Sony Announce A New, Smaller PS3

Sony recently announced that the rumored slimmer Playstation 3 model will be available in time for this years holiday season worldwide!

The new system is approximately 25% smaller than the current Playstation 3 model and will again have a new design. There are quite a few changes to the system, the front loading disc drive has now been replaced with a top loading disc tray. Don’t worry if you plan to sit the Playstation 3 in a tight spot though, the top loading disc tray features a sliding lid rather than flip top lids of the old days.

And though some things may seem like a downgrade to some people, other areas are being upgraded considerably. The new design will also come with two options for storage size again, with the new system increasing the storage to either the 500GB model or 250GB model, both of which should provide a healthy amount of storage and is quite an upgrade from the 320GB and 160GB options that are currently available.

Here’s the launch dates and pricing of the new system.

North America:

• 500GB launches October 30th for $299
• 250GB launches September 25th for $249 ($269 bundled withUncharted 3: Drake’s Deception: Game of the Year edition)

Europe:

•  500GB launches September 25th for €299
• 12GB (Flash Memory)  launches October 12th for €229

Japan:

• 500GB launches October 30th for 29,800 Yen (tax incl.)
• 250GB launches October 4th for 24,900 Yen (tax incl.)

The North American bundle now only comes with Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception: Game of the Year edition but also a voucher is bundled isnide, which you can redeem to receive over $30 worth of digital content for DUST 514.

[Source]