" class="white" rel="nofollow" style="color : #cd0e0e !important;">games console from Sony started to gather pace. We now look at how these developed from the grainy pictures discussed in the first article to something more substantial.

Further fuel was added to the rumour mill when Japanese retailers were told by Sony that no more orders for the PS3 would be accepted beyond 10am on 9 August 2009. To add weight to this news, UK retailers were informed in early August that no more shipments of the console would be made until the end of the month. These two undisputed events lead analysts to the conclusion that current stocks of the existing 80GB and 160GB PlayStation 3's were being cleared ready for the distribution channel to replenished with a new version.

Throughout all these rumours Sony continually denied the existence of a replacement for its leading games console. They also continued to deny reports that a price reduction would, at the very least, be forthcoming. A new gaming industry event, GamesCom, to be held in Cologne, Germany from 18 August 2009 and to be attended by Sony was heralded by many within the industry as the time when the details surrounding a new strategy for the PS3 would finally be revealed.

We were now getting close to the GamesCom event and more evidence of a new, Slim PS3 started to emerge. Several retailers in both the US and UK reported that the SKU (the product code) for the 80GB and 160GB PS3's had been withdrawn, meaning that is was impossible to order any more stock. Further to this, Amazon Germany put up a product listing devoted to a 'PlayStation 3 Konsole slim'. After news of it spread around the web it was soon removed, but for such a respected retailer to put up such a page was proof to many that the Slim PS3 was not only a reality but was on its way.

Following on from the Amazon.de revealing, another retailer, US giant Kmart, had a page discovered deep within its website also  devoted to a new Sony console. Their add simply read 'The Rumours are Reality - a new low price and a new exciting PlayStation 3'. There were no pictures except for one of the original PS3, nor were there any prices, but this was surely as close to a confirmation as one could get without Sony actually stating so itself.

We now look forward to Sony's press conference at the GamesCom event. We're sure something along the lines of a Slim PS3 is coming and as soon as it does we'll put out another article looking at the detailed specifications and how it compares to the original PS3 console.

The writer is an experienced technology critic dealing with all aspects of the technology world but specialises in games consoles, specifically the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3. You can visit his regularly updated slim Click here to view on Amazon.com