The PlayStation 3 (プレイステーション3 PureiSutēshon Surī, officially abbreviated as PS3 worldwide) is a home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is 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.
The console was first officially announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 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, the PlayStation Network, and its connectivity with the 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, the PlayStation 3 has sold 80 million units worldwide. Its successor, PlayStation 4, is set for a November 15, 2013 release in North America, and will be released in Europe on November 29 2013.