Bah. Why not add a LCD screen and sell it like a portable while they're at it?

My take on this: The PS3 slim will have all the features of the current 80GB PS3, *probably* an upgrade to the HDD size. Sony will sell it at $350.

Current "fat" PS3 price will be slashed $100 until all units in inventory are completely depleted. After that the PS3 slim will be the only SKU in production and it will sell for $300.

No sources I am afraid I picked up most of this scuttlebutt up off non public forums, and nobody was claiming credentials, or even origination. From what I gather this rumor is just running through low end forums. It isn't even entirely consistent it has some common characteristics which I shared. Personally I am not really interested in the validity as much as the novelty. It is an interesting idea to say the least.

As I said didn't particularly want to share, but felt it was better to do so. At least it is a lateral shift in thought. Needless to say I read dozens of rumors each day without any citation. Perhaps I am visiting the places where most rumors just start. They are often places with really dry minutia like patent listings, and website registration alterations. Some members of these groups even go so far as to scour source material from artists portfolios, and are not above diving into suburban trash cans. So they can be some pretty crazy places.

Personally I am wagering the rumor is a compilation of compiled data. So I would say it is largely anecdotal. One person starts the ball rolling with a interesting discovery, and others just do a lot of digging to find data that supports or detracts. It may seem silly, but often enough they do get their teeth into something. Just by looking at things nobody else can be bothered to look at.

Hell last year one of them pegged a studio closing a month before anyone else did, because they checked realty listings. Not soon after someone had called the studios cleaning service, had looked up online resumes, and even called up the studio as a member of the city council looking for charitable donations.

So take it for what is worth. I personally don't repeat most of what I get off of those forums. It isn't necessarily the best source of information. I usually use it more like a gauge of where things might be heading.

This is the first thing that crossed my mind. How do you make the HD SKU confusion even worse? Make a PS3 that can't even run all PS3 games.

Not that chewing on rumours isn't fun, Dodece, but have any of the rumours you've posted here actually come true?

I'll account bet you that the bolded red assumptions are wrong, what say you?

Some people are taking this rumour way too seriously and just trying to be confrontational over it. If you think it's bs then why bother posting in his thread to start with, sure a lot of this isn't going to happen such as no online capability but there is some merit to certain features. It's no secret the PS3 is too expensive when compared to it's closest rival, the only way Sony can close that gap is to compete on price, in this regard a cut down model makes perfect sense ultimately.

For those obviously convinced that wireless isn't a feature you would save much by cutting, I suspect it alone could provide as much as 5-10$ savings, when you think of that over 10 million consoles, that's coming close to funding another exclusive game.

Thanks for the post Dodece, like other rumours around right now I'll take it with a pinch of salt. I find it strange some posters in here have absolute faith in GT5 arriving this year, a slim PS3 and a price cut all based off rumour then proceed to lambast someone for posting other rumours.

LOL - sony doesn't need to strip it of anything to be able to afford the drop. It's simple mathematics.

Was that the same when they dropped the 60GB for the 40GB model?  It's not simple in the slightest cutting costs.

I think I have only posted a few rumors I found on these forums in the past, and each time I said that I did not believe they were credible. In fact I made it a point to say they weren't credible. They were posted primarily due to the fact that they were novel. As in that they were entertaining only, or were thought provoking.

Sometimes rumors aren't about something being true. The vast majority of the time rumors aren't true, or at the least not entirely on mark. The point of this rumor isn't for you to believe it. The point is that it is an interesting notion.

This is part of why I was reluctant to post this. Too many members are overly militant on these forums. So they are easily incensed by anything that isn't about reinforcing their existing notions.

Why can't we wait until some specs are actually confirmed?

I doubt they will remove the HDD since there are quite a few games that require it. I doubt WiFi will go, simply because Remote Play is a huge thing SONY's backing up.

So are we account betting or what?