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PlayStation 3

ConsoleHome video game console2006

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles.

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First released
2006
Made by
Sony, Foxconn, Asus
Generation
7
Units sold
87.4 million

Overview

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, followed by November 17 in North America and March 23, 2007, in Europe and Australasia. It competed primarily with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.

The PlayStation 3 was built around the custom-designed Cell Broadband Engine processor, co-developed with IBM and Toshiba. SCE president Ken Kutaragi envisioned the console as a supercomputer for the living room, capable of handling complex multimedia tasks. It was the first console to use the Blu-ray disc as its primary storage medium, the first to be equipped with an HDMI port, and the first capable of outputting games in 1080p (Full HD) resolution. It also launched alongside the PlayStation Network online service and supported Remote Play connectivity with the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita handheld consoles. In September 2009, Sony released the PlayStation 3 Slim, which introduced a smaller, more energy-efficient design. A further revision, the Super Slim, was released in late 2012, offering additional refinements to the console's form factor.

At launch, the PS3 received a mixed reception, largely due to its high price—US$599 (equivalent to $960 in 2025) for the 60 GB model and $499 (equivalent to $800 in 2025) for the 20 GB model—as well as its complex system architecture and limited selection of launch titles. The hardware was also costly to produce, and Sony sold the console at a significant loss for several years. However, the PS3 was praised for its technological ambition and support for Blu-ray, which helped Sony establish the format as the dominant standard over HD DVD. Reception improved over time, aided by a library of critically acclaimed games, the Slim and Super Slim hardware revisions that reduced manufacturing costs, and multiple price reductions. These factors helped the console recover commercially. Ultimately, the PS3 sold approximately 87.4 million units worldwide, narrowly surpassing the Xbox 360 and becoming the eighth best-selling console of all time. As of early 2019, nearly 1 billion PlayStation 3 games had been sold worldwide.

Specifications

Manufacturer
Sony, Foxconn, Asus
Developer
Sony Computer Entertainment
Type
Home video game console
Generation
Seventh
Released
JP 2006-11-11; NA November 17, 2006; PAL March 23, 2007
Discontinued
PAL March 2016; NA October 2016; JP 2017-05-29
Units sold
87.4 million
Media
Blu-ray DVD CD Super Audio CD (some models) Digital distribution
Processor
Cell Broadband Engine
Graphics
RSX Reality Synthesizer @ 500 MHz
Memory
256 MB XDR DRAM (system) , 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM (graphics)
Storage
20500 GB hard disk or 16 GB eMMC
Video output
480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Online service
PlayStation Network
Controllers
Sixaxis, DualShock 3, PlayStation Move, Blu-ray Remote and others
Backward compatibility
PlayStation (console), PlayStation PlayStation 2 (some models)
Predecessor
PlayStation 2
Successor
PlayStation 4
Best-selling game
Grand Theft Auto V (29.52 million) (list)

Models

  • Playstation 3 Slim
  • Playstation 3 Original
  • Playstation 3 Super Slim

Model names as listed by IGDB.

Games

1911 PlayStation 3 games are written up here, with trophies, patches and what still works online.

See the PlayStation 3 games

More from PlayStation

Sources

The overview is adapted from Wikipedia and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.

Checked October 2026.

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