And Then There Were None
All things must end. For Japan, Sony’s PlayStation 3 – and the seventh generation of video game consoles – has reached that point.
The official Japanese PlayStation website shows the standard 500GB variant of the console ceasing production in Japan in the near future. The 500GB model is the only one still being produced in Japan. According to a tweet from a game shop in Fukuoka (translated courtesy of Gematsu), production will end sometime in March. The official site only states that “shipments are scheduled to end soon.”
てんちょうです。
2017年3月。つまり今月をもってPS3の出荷が完了となるそうです。つまり生産終了という事ですね。
2006年の11月11日に発売されてから10年ちょっと。まさかこんなに長い間現役で頑張るとは当時は思いもしませんでした。
何はともあれお疲れ様ですね！— ゲームショップVITA久留米店 (@VITA_Kurume) March 16, 2017
If so, this marks the beginning of the end for Sony’s seventh-generation powerhouse. The console was officially announced during E3 2005 and released in Japan on November 11th, 2006. As the first console to feature a Blu-Ray player, it was expected to be expensive, but its $499 starting price tag was a source of consternation for many gamers. Initial sales were sluggish, but a revamped Slim model which removed backwards-compatibility and lowered the price tag righted the ship.
Sony’s PS3 is currently still the last console of the seventh generation still under some production. Back in April 2016, Xbox head Phil Spencer announced the end of production for the Xbox 360. Nintendo, meanwhile, ceased production of the Wii on October 2013.
The PS3 has sold over 86 million consoles worldwide, notching it up as the 6th most successful console in history. The end of its run in Japan is a sure sign that production will be winding down worldwide.
