"Slim" PS3 Scans Appear [update] News

Sony has denied the existence of a redesigned PS3, but they could well be fibbing if these scans from a Chinese forum are true.

The dubious looking scans of the remodelled casing show what appears to be a 'slim' PS3, marking quite a radical departure from the existing model.  As Kotaku points out, the Spider-Man inspired PlayStation3 logo has been replaced by a simple PS3 insignia - we know that the reason behind the original typeface was at Ken Kuturagi's insistence, but he's obviously no longer at Sony. 

Perhaps it's symbolic of Sony's intentions to completely reboot the PS3 from Kuturagi-san's original grand vision; something that he maintained everybody would have to work a "little harder" to afford - not exactly a credit-crunch friendly vision, perhaps.

We're siding towards believing these are fake; the model doesn't exactly look impressive, which is in distinct contrast to the splendour of the original PS3.  Put another way, whereas the original PS3 takes pride of place in our TV cabinet, this one would be hiding behind the doors.

The only thing that does look authentic is the box in the first shot, revealing that the model features a 120GB HDD with accompanying PlayStation Network branding.

When asked to comment a SCEE spokesperson claimed:

"We don't know anything about this system in the photos and we don't comment on rumours and speculation."

[UPDATE]

We're changing our opinion on this and now believe there could be some truth to the scans.  The curvy PS3 logo is reminiscent of the redesigned PSone logo, and it certainly appears that the device is cutting down components to bring down the price, such as reduction to two front facing USB slots.  If the scans are authentic then we can at least lay to rest rumours that the PS3 will ship without a blu-Ray drive, as the logo is clearly visible on the packaging in the top shot.