With the release of the PS3 Slim, Sony is firing another round in the game console wars. Albeit this one is more incremental. Sony got a good boost in sales 2 years back with the death of DVD-HD, the PS3 had a built-in Blu-ray player. And although expensive for a gaming system, it was a very affordable Blu-Ray Player (Blu-Rays have since come down considerably in price). The price on the new system has remained the same, but they have made some very nice improvements.

• Slimmer, sleeker profile
• More energy efficient, consumes 34 percent less power.
• New brushed matte-black chassis
• Base model hard drive is now 120GB instead of 80GB

Not to be outdone, Xbox will be lowering the prices on their systems.

Although Microsoft and Nintendo have a larger market share, Playstation doubles as one of the best Blu-Ray players on the market, and makes a very attractive choice for consumers who want to, both, get a new gaming systems and purchase a Blu-Ray player. I would highly recommend you also purchase the PS3 Blu-Ray Remote Control as well if you plan on using your PS3 Slim to play movies, makes using all your Blu-ray features much easier.

In the ongoing war of the gaming systems, there may be several skirmishes, much blood is shed and occasionally victims (Sega Saturn, Atari) - but in the end we the consumers always come up the winners.

Best prices? - I recommend you go over to Amazon for your Playstation 3 Slim, no taxes, and 8 out of 10 times they have the lowest price on the Internet and almost always cheaper than you can find in a local store. I sometimes do find better prices than Amazon, but after getting burned a few times with small-time vendors and eBay - I now make almost all my electronics and movie purchases using Amazon.

• CPU: Cell Broadband Engine™
• HDMI + Bravia Sync functionality that provides both 1080p output resolution, and instant in-synch connectivity between your PS3 and other Sony HDMI enabled products without the use of multiple remote controls.
• A new 33% slimmer, 36% lighter PlayStation 3 entertainment system that is also more energy efficient.
• Includes a Dualshock 3 wireless controller
• 120GB HDD for storing games, music, videos, and photos.
• Built-in Wi-Fi for connectivity anywhere and multiple media format compatibility
• Blu-ray for crystal clear video on High-Definition TVs, CD-ROM, DVD, and others.
• Free membership and access to all the events, as well as game, movie, TV and other media content available on the PlayStation Network (PSN)
• Resolution: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i?(for PAL 576p, 576i)