Sony has officially announced “PlayStation Slim”, the new PlayStation 3 console which is 33% smaller and 36% lighter than the original PlayStation 3. It will retail for $299 and €299 in North America and Europe, respectively, on September 1.

Apart from being smaller than the original PS3, Sony’s PlayStation Slim also uses 34% less power. Though smaller in size, it has exceeded its predecessor’s 80GB hard drive with its own 120GB version.

Sony can only pray that this PlayStation Slim price drop will increase sales for its gaming console which lags behind the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox 360. The Nintendo Wii retails for only $240 while the Xbox 360 is the same with the PS Slim at $299.