See that up there? That’s the all-new, not-yet-on-sale PlayStation 3 Slim’s stand. It works by laying flat on whatever surface you deem fit, and then it holds your new gaming console upright. We get the impression that it’ll do its job fairly well, but the $24 retail price is borderline insulting. Or, it’s just the motivation you needed to craft one on your own and prove that you were indeed born with a few DIY genes — it’s all about perspective, folks.

I’ve wanted a PlayStation 3 since forever. It plays Blu-ray movies, it has some great exclusive titles, and it looks like it could beat somebody up without breaking a sweat across its glossy matte brow. But it’s always seemed out of reach price-wise. As my desire grew stronger over recent months, I found myself unable to pull the trigger: I just didn’t want to pay $400 for a video game console that came out in 2006. The fact that I could get a lot more for my $400 than $500 would’ve gotten me at launch was hardly consolation, given that the PS3’s main competition, the Xbox 360, has been available in a “full fledged” edition for $300 for a while. Luckily, the PS3 Slim has come at last to save me from all this heartache. Follow along, as I journey from the mire of indecision to the glories of console love… but really, it’s all about the price drop.

Sony had itself quite a day yesterday, effectively reinvigorating the PlayStation brand with the $300 PS3 Slim and a host of upgrades and updates to the PSP, the PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Network. Now that the dust has settled, we thought we’d throw down a little recap in case you didn’t catch it all — it’s clear that the lower-priced Slim has a lot of people talking about finally buying a PS3, but we think things like PSP Minis “snackable” games and the new PS3 firmware 3.0 might be equally important in the long run. Here’s the full breakdown:

Over in beautiful Cologne, Germany, Sony has just confirmed what we’ve suspected for months now. Exclusive to the PSN Store, loyal Sony gamers will soon have access to a new segment of titles, ones that’ll be available anytime and anywhere that there’s an internet connection. The 100MB (or less) selections — which are being officially called Minis — are designed to take advantage of the “smaller development cost on the PSP,” and if all goes well, we’ll see 15 games (such as Tetris, Hero of Sparta, MiniGore and Fieldrunners) launching on October 1st. There’s been no mention yet of how expensive these “snackable” apps / games will be, but we’re holding Sony to its promise of 50 by the end of 2009.

As the story goes, a Kotaku reader just received these PS3 posters (now posted after the break) into the FYE shop where he works. You’ll notice that the “new low price” is augmented with a “while supplies last” disclaimer indicating what could be a close-out on the 80GB (soon $300, reduced from $400) and 160GB ($400, reduced from $500) PlayStation 3 models. More evidence, perhaps, that a PS3 Slim announcement is imminent — even as soon as today’s Sony presser at the Cologne Gamescom Expo that kicks off at 12 noon ET or 1800 for those of you on Central Europe time.

Update: Kmart is now in on the action with a front-page ad (pictured above) that says the “rumors are reality” and then promises linked details about “new low price and a new exciting Playstation 3.” Unfortunately, the link isn’t populated with the new prices or the new model yet but we’ll keep digging.