Sony has finally gone public with its new PS3 slim form factor, and confirmed rumours that this device will also take the console to new price points - $299 and €299. The new PS3 is more compact and consumes less power than the original form factor, and upgrades the HDD to 120GB. While the new PS3 will still command a premium over the Wii and the Xbox 360, it is now positioned much more realistically. Research clearly indicates that many potential PS3 buyers have been put off by the higher price points and, rather than waiting, have chosen one of the rival consoles instead. The risk for Sony is that those buyers will now resist adding a second console, especially against a tough economic background. But as we move towards the key fourth quarter selling period the PS3 is now much better positioned to compete for gift spending, however constrained that may be this year. The move may have come too late for many tastes, but Sony’s console is also now back on track to maintain its momentum and sustain its own console cycle for the next few years. It will still struggle to regain its former position of market leadership, indeed dominance, but it has many years left to expand its PS3 user base, while Nintendo’s Wii in particular already appears to have peaked. Twitter: twitter.com/DavidMercer_SA Client Reading: Digital Media Devices Global Market Report