Sorry Folks, not the article about the future of visuals as promised, although there has been some talk about Cevat Yerli's comments i could expand upon, but i really had to get this PS3 slim talk of my chest and offer my thoughts.

This was initially a forum post but it got too long and may come across as an overractive rant to some i may have targeted so i just decided to keep it as a personal blog...

A price drop was the most important thing i was looking for in the PS3, i like the simplicity of it, but i would have to admit... and many would agree that it doesnt have the flair that the original ps3 had with the sleek gloss/metallic combination.

but unfortnately you can't expect a significant drop in price without some sacrifices, just judging by the images, the cutbacks are immediately apparent.

Glossy finishes... as sexy as they look (guilty as charged!) they require complex molding practices & extra tooling to make sure mold marks & surface imperfections dont occur once a component gets taken out of the mold. the slightest imperfection can be visible with a gloss finished surface, matte surfaces on the other hand can easily hide surface imperfections and allow for quick 1 step molding, thus skipping slow mold cooling processes & surface treatment that glossy surfaces require. Molds to create gloss components also require constant maintenance and replacement to keep them in shape after a couple of uses in comparison to matte component molds.

Regarding the top PS3 logo, judging from the pictures, it was most likely laser etched into the top mold without plating of another material, thats 2 birds with the one stone, thus skipping another manufacturing process. There are probably other cutbacks, but i would need to get my hands on one to provide some more diagnosis on the changes.

What nobody has mentioned or care about is the Sustainability improvements that this PS3 slim offers and as a self confessed greenie i would give this a big fat stamp of approval.

• It offers reduction of material use (less use of crude oil),
• Compact size (more units to transport per freight, which means less transport cycles),
• Loses some composite material components that allows for pure recyling without preprocessing. eg, having the plated playstation logo at the top requires crushing splitting if it was to be recylced.
• What looks like a change to a simple 2 part mold (judging by the shadowlines in the images)
• Smaller size most likely means smaller .nm, reducing energy consumption.
• Edit: Got the official word that it is lighter, hence better Fuel efficiency during freight transportation cycles

and thats probably just scratching the surface, im sure they have improved upon energy management in more ways than one.

This issue of people being more concerned about a look of a console worries me dearly, all i know is, if i had a PS3, i dont really care what the console looks like, I would probably be more focused on shooting someone in the groin in COD4 or whatever gaming mischiefs i could get up to, because I play games not the console, all I ask from a gaming console are the 3 abilities... reliability, durability & sustainability.

I can understand some are too young to understand or be concearned about the concept of sustainability, but it is a fast growing issue and really needs to be addressed or placed at a higher priority with regards to products & technology, we're a young growing generation, it is not only our future, but it is our childrens future as well.

As for me a 22 year old who works part time (whom could be made redundant any time in this econonic crisis), has University fees, Rent and game spending habits to maintain (lol), a puchase of just ONE ps3 was out of the question... until now.

This PS3 slim came with great timing, i was looking forward to next year and the lineup for the end of this year, plus i have a feasible amount of income to purchase the console as well as support it with some games every now and then. To end this blog, i hope i have provided some of the undermined positive outcomes of this PS3 slim even if you are diappointed with what it looks like, i am looking forward to get my hands on one and hopefully join in on some online gaming buzz.

Cheers