PlayStation 3 launch

The launch of the PlayStation 3 into the Japanese market on 11 November 2006 marked the second major seventh generation entertainment system to be released. The system was released seven days later on 17 November in the United States. Introduction into other world markets was delayed by a shortage of diodes for use in the Blu-ray disc player; the device was launched in European and other world markets in the first half of 2007

NTSC region

Japan

The PlayStation 3 was launched in Japan on 11 November 2006 at 07:00am. There were reports that many of the initial systems were obtained by businessmen who paid mainly Chinese nationals to buy the system without any software to resell on eBay,and, as a result of this, there were more hardware units sold than there were games. Ridge Racer 7 was the highest selling game on launch day. 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan. Sony has opted to go with an open pricing scheme for the 60 GB model, allowing retailers to set a price point themselves.

PlayStation 3

The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, as part of the PlayStation series. It 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.

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. Major features of the console include its unified online gaming service, PlayStation Network, and its connectivity with PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita, In September 2009 the updated PlayStation 3 Slim, was released. This Slim is lighter and thinner than the original version, which notably featured a re-designed logo and marketing design. A further refined Super Slim design was released in late 2012. As of November 2, 2013, PlayStation 3 has sold 80 million units worldwide. Its successor, the PlayStation 4, was released in November 2013.