Sony Unveils ‘Super Slim’ PS3 Console

Sony Unveils ‘Super Slim’ PS3 Console, The new model is about half as thick as the original, but there’s one problem: The price. Sony unveils new ‘Super Slim’ PS3, Sony is putting its flagship video game system on a crash diet.

Confirming months of speculation, the company unveiled a redesigned PlayStation 3 at its pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference Wednesday.

The new ‘Super Slim’ model is roughly the size of a laptop computer and about half as thick as the original PlayStation 3 that hit stores in 2006. Sony says the redesign is 20 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the existing model. It also uses a sliding door panel to top load discs, rather than the slot-loading disc drive previous models have used. Functionally, however, it’s identical to the current PS3.

In North America, two versions will be available: One packing a 250 GB hard drive for $269, which arrives on Sep. 25, and one with a 500 GB hard drive for $299, which hits stores on Oct. 30.

That pricing scheme has left many scratching their heads. The current entry level PS3 costs $249 — and with a new Nintendo console hitting in two months at $299, many analysts were expecting Sony to lower the PS3′s price even further to woo consumers.

Instead, Sony is relying on the value proposition of the new PS3. The lower-end Super Slim model boasts a bigger hard drive than today’s entry-level system (250 GB compared to 160 GB) and will come bundled with Uncharted 3: Game of the Year Edition, as well as a voucher for $30 of “bonus digital content” to be used in the free-to-play title DUST 514. The 500 GB model will come bundled with a copy of Assassin’s Creed III.