Having seen a slim version released just last year Sony’s PlayStation 3 might be the console that’s been touched on the least over the course of this year’s E3, but it seems that there are big changes in store for the device over the coming months, not least of which a fee-based version of Sony’s PlayStation Network service and more activity from Valve.

Strange to see Valve reverse direction on the PS3 so dramatically

Word of the move to a fee-based version of PSN will hardly come as a surprise to anyone who’s been keeping an eye on Sony over the last few months. Sony had been pushing surveys to ask its users just what they’d expect from the service if money were changing hands, and unsurprisingly the answer seems to have been “free games.” As a result, Sony is gearing up to launch a fee-based version of PSN that would see users charged a flat rate per year, which would entitle users to one PSN Game, two minis and one PSOne game per month.

That’s an interesting offer in itself, and one that could well see many users attracted to Sony’s new “PS Plus” service, however, it’s not all Sony is doing to tempt users. The company will also be offering a free three month PS Plus trial, which sounds very nice indeed.

Aside from the PS Plus offering, there’s also the fact that, according to TechRadar, Valve has announced that it will be redoubling its efforts on the console front, with the PS3 in mind specifically. It seems that the developer’s CEO, Gabe Newell, has a specific interest in the PS3, saying,

“When the PlayStation 3 was first introduced, I was one of the platform’s biggest critics … However, Sony Computer Entertainment has proved that the PlayStation 3 is the most open platform of all the current generation consoles and has worked extremely hard to make the platform the most desirable for consumers and developers.

As such, we are delighted to announce Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 and believe the Steamworks support included will make it the best console version of the game.”

Just how much of Valve’s Steam is eventually made available to the PS3 will be interesting to see, though we doubt it’ll ever see tie-in with the PC side of things. Still, we can dream.