Rumor: Smaller Cell/RSX PlayStation 3s to release in August

Amid the flurry of rumors that tell of a slimmer, cheaper, cooler PlayStation 3 launching this fall comes another development that just adds more fuel to the fire: Nikko Citigroup, a financial services firm in Japan, has just raised their expectations for Sony. And among those factors they considered for their positive outlook was that Sony is close to breaking even – a point that the company often said was a result of an integration of 65-nm CELL BE and RSX chips on PS3s. More details in the full article.

Word has it that the Sony PlayStation 3 is bound to get a slimmer, cooler, and possibly cheaper SKU by fall of 2008, and many believe it to be a direct cause of shrinking the CELL BE and RSX chips used on Sony’s next generation console.

We’ve heard that a Japanese financial company sees that Sony’s about to break even real soon – a signal that Sony Japan often attributed in its quarterly performance reports to incorporating the 65-nm chips for the PS3.

Nikko Citigroup Securities, the firm in question, also states that it expects to see more price cuts for the current PS3 SKUs in the near future, as preparations for a newer model is in the air – something Nikko Citigroup describes as “the new model which is reduced.”

This, of course, can be thrown into the rumor bin as well, but then the company’s report that “PS3 signs of a turnaround in sales came” (roughly translated) also expects that the new model is likely to hit by November 2008 if it’s not prepped ready to wow the world in August.

Back in February, rumors from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) whistled to the tune of a slimmer PlayStation 3. That was met with plenty of skepticism: it was unlikely that Sony was to release a major revision of its next generation console way too early in its lifetime.

Others do not believe that 65-nm versions of chips would necessarily mean a smaller PlayStation 3 – unless Sony was willing to go all the way to sanction a total system overhaul.