PS3 Production ends in Japan

Sony has formally ended production of the PS3 in Japan. After 11 years and 80 million consoles shipped, the last model to be manufactured, CECH-4300C, the 500 GB PS3 introduced August 24, 2014, is now listed as shipment complete.

The news comes by way of the official Japanese PlayStation site (via Gematsu). Shipments have now “ended”, which means no new units are being manufactured. It is likely the rest of the world will follow suit.

The Playstation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11 2006 and North America on November 17 with a total of 12 games at launch. The release date for the rest of the world was pushed back until early 2007.

When compared to the incredible success of the PSX and PS2 consoles, the PS3 had a rough start. The Xbox 360 had a market lead, Nintendo’s WII was coming onto the scene (and proved to be incredibly successful, but over time the PS3 made its mark on gaming history.

I bought mine when GTA IV came out in 2008 and it was the first console I bought for myself with my own money. When I look at the PS3 games on my shelf now I see the Uncharted Series, Red Dead Redemption, Metal Gear Solid 4 & 5, Heavy Rain, Batman… and the list goes on. I remember playing Resident Evil 5 in co-op and endless Call of Duty split screen multi player. I remember one of of my friends refusing to play any more Heavy Rain in case he killed one of the characters.

It’s funny how time flies and it’s impossible to summarise the life of the PS3 in a few hundred words. I know that my PS3 is not dead by a long shot, but this news is certainly the end of an era. For gamers it is most definitely a decade worth reflecting on. With E3 2017 just around the corner, let’s rewind to 2006 and remember the beginning of the PS3.

What are your favourite PS3 memories?