The Internet is fully slurried with rumour, speculation and even the odd snippet of actual fact about the PS3 and its possible, imminent weight loss and sojourn into full backwards compatibility.

First up - full backwards compatibility with PS2 games will come in the "next few weeks" according to a Gamezine translation of a quote apparently grabbed by DemoNews.de from a German Sony rep. That, however, is apparently for the US. For Europe, there's speculation heaped on the rumour that we'll see it here around the same time.

Patents were brought to light a few days ago that set the Internet screaming with reports that backwards compatibility is nearly upon us... again, like it was before it was removed.

Over on the PS3 Slim/Lite front, Foxconn has declined to comment on reports that it is involved with the manufacture of the sveldt Sony PS3. It's done so in a very formal manner, too. Digitimes reports:

"Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has issued a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) declining to comment on a Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) report indicating that it has landed OEM orders from Sony for a 'slim' PS3, citing customer confidentiality."

That, you will note, is not a denial.

On the speculation front, PlayStation Lifestyle has drawn comparisons between the allegedly leaked PS3 Slim box and packaging for the PSP Go! (see image above). They do both have a stripe...

Speculation found elsewhere provides less reason to be optimistic about a Slim model, but gives something else to cross some appendages for. Gamesinvestor.com analyst Nick Gibson told TechRadar, "a price cut is more likely as the next major PS3 announcement, widely expected later this year.

"We believe that announcing both a price cut and a slimline version is unlikely. Both PS and PS2 slimline versions were launched with no price change so Sony clearly believes that the introduction of a reduced unit size alone is a sufficient sales incentive."

Nick Parker, analyst at Parker Consulting Ltd, disagreed. "A price drop would accompany a slimline version – last time there was a month's difference between the price drop and the release of the slimmed down PS2", he said. He reckons we should have our eyes peeled around September/October.

He also said that his company is confident that the price cut will be substantial, running to the tune of €100 (£86 by today's appalling exchange rate).

Piers Harding-Rolls, Screen Digest senior analyst and head of games, suggests that while Sony may be building up inventory of a slim PS3, we won't actually see it hit shelves until September at the earliest.

Let's hope that some of that lot, at least, turns out to be true...