| The PlayStation 3 (officially marketed
PLAYSTATION 3, commonly abbreviated 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.
A major feature that distinguishes the
PlayStation 3 from its predecessors is its unified online gaming service,
the PlayStation Network, which contrasts with Sony's former policy of relying
on game developers for online play. Other major features of the console
include its robust multimedia capabilities, connectivity with the PlayStation
Portable, and its use of a high-definition optical disc format, Blu-ray
Disc, as its primary storage medium. The PS3 was also the first Blu-ray
2.0-compliant Blu-ray player on the market.
The PlayStation 3 was first released
on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and
March 23, 2007 in Europe and Oceania. Two SKUs were available at launch:
a basic model with a 20 GB hard drive (HDD), and a premium model with a
60 GB hard drive and several additional features (the 20 GB model was not
released in Europe or Oceania). Since then, several revisions have been
made to the console's available models. |
