A while back we mentioned that the PS3 slim was possibly being built although it just seemed like a rumour as the pictures showed a matte console rather then a glossy console that we were expecting.

More rumours are floating around now saying that a PS3 slim could be in stores this month due to being able to cope with the extended summer vacation demands (ie, school holidays).

Another rumour from Ars Technica says that the PS3 slim might not be due out till fall though to give Sony a chance to get rid of the current PS3 consoles as not many people would want to buy once a sleeker console is on the shelves.

Still though, it is a rumour so we can only wait for an official announcement.

The remote is very simple to use, with setup being a case of simply inserting the seperate USB dongle into the front of the console. Once this is done you’re ready to go. The buttons on the remote are all clearly marked and are even made with Glow-in-the-Dark material so when the lights are down you can see the remote if needs be.

The remote is very light, and has good range too. In my front room the PS3 is approximately 4 metres from where I sit and it worked fine. Being infrared however, it does pretty much require line of sight to work. You can’t point it behind you and expect it to work.

For the price the remote is a great alternative to the official BD remote from Sony. As mentioned, the only downside would be that this remote requires direct line of sight, and an external USB dongle. But for me thats not an issue.

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“We need to get ready for the future generation of consoles,” Guillemot told investors. “In the next few years, there will be new home and handheld consoles, and if you don’t invest… you will not be able to cope with both [the existing and new generation consoles].”

Not only do developers need to get saving for a PS4, Wii 2 or an Xbox 720… they also need to look at next gen hand held gaming. Nobody really knows what the gaming scene will be like in 3 years time, but if Sony follow their 10 year plan then we can expect a console with in 3 years. Back on to handheld gaming for a minute… we also do not know what to expect here. Possibly larger roll out screens, projected screens etc… What ever they might be capable of Ubisoft feel it is a time to be prepared.

The next question asks if Sony will dump blu-ray in favour of holography. Some content over on the NY Times recently indicated that GE were researching storage capacity on holographic disks (HVD). The technology has been around a few years but isn’t yet available on the market. A theoretical 3.9 TB of data could be stored if the companies working on it get it right. Given those numbers and the time left until a PS4 launch (2012 at a guess) it would appear that HVD’s might be the way forwards.

“This could be the next generation of low-cost storage,” said Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering, a technology research firm.

As of now the technology is expensive, but given a few years and a lot more research we could see prices drop to a more normal and acceptable level.

As well as being capable of playing HVD’s it would be possible to be backwards compatible too making all your old DVD’s and Blu-Ray discs compatible. This would add convenience to the system while allowing the limits to be pushed on the cutting edge games of the new generation.

Of course you also have to wonder if the PS4 will completely do away with an optical drive and go based on downloadable content only. With Virgin Media testing 200 Meg connections at the moment in the UK there might not even be a need for optical storage on the device (although we do understand that not every country would have access to fast connections).

Slimming consoles down for Sony is not new. Both the PS1 and PS2 were re created in a slimmer form factor, so it is entirely possible that the PS3 could follow suit. The only thing which makes this rumour and leak a little questionable is that the finish of the leaked console pictures is not the glossy PS3 type finish we would expect.

Only time will tell on this one. I personally don’t think the pictures are the real deal although I do believe Sony are working or will be working on a slimmer console.

More pictures to be found over at GameColumn.

While some are saying its only a ‘one-off’, it’s certainly looking well for the Sony console. The Wii is dominating the global market, and we all know that, but the PS3 does appear to be finally gathering steam. The Xbox 360 on the other hand is a different story where only 43,172 units were shifted. To be fair though, that was in the Japanese market where the 360 is not as dominant as it is throughout the USA and Europe.

Intersting times ahead for games consoles indeed. BBC

The console is fully working which is impressive. I wonder whether he has to turn the console upside down like I used to have to in order to play games?! Check out more info over here.

So, what would you really want in a firmware update then? Feel free to vote, and if your option isn’t there leave us a comment, its always nice to know.

Sony have also allowed you to now send bigget files between friends, which is nice!

Not an amazing update…I think we were all hoping for a little more such as actual voice chat during games but oh well. At least the slow progress means Sony is listening, they’re just not very quick at doing. Check out playstation.com for all the nitty-gritty details. Here’s hoping the next update is something better, although I seem to find myself saying that with every update.

For me…i’m going to be boring and say shiny black. I like the black look of the PS3, it suits it well, and it matches my Tv quite nicely. I thought i’d like the white PS3, but it really doesn’t do it for me! So, get commenting on what colour you’d like to see, and why.

There’s also a poll of the most obvious colour choices, so you can vote there.