The [b]PlayStation 3[/b] (officially abbreviated as [i][b]PS3[/b][/i][sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-3][4][/url][/sup]) is the third home [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console]video game console[/url] produced by [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment]Sony Computer Entertainment[/url], and the successor to the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2]PlayStation 2[/url] as part of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_(brand)]PlayStation series[/url]. The PlayStation 3 competes with [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft]Microsoft[/url]'s [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox_360]Xbox 360[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo]Nintendo[/url]'s [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii]Wii[/url] as part of the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_video_game_consoles_(seventh_generation)]seventh generation[/url] of video game consoles.
A major feature that distinguishes the PlayStation 3 from its predecessors is its unified [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplayer_game]online gaming[/url] service, the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Network]PlayStation Network[/url],[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-4][5][/url][/sup] which contrasts with Sony's former policy of relying on [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_developer]video game developers[/url] for [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_game]online play[/url].[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-5][6][/url][/sup] Other major features of the console include its robust multimedia capabilities,[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-6][7][/url][/sup] connectivity with the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable]PlayStation Portable[/url],[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-7][8][/url][/sup] and its use of a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video]high-definition[/url] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_disc]optical disc[/url] format, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc]Blu-ray Disc[/url], as its [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_storage]primary storage[/url] medium.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-8][9][/url][/sup] The PS3 was also the first [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Player_profiles]Blu-ray 2.0[/url]-compliant Blu-ray player on the market.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-autogenerated1-9][10][/url][/sup]
The PlayStation 3 was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan,[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-Japandate-10][11][/url][/sup] November 17, 2006 in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_America]North America[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America]South America[/url],[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-NAdate-11][12][/url][/sup] and March 23, 2007 in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe]Europe[/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania]Oceania[/url].[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-PALlaunchdate-12][13][/url][/sup][sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-autogenerated2-13][14][/url][/sup] Two [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock-keeping_unit]SKUs[/url] were available at launch: a basic model with a 20 [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabyte]GB[/url] [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive]hard drive[/url] (HDD), and a premium model with a 60 GB hard drive and several additional features[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-IGNPS3E32006-14][15][/url][/sup] (the 20 GB model was not released in Europe or Oceania).[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-NoSKUsforEU-15][16][/url][/sup] Since then, several revisions have been made to the console's available models, most notably with the release of a new slim model in September 2009 to coincide with rebranding of the console and its logo.[sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-CNETReview-16][17][/url][/sup][sup][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_3#cite_note-PS3SlimPressRelease-17][18][/url][/sup]
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