The new PS3 Slim is said to run more quietly than existing PS3 systems, will support Sony BRAVIA TVs by offering BRAVIA Sync which makes it possible to control the PS3 slim with the BRAVIA TV remote. It will also ship with the latest 3.0 firmware.

All other specs and features are identical to previous Playstation 3 models that have been sold by Sony. The old PS3 systems with 80 Gigabyte hard drive will be sold for the same price effective immediately.

The main question here is if the PS3 Slim will be able to curb Playstation 3 sales. A $100 (€100) price reduction is certainly a good start and it is very likely that first game and PS3 Slim bundles will appear around Christmas to further increase sales.

Now that the price of the Playstation 3 has reached the level of the other gaming systems: Will you buy one? Do you already have one and want to share your opinion? Let us know in the comments.

Update:

Engadget published a first noise comparison test

While our tests were far from thorough, the initial results from our quick-and-dirty decibel ratings show some promise. With a baseline of 49 decibels, the Slim averaged 53 to 56 db when in use / playing a game / installing data (in this case, Metal Gear Solid 4), compared to the 55 to 58 db of the original. Blu-ray movie playback is where it becomes noticeable, as the slim peaked for us at 60 db when the original was doing 70 db running the same disc.

Update 2:

Rumors of a Sony PS3 Slim 250 Gigabyte model appeared:

This means that some time in the future (for probably a premium, maybe $349 or so), a new PS3 Slim may come out featuring a 250GB HDD. There is not much of a difference, but expect it to be bundled with a game or so, right in time for Christmas!

In recent months Sony has been experiencing declining sales in their PS3 systems and this brings into question what exactly is Sony doing that is killing their system? Now let me make something clear, I’m not saying that the PS3 is not selling, but compared to the Xbox 360 and even its older brother the PS2 it isn’t doing so well.

It is a known fact that a game franchise can make or break a gaming console; just ask Microsoft and their original Xbox and the Halo franchise. While the first generation Xbox had superior graphics to the PS2, one of the main reasons why it succeeded was both Halo and Halo 2. One of the PS2’s major successes was the GTA (Grand Theft Auto) franchise. Sadly (for Sony that is), GTA 4 ported to the Xbox 360 last year and thanks to Xbox Live carried a more powerful punch then the PS3 version. I could also use Final Fantasy as another example. For years Square Enix has made its bread and butter from the PlayStation and Nintendo systems (as well as PC). It sent shockwaves through the game world when they announced that the next installment of the game, Final Fantasy XIII, would not only be available on the PS3 but, for the first time in history, ported to the Xbox 360.

Even more shocking was the news by Hideo Kojima that the next installment of Metal Gear Solid would also be ported to the Xbox 360. By now you’re probably catching my drift; Sony is bleeding franchises. Who would have thought that the day would come when Snake (well he’s retired now but his franchise lives on), as well as the gang from Final Fantasy would live on Xbox. I’m not saying Sony doesn’t have some good franchises left in its hands, but if this continues they soon will be sitting on Resistance, Kill Zone and Socom as their main exclusives.

Another strike against Sony is online gaming. Microsoft and Sony have taken two very different approaches to online gaming. Sony has long stated that they believe a free option is the best way to satisfy their customers. Microsoft, from day one, has gone with the paid option. Although there is some debate as to the reason why PlayStation Network lags behind Xbox Live, one thing has been undisputed; Microsoft has proven that people will pay once the quality is there. One of the major reasons why developers flock Xbox Live is they are able to extract a few extra dollars from gamers after they have spent a few Jefferson’s on the disc. There is no real incentive for game developers to develop for PSN, and that is one of the major reasons why Xbox Live manages to offer superior content and user experience.

I’m sure many of you were expecting me to mention price as an issue why the PS3 is not living up to Sony’s expectations, but I will go as far to say that its not mainly price but marketing and timing. When the PS3 first came out, the average price of a Blu-ray player was 10 Franklins. The PS3 retailed between $500 and $600. Many consumers could have been swayed to buy the system based on the fact that it would be cheaper to buy a PS3 then to buy an Xbox 360 and a Blu-ray player. Unfortunately that has all changed, as it is now cheaper now to buy and Xbox 360 and a separate Blu-ray player then to buy a PS3.

The other issue involves maturity. When the Xbox 360 was released in 2005, it had a full year to gain its footing in the market. Microsoft has hinted more then once that it could have kept its second generation system in the works for a 2006 release and match the power of the PS3, but figured that it would be a better idea to release it early. They were right. By the time the PS3 came to the market, a year later, the 360 had all but took the wind out of its sales and due to the craze of the Wii things didn’t turn out as well as Sony planned.

Plainly speaking, Sony expected its loyal subjects to buy a $500 system because it was more powerful. That might be true if you’re a Mac, but in a world where a video game can make or break a console, that isn’t always true.

I’m not saying the PS3 has failed. I’m just saying it doesn’t seem that 2009 will be the year of the PS3 as we’re already half way through and Sony is reporting declining sales of said system. We’ll just have to wait and see if Sony’s new motion sensing controllers will do anything to help the troubled platform. In the meantime you’ll find me in the corner playing GTA 4 and cleaning out a space beside my HD screen for Project Natal.

Back to the compatibility issues. As I said Sony published a Playstation 3 compatibility list rating games with 1 to 3 squares with 3 squares meaning that the game will most likely play fine and 1 square meaning it has noticable issues. I did a quick check on the first four letters in the alphabet and came up with 284 working games, 46 games with minor issues and 93 games with noticable issues.

That means about 30% of the games in question have issues and will not play correctly in a European Playstation 3. To make things worse some of the most important PS2 titles are not working currently. This includes Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII. Gran Tourismo 3 and 4 Prologue have minor problems and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas major ones.

I could go on and post more games that are not working correctly but I guess you figured it out by yourself by now. Software emulation is not a perfect solution. It might become one in the long run, Sony promised to update the emulator to increase compatibility.

You also need some screwdrivers to open the Playstation 3, please note that opening the PS3 will void the warranty.

• The first step is to find the HDD Bay on your Playstation 3. It is located on the left side of the console, and it is marked with HDD. Easy enough. Use your flat head screwdriver to pop off the plastic cover. You now have access to the actual HDD caddy.

• The next step is to remove the blue screw that holds the HDD caddy in place using the Phillips head screwdriver. Once you have done so, flip up the metal handle that is on the front of the caddy, and slide the HDD towards the FRONT of the Playstation 3 to dislodge it. Once you have done so you can remove the HDD tray.
• Once you have access to the tray outside the PS3, you can take out the 4 screws which hold the original Playstation 3 HDD in place, and swap in your new 2.5MM SATA Notebook HDD.
• Once the new HDD is secured in the HDD caddy, you need to place the caddy back inside the PS3 unit, and slide it toward the REAR of the console to lock it in place. Once you have done so, the final step is to use your Phillips head screwdriver to replace the blue screw which anchors the HDD caddy to the Playstation 3. Pop on the plastic cover, and boot up the console.
• As soon as you boot up the console, the PS3 will detect that the HDD is not formatted, and it will ask you if you would like to format. You must select yes twice, because they want you to be sure that you realize you will be destroying all the data. Of course, you pick yes.
• Once the HDD is formatted, which takes less than 2 minutes, the unit will ask you to reboot. Once you have done so, you can do into the settings menu option in the PS3 OS. Then choose system settings, and then finally system information. There you will see a display of the HDD space on your console. If you have done everything correctly, you will see that the HDD space now reflects the amount of space on the replacement drive. Keep in mind, about 15 to 20 GB of space will be taken up by the PS3 for system use, so do not be alarmed when the HDD space measurement comes up short.
• To answer your question before you ask, the only thing that gets erased is game saves. Your network ID info, your console settings, and even the 1.10 update all remain in place when you do this HDD swap. Neat eh?

Please note that this text has been directly taken from the GamersReports website, please note that they also added pictures to the article, so pay them a visit. (page 1, page 2)

This is by far the craziest launch I ever witnessed. How far do people go for a gaming machine ? I decided to collect the most interesting articles in the categories Crimes, Hardware and Games. Please add your links if you want to join the fun.

Crimes:

Man shoot waiting to buy Playstation 3
PS3 Fight shuts down Walmart
PS3 Riot
Texas Gamestop Robbed at Gun-Point

Hardware:

One Man’s HDMI Issues
PS3 dead on arrival
PS3′s disc loaders defective ?
PS3 does not do 1080i ?

Ratings:

Gundam – 2 of 10
NBA 07 – 4.9
Resistance 9.3

Sony is still claiming that the launch in Japan and the United States will not be postponed but the current situation does not look very promising. They plan to launch in Japan with 100000 systems and in the United States with 400000 systems. Am I the only one that thinks that this figures are not really impressive ? I mean, 100000 systems for Japan ? This must be the worst premiere start of a console system ever in Japan, the 400000 systems for the USA aren’t impressive either.

Consider that many European die hearts will try to catch one of those rare systems by importing them to Europe using well known internet shops like lik sang or play Asia. Customers in the US and Japan will surely face at least the same severe shortages that the XBOX 360 had when it launched, and Microsoft managed to supply 1.5 million systems.

I do not think that it is that bad if the release date for Europe gets delayed. Sony has a history of producing bad console system which get improved over time. They will manage to sell all of the 500000 system that’s for sure, but they are also facing a big opposition with every passing day. They pissed of Europe; and customers in the United States and Japan who will not manage to buy a PS3 at launch date will surely be angry as well.

Microsoft has a comfortable position in Europe with the biggest contender out of the way for the Christmas season. Nintendo will also profit from Sony’s absence, both parties should be very happy about this decision.

The important question however is: what will the customers do ? Will they wait until the PS3 becomes available ? Will they buy a Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii or both instead ? Time will tell but most people on gaming forums seem to favor the second option and buy a Xbox 360 or Wii for Christmas and forget about Sony.. for now.