The PlayStation 3, officially abbreviated as PS3, is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series.
The PlayStation 3 competes 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, with international markets following shortly thereafter. As of December 2012, ovr 70 million units have been sold worldwide.
Some of its major features include free online play with Playstation Network, backwards compatibility with Playstation games, downloadable games, game demos, trailers, TV shows and movies, and its compatibility with the Playstation Portable and Vita. It is the only seventh generation console with the ability to play Blu-ray discs.
There have been two major revisions of the console, with the Slim version releasing in 2009 and the Super Slim version being released in 2012. All previous versions have been discontinued. The console is available in black, white, red, blue, and silver, with limited edition versions available in the various territories it is sold.
