PlayStation 4 Slim release date and rumors: Slimmer and sleeker console to debut next month

Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp. is set to roll out a slimmer and sleeker PlayStation 4 device in a bid to counter a waning demand for consoles. The plan to introduce a thinner console variant may have also been driven by Xbox One S—a smaller version of the current model—which was earlier released by rival Microsoft this June.

Sony intends to strengthen its hold on PlayStation hardcore fan base and court casual gamers to switch to its video gaming platform. The company's long-term plan is to nurture a community of loyal PlayStation users and earn a steady stream of revenue from its various paid subscriptions and downloads.

Moreover, releasing a refreshed standard model would make the console more accessible to a larger untapped market of potential users. Macquarie Securities analyst Damian Thong said releasing an affordable model marks a "shift in strategy" in Sony's approach to sustaining demand through regular price markdowns between product upgrade intervals, Wall Street Journal reported. The company is set to make an official tech reveal on Sept. 7 at New York's PlayStation Theater.

Apart from the purported PlayStation 4 Slim, Sony will also release a high-end PlayStation 4 version codenamed "Neo" in an effort to capture a lucrative market of users who are willing to pay extra for premium features and specs.

"It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4. We will be selling both through the life cycle," said Sony president Andrew House per Financial Times report.

Meanwhile, Eurogamer recently reported about an alleged PlayStation 4 Slim leak from a man claiming to have purchased one from Gumtree. The gaming blog even went to pay the man a visit to verify such claim through Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter. The visit seemed to have confirmed the veracity of the purported new PlayStation 4 standard console.

Sony PlayStation 4 has been marketed quite successfully since its 2013 debut. More than 40 million consoles were sold globally— outselling Microsoft's Xbox One which shipped around 20 million units around the world since its market release in the same year. Lagging behind the console race is Nintendo's 13 million Wii U devices sold worldwide since its launch in 2012.