"Slim PS3" spy photos: The real deal, or "genuine" fakes?

A Taiwanese law firm has issued a series of cease and desist letters over supposed spy shots of a "slim PS3." So, can we consider that a confirmation? Maybe, maybe not.

Tech blogs such as Engadget and Kotaku are reporting that they got hit with the letters shortly after posting these (somewhat questionable) spy shots of what looks to be a new, slim PS3.

Kotaku says its letter came from the Taiwanese law firm of Li Mo & Associates—not Sony, it's important to note—and Engadget posted the text of its letter, which reads in part: "We just found that the following web pages on your website contain come confidential document [sic] and photos, which were highly possibly illegally released and posted … please immediately remove those pages and keep our request confidential."

Naturally enough, Engadget immediately posted the cease and desist letter, and you can still find the purported "slim PS3" shots here and here. (The picture above is, of course, of the original PS3 console.)

Now, conventional wisdom has it that when you post spy shots and suddenly lawyers send you cease and desist orders, you're onto something, and that may well be the case here.

But the photos themselves look a little fishy; for example, the "PS3" logo is in the wrong font, and the case itself seems way too thin to be believed. Sony has also denied the rumors (sort of, anyway), telling CVG.com that "we don't know anything about the system in the photos."

At least one enterprising blogger at PS3 Daily tracked down the law firm in question and found it to be legit, but couldn't confirm its clients. However, the blogger speculates that the lawyers might be representing "genuine fake" console makers in China, not Sony itself.

Still, that's all just speculation; for now, were left simply with the spy shots themselves, Sony's half-hearted denials, and the fact that the E3 gaming conference—where we may see such delights as a new PSP and motion-control devices from both Sony and Microsoft—is just weeks away.

So, what do you think about the "slim PS3" photos—real, or fake? Also, would you be interested in a slim version of the PlayStation 3 were it available, or would you rather just see a price cut for the current, "fat" PS3 (which isn't really that fat, anyway)?