video overview of the 3.0 update can be found here on the Playstation Blog.

Pichas.  http://www.firingsquad.com/news/newsart … chid=22038

Last edited by Bat (2009-08-19 8:36 pm)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only real difference between the PS3 Phat and Slim now just that the Slim ships with a bigger drive and can't play PS2 games, whereas the Phat can, and just has a smaller drive? Why would they drop the price on both the models?

Hmmm, tempting. I would like to play Valkyria Chronicles, have enjoyed the anime so far of it. Plus it has a lot of Skies of Arcadia toons reused in it. Heck half the entire main character cast from SoA has appeared already in Valk.

Double checking on Wikipedia, they had hardware PS2 emulation on the first generation, software emulation on the second generation, and no PS2 emulation what so ever on the third generation, which was the one just before the slim. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ps3) Not allowing a third party OS is new, and kind of sucks, but I wouldn't do so if I were to get one myself. Playing PS2 games would certainly be nice, since it reduces clutter of keeping a PS2 hooked up. I wonder if they will add support again later whenever they decide to discontinue the PS2.

It became the most troubled console design in memory the moment they forgot what made the PS2 as successful as it was.

That a new GPU also?

Bat wrote:

but no disc games.

Is this more to do with the Blu-Ray drive in the Slim not being able to read regular DVDs? If so, what would stop Sony from a drive and firmware update to play PS/PS2 games?

I mean, besides having their collective head up their arse and greed.

USS Promethius wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the only real difference between the PS3 Phat and Slim now just that the Slim ships with a bigger drive and can't play PS2 games, whereas the Phat can, and just has a smaller drive? Why would they drop the price on both the models?

The Slim consumes less power and produces less heat due to the use of a 45nm - instead of a 65nm cellproc.
The lack of backward compatability isnt really an issue for me, if Id ever get a PS3, I have a PS2 of the large model.

Booksley wrote:

This isn't the first time that Sony has increased the specs on a console of theirs. The PSP Slim doubled the amount of onboard memory (32 MB to 64 MB) and a CPU speed increase (266 MHz to 333 MHz). New games can take advantage of the increased memory/speed to increase graphics complexity or FPS, and old games can use the extra memory as cache for the UMD.

The PSP's CPU was always 333MHz, and that's the speed cited in specifications.  Sony capped it at 266MHz in firmware, but users with hacked firmwares could always run theirs at 333MHz.  The UMD cache decreased loading times, but developers are still limited to 32MB --again, except for homebrew apps running a hacked firmware.

EDIT: Firmware 3.5 unlocked 333MHz for all PSP models (officially).

Last edited by Mr. T (2009-08-21 9:44 pm)

Didn't the PS2 Slim also drop the other OS install feature because you couldn't stick a HD in it?

I've thought about picking up a PS3 at the store just to have a Blu-Ray DVD reader if I can find a smaller HD TV (still don't want/can't shell out the money for a decent sized HD screen, but I have been playing H3 on a 32" fuzzy old CRT set and know that I'm missing out on a lot of the image).

More from Engadget.

If you've been on the fence with that new console purchase then maybe this bit of information will push you over. Not only is the $299 PS3 Slim a skinnier version than its fat bro, it also features a new upgraded Cell processor (jointly developed by IBM, Toshiba, and Sony), according to an IBM spokesman, that uses smaller, more efficient, and less costly 45-nm processes first hinted at back in February of 2008. IBM doesn't specify the clock speed. The 45-nm Cell is 34 percent smaller and requires 40% less power than the original 65-nm processor according to earlier accounts. Any changes to the graphics in the PS3 Slim are still unknown -- the GPU is simply listed as the NVIDIA RSX like the ol' chubster before it. Nevertheless, the IDG New Service says the PS3 Slim "adds hardware enhancements that make it speedier."

What's odd is that Sony didn't make any claims of the PS3 slim being faster at launch and the "boost" in processing speed in the IDG article quoting IBM doesn't seem to come from the IBM spokesman. As such, we're not sure if this is just an improvement in performance-per-watt or something the gamer will actually notice during play. We're still working on the review but rest assured, that's one question we're determined to answer.

PS3 Slim is cheaper, yes, and new Cell processor makes it faster, maybe

Slowly, ever so slowly we're beginning to learn about the internal differences between Sony's new PS3 Slim and its chubby ancestry. We already knew that it supported BraviaLink while talk of "faster gaming" was introduced (suspiciously) yesterday; something that remains very much in doubt until we can confirm. Now we hear that the fatboy gone slim supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream output to your receiver. Hear that audio nerds? Bitstream. See the HDMI chip on previous generations of the PS3 didn't support bitstream output of the new(ish) high def codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. As such, the PS3 had to decode it internally before sending it over to your receiver via LPCM. A process that could garble the lossless audio depending on your setup. Even though the vast majority of people will never notice the difference (or even care), PS3 Slim owners can still kick back in smug satisfaction each time the TrueHD or DTS-HD MA indicators light-up on their receivers.

PS3 Slim bits[t]reams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last