8 Wildest E3 2010 Rumors: True or False?

Every E3 there's the pre-show windup, riddled with gossip and hyperbole, and every year that windup gets longer.

Which ones make sense (or don't)? Which are just pranks? Viral rumors? Intentional misdirecting from public relations agents designed to lead tens of thousands of prying eyes astray?

Like everyone else, we can only promise half-guesses in our list below, but then what's the point of E3 without a monkey-barrel's worth of surprises?

http://www.pcworld.com/article/198605/8_wildest_e3_2010_rumors_true_or_false.html

this is one of them that would be very Exciting:

if

A)

Rumor: Microsoft Unveils an Xbox 360 'Slim'

Face it, the Xbox 360 looks like an old early-2000-style Dell Optiplex, not a game console. And like those not-so-ultra-slim desktops of yore, it's time for Microsoft's Xbox 360 to lose a little weight. (That, and some disc-drive decibel levels: The muted buzz-saw sound it makes still drives my wife out of the room each time I play a game straight from disc.)

The rumor mill cooked up this story ("Is This an Xbox 360 'Slim' Motherboard?") back in March, when a Chinese site "leaked" a snap of an alleged micro-ATX-sized Xbox 360 motherboard. Microsoft declined to comment.

True or false? I say likely. Microsoft could bundle a diet-sized Xbox 360 with its motion-control add-on, Project Natal (or whatever they opt to officially rebrand it at the show). It'd be cheaper to produce, friendlier to home entertainment centers, and, if the gods favor us, quieter too.

+

B)

Rumor: Sony Reveals a 'Budget' $199.99 PS3

Just yesterday Sony's new 3D website listed a PlayStation 3 for $199.99 under the '3D-Compatible Products' section, generating buzz about a possible entry-level PS3 $100 cheaper than its $299.99 120GB model.

Sony now says it's just a typo (as if they'd say anything else). Even still, the company only sells two storage-differentiated models, the 120GB for $300 and a 250GB alternative for $350. While those two may offer better value in a spec-for-spec faceoff with Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony lacks an entry-level PS3 that could compete in the 'price tag for price tag' column.

If both are true..

that's very exciting indeed.

I don't see PS3 going below $249 this years. About the X360 slim... who knows. I think it is too late in this generation for it to happen. Most likely it will have a $50 pricecut too and some Natal bundles.

i would Agree with your take on that but after the partnership that Sony just made with Google. I don't know, there is quite a benefit for Sony with this partnership

example LA Time's released this take on the partnership:

example:

So what does the Japanese consumer electronics giant get from the alliance, if not press? As it turns out, potentially quite a bit, said Jonathan Gaw and Danielle Levitas, two technology analysts with IDC. They boil it down to three crucial benefits:

example:

1. Sony gets to set itself apart from the pack, for a short time. Television makers have been waging a battle against commodity pricing, particularly from savvy upstarts such as Vizio. While this has been a great boon to shoppers, it's annihilated company profits, especially for premium players such as Sony. Being first to have Google TV gives Sony a chance to differentiate its TV sets with snazzy apps, bite-sized software and services that can be delivered to the TV straight from the Internet without a computer. But all TV makers will eventually have access to Google TV, Levitas said, so the window of opportunity will be brief.

2. Sony potentially gets access to a new revenue stream -- search referrals. While Google and Sony would not talk about what, if any, revenue-sharing arrangements they've agreed to, Gaw thinks Google will do what it typically does with partners: share the wealth.

"That’s what Google does with everyone,” he said. “If you send them a search, they give you a cut of the revenue. The consumer electronics guys have never had that before.” 

3. Sony gets a software platform. Apart from video games, Sony has gotten a steady diet of criticism over the years for its software. Instead of insisting on doing all of its own software, Sony is starting to call in outside partners. Google is the most high-profile partner, but not the first. Earlier this year, Sony worked with a small software company, Chumby Industries, to develop its Dash device.

"Software plays an increasingly important role in devices, but it's not Sony's forte," Gaw said. "So they partner with whoever they can to give them a leg up."

For now, that leg up is coming from Google.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/05/sony-google-tv.html

by getting extra money with the partnership with Google, Sony may infact be able to overcome the cost so they could indeed drop the Price on the PS3 faster than they could have before.

Now

Add in the Premium PSN service added to that this may infact be a big Suprise from sony for E3. now I am not saying it's true but that sure would ,make the PS3 quite an enticement to purchase the PS3 with everything the PS3 does, an @$199.00 price drop the PS3 I think would be quite one of the Best Consumer Electronic top set boxes on the market for Price and function's that come included for that $299.00 already is a pretty great buy, but @ $199.00 would be one hell of a Price for Me that's priced at a steal!

If Microsoft wanted to have a pricecut I am sure they could afford it with hardware cost going down recently, but would they even want to?  I think it is far more likely that you will see bundles (a.k.a. Natal) being shown.