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PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3
Original PlayStation 3 logo

New PlayStation 3 logo
Original model, DualShock 3 controller and Slim modelSuper Slim model
Top: Original and newer PlayStation 3 logos
Left:
PlayStation 3 first model (2006)
Right:
PlayStation 3 "slim" model (2009)
Bottom: PlayStation 3 "super slim" model (2012)
Developer Sony Computer Entertainment
Manufacturer Sony EMCS, Foxconn, ASUSTeK
Product family PlayStation
Type Home video game console
Generation Seventh generation
Release date
  • JP: November 11, 2006 (November 11, 2006)
  • NA: November 17, 2006 (November 17, 2006)
  • PAL: March 23, 2007 (March 23, 2007)
Discontinued
  • NZ: September 29, 2015
Units shipped 80 million
(as of November 2, 2013)
Media
Operating system PlayStation 3 system software (BSD)
CPU 3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine with 1 PPE & 7 SPEs
Memory 256 MB XDR DRAM system and 256 MB GDDR3 video
Storage 2.5-inch SATA hard drive
(12 GB (super-slim only), 20 GB, 40 GB, 60 GB, 80 GB, 120 GB, 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB or 500 GB included) (user upgradeable)
Display
Graphics 550 MHz NVIDIA/SCEI RSX 'Reality Synthesizer'
Sound
Controller input Sixaxis, DualShock 3, DualShock 4, Logitech Driving Force GT, Logitech Cordless Precision controller, standard USB controllers, GT Force, Rhythm game controllers, PlayStation Move, PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Remote Control, GunCon 3, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Keyboard and Mouse
Connectivity
Online services PlayStation Network
Best-selling game Grand Theft Auto V, 20 million (as of January 8, 2014)
Backward
compatibility
PlayStation (all models)
PlayStation 2 (20 GB, 60 GB and some (CECHExx) 80 GB models)
Predecessor PlayStation 2
Successor PlayStation 4
Website playstation.com/ps3

*60 GB and CECHExx 80 GB models
**Slim models only
***Included in box
****All except 20 GB model

The PlayStation 3 (abbreviated as PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It competed with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 27, 2007 in Europe and Australia.

The console was first officially announced at E3 2005, and was released at the end of 2006. It was the first console to use Blu-ray Disc as its primary storage medium. The console was the first PlayStation to integrate social gaming services, included it being the first to introduce Sony's social gaming service, PlayStation Network, and its remote connectivity with PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita, being able to remote control the console from the devices. In September 2009, the Slim model of the PlayStation 3 was released. It no longer provided the hardware ability to run PS2 games. It was lighter and thinner than the original version, and featured a redesigned logo and marketing design, as well as a minor start-up change in software. A Super Slim variation was then released in late 2012, further refining and redesigning the console.

The system had a slow start in the market but managed to recover, particularly after the introduction of the Slim model. As of March 2016, PlayStation 3 has sold 85 million units worldwide, putting it about on-par with Xbox 360, but behind the Wii. Its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released later in November 2013. On September 29, 2015, Sony confirmed that sales of the PlayStation 3 were to be discontinued in New Zealand, but the system remains in production in other markets.


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Wikipedia

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