Sony has confirmed the existence of a new, slimline PlayStation 3 model - the CECH-3000B - after a Japanese retailer listed the console.

The CECH-3000B shaves 0.4kg off of the last weight-watchers friendly machine (the 2500 model) - down to 2.6kg - and will go on sale in Japan this month, priced at for ¥34,980. It's a 320GB system and there will also be a 160GB version coming on 8 September bundled with Tales of Xillia. There's no word on a UK or US release as of yet.

It seems as if the CECH-3000B is the only new PlayStation console that we'll be seeing for a while though - with Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, confirming in an interview with Forbes that, despite executive vice president and chief financial officer Masuru Kato letting slip that development of the PlayStation 4 is already under way, the next-gen console is a long way off.

"PlayStation 3 is really just hitting its stride," he said. "And technologically, I don’t think it’s possible to provide any advancement beyond what we have.

"What we’ve seen from the competition is trying to add features that already exist in PlayStation 3. We invested heavily in that, we rolled a very heavy rock up a steep hill, through the launch period.

"But now I think that all pays off, and we’ve got a long run way behind it. So, I wouldn’t look for any discussion of a next generation PlayStation for quite some time."

Tretton also took a pop-shot at Nintendo following its Wii U reveal at E3. "I didn’t see anything about Nintendo’s announcement that said ‘oh, we’d better get working on rolling out a new PlayStation here pretty soon'," he said.

"Our attitude is kind of ‘welcome to the party.’ If you’re looking at being a multimedia entertainment device, if you’re looking at high def gaming, that was 2006 for us."

Miaow indeed.