We've heard rumors for a while, but now Web site Pocket Lint is saying it's got the reliable honest-to-goodness real word on the matter: Sony's revamped skinny PlayStation 3--the PS3 Slim--is real, and it'll be announced next week.

The classic "sources close to the product" were responsible for the info, and we're assuming that means they were involved in its creation somehow, rather than merely lounging around near the hardware. Apparently the official unveiling will happen at Sony's Tuesday evening press event at the GamesCon meeting in Germany, and it'll be made by none other than Kazuo Hirai--head of Sony's console division. It'll arrive in shops in time for the Holiday Season.

And that's all very believable--Sony's got a history of skinnying-down its consoles, first it was the PSOne, then the PS2, and more recently the PSP Go, so a skinny PS3 is plausible. Leaked PS3 Slim box artwork has even hit the 'nets. A holiday-timed launch also makes eminent business sense, as does a launch at a gaming conference by the head honcho--it's a big product, after all. But it's perfectly possible this is just another empty rumor designed to drive traffic to Pocket Lint, and when Tuesday rattles around Sony won't say a thing about the PS3 Slim.

There's another nugget of info that kinda lends support to Pocket Lint's story, though--the existing chunky PS3 over in Europe is apparently getting a €100 price cut (equivalent to $140) so it's now "just" €299.99. That's for the 80GB version, with bundled controller and game. Now, to us that sounds like Sony's okayed a price cut so it can shift the older gear off store shelves ready for a shiny new version to arrive.

Fingers crossed, eh?

[via PocketLint, Engadget]