After rumors had been circulating for months, the official word has revealed that a Slim PS3 was indeed in production. To start off, fresh from their press conference at Gamescom this afternoon Sony announced a price reduction. With the release of this new Slim PS3, the current 80 GB will get a price cut from $399 to $299 on August 18th in the US.

The internal design architecture of the new PS3 system, from the main semiconductors and power supply unit to the cooling mechanism, has been completely redesigned, achieving a much slimmer and lighter body. Compared to the very first PS3 model with 60GB HDD, the internal volume as well as its thickness and weight are trimmed down to approximately two-thirds. Furthermore, power consumption is also cut to two-thirds, helping to reduce fan noise. While inheriting the sleek curved body design of the original model, the form factor of the new PS3 system features a new meticulous design with textured surface finish, giving an all new impression and a casual look. With the compact body and casual appearance, the newly introduced model will appeal to a wider audience who are looking to buy the best entertainment system for their home.

Also as a reminder the 160 GB will also get a price drop to $399 by August 18th in North America as well. Check out the specs for the console below.

Product Outline

PlayStation®3 (CECH-2000A)

Product name
PlayStation®3

Product code
CECH-2000A (Charcoal Black)

CPU
Cell Broadband Engine™

GPU
RSX®

Audio output
LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC.

Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM

Hard disk
2.5” Serial ATA
120GB *1

Inputs/
Outputs*2

Hi-Speed USB
(USB 2.0)
2

Networking
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) × 1
IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth® 2.0 (EDR)

Controller
Wireless Controller （Bluetooth®）

AV output
Resolution
1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i　(for PAL 576p, 576i)
HDMI OUT connector*3
AV MULTI OUT connector
Digital out (optical) connector

BD／DVD／CD
drive (read only)
Maximum read rate
BD × 2 (BD-ROM)
DVD × 8 (DVD-ROM)
CD × 24 (CD-ROM)

Power
AC 220 – 240, 50/60Hz*4

Power consumption
Approx. 250W

External dimensions
(excluding maximum projecting part )
Approx. 290 × 65 × 290 mm (width × height × length)

Mass
Approx. 3.2kg

Included *5
PlayStation®3 system × 1
Wireless Controller (DUALSHOCK®3) × 1
AC power cord × 1
AV cable × 1
USB cable × 1

*1 Hard disk capacity calculated using base 10 mathematics (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes). System software versions 1.10 and later calculate capacity using binary mathematics (1 GB = 1,073,741,824 bytes), which will display lower capacity and free space. A portion of hard disk capacity is reserved for system administration, which varies depending upon system software version, and is not available for use.

*2 Usability of all connected devices is not guaranteed.

*3 "Deep Colour" and "x.v.Colour (xvYCC)" defined by HDMI ver.1.3a are supported.

*4 Power changes depending on countries or regions.

*5 For certain regions, Euro-AV cable will be included.

Note: This product is not compatible with PlayStation®2 games.

New Logo

Vertical Stand (CECH-ZS1)

Product name
Vertical Stand

Product code
CECH-ZS1

Included
Vertical Stand （CECH-ZS1） × 1
External dimension
Approx. 88 mm x 18 mm x 260 mm (width × height × length)
Mass
Approx. 115g
Supports
CECH-2000 series

*The “Vertical Stand” is for the new PS3 system (CECH-2000 series) and cannot be used on the current model.