30 years of play

Join us for a journey through PlayStation® history and the consoles and games that made us. 

Japanese release

November 11th 2006

North American release

November 17th 2006

European release

March 23rd 2007

The PlayStation® 3 era built on the legacy of previous generations with incredible leaps forward in online gaming and digital services, while the arrival of Blu-ray Disc games allowed creators to expand their ambitions and build truly immersive game worlds on a grand scale.

It Only Does Everything

As well as introducing gamers to incredible single-player adventures and revolutionary online experiences, PS3™ became an entertainment mainstay in owners’ homes thanks to new music and movie streaming apps, and easily accessible digital games via the new PlayStation™ Store.

From its 2007 launch, PlayStation 3 went on to sell over

87,000,000

consoles across the world.

Changing the game

From navigating a revolutionary user interface to playing games in a whole new dimension, PS3 changed how players interacted with game worlds.

The XrossMediaBar

The wealth of new features and services available to PS3 players called for a new user interface. The XrossMediaBar (or XMB) put games, videos, digital services and more at a player’s fingertips, making the rapidly-expanding world of PlayStation easier to navigate.

Stereoscopic 3D

For players with a 3D TV and glasses to match, select PS3 games entered a whole new dimension. From the high-speed racing thrills of Wipeout HD to the action-packed adventuring of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, this setup immersed players like never before.

HDMI-ready

Games came into ever-sharper focus as the PS3 console kept pace with improvements in TV technology. All those fine details were kept crispy thanks to 1080p output available right out of the box.

Console variations

The PS3 console had a series of redesigns following its original chunky form-factor at launch.

PS3 ‘slim’

While not officially called the Slim, this smaller, lighter and less-power-consuming model earned the moniker due to its lithe look compared to its predecessor and was available in a range of hard drive capacities from 120GB to 320GB.

PS3 ‘super slim’

An even-slimmer take on the PS3 was released in late 2012 with storage options ranging from a lightweight 12GB of flash memory to a chunky 500GB hard drive. Just like the previous two models, this so-called ‘super slim’ PS3 could be used horizontally or vertically, but replaced earlier systems’ slot-loading drives with a sliding disc cover.

Blu-ray takes the stage

Welcome to the third space

PS3 users were greeted with a more orchestral swell on start-up, and a new wave design that carried through to the all-new XrossMediaBar navigation system.

As composer Takafumi Fujisawa told PS Blog, “The sound features the orchestra tuning up, to express that something is starting.”

New dimensions of control

Motion control arrives, shaking up the way we play and unlocking new possibilities in PlayStation gaming.

Sixaxis

The PS3’s original controller featured Bluetooth connectivity and added six-way motion controls – hence the name – and retained the ergonomic layout of its immediate predecessor.

DualShock 3 wireless controller

Featuring the same Sixaxis technology as the launch controller but with added vibration functionality, DualShock 3 became the standard for the console from late 2007 onwards.

PlayStation® Move motion controller

The PS Move controller used inertial sensors to detect motion while its colour-changing orb was tracked by a PlayStation Eye camera to follow the player’s position.

A one-handed device, PS Move could be paired with the Navigation controller for titles requiring analogue stick precision, and also inserted into the Sharp Shooter, a rifle-shaped attachment suitable for FPS games. PS Move is also compatible with the PS4, PlayStation VR and PS5.

Iconic PlayStation 3 games

Many PlayStation heroes were born on PS3, alongside all-time great games that are still being played by millions of gamers today.

Iconic PlayStation 3 games

Many PlayStation heroes were born on PS3, alongside all-time great games that are still being played by millions of gamers today.

MotorStorm

A PS3 launch title in Europe, MotorStorm was a blood-pumping off-road racer where players could control nitrous-boosted buggies, bikes, mudpluggers and more across courses filled with tricks and traps.

Resistance: Fall of Man

Insomniac Games’ alt-history FPS was a launch title in North America and Europe, immediately plunging players into a 1950s where the alien Chimera race is steadily taking over Earth – so, naturally, it’s up to the player to fight back and win the day for humankind.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Nathan Drake, Victor Sullivan, Elena Fisher – this is where these genuine PlayStation icons began their journey, in a rip-roaring action-adventure game that put us into the boots of Nate and had us collecting treasures and surviving epic setpieces.

Assassin’s Creed

Ubisoft’s first Assassin’s Creed adventure split the player between two characters – the present-day Desmond Miles and, more excitingly, the rooftop-rambling and sneakily-stabbing Altaïr, going about his lethal business in the 12th century Holy Land.

LittleBigPlanet

This charming puzzle-platformer introduced Sackboy to the gaming world, but while LittleBigPlanet’s pre-made levels were a lot of fun to bounce around, developers Media Molecule gave players the tools to create their own platforming stages and share them online for others to enjoy – a first for console gaming.

inFamous

In Sucker Punch’s open world adventure, protagonist Cole MacGrath discovers he can control electrical power. He doesn’t have to be good, however, and the game’s Karma system gave players a different ending depending on whether they’d used Cole’s abilities to help or hurt the people of Empire City.

Gran Turismo 5

Polyphony Digital took its critically acclaimed racing series online for the first time with Gran Turismo 5. Further additions included real-time vehicle damage and a variety of immersion-deepening visual effects. Eighty-one track layouts kept competition fresh, and overhauled handling had the cars feeling more realistic than ever.

Grand Theft Auto V

Taking the series’ open-world crime-caper formula but making it bigger than ever, the fifth mainline GTA was – and still is – a phenomenon. A deeply immersive single-player adventure and later a chaotic multiplayer playground, players planned heists under the Californian sun in the expansive and beautiful San Andreas location.

The Last of Us

Naughty Dog’s critically celebrated and cinematically inclined action gameplay took a darker turn for this journey across a United States devastated by a viral outbreak. Adding stealth and survival elements to polished gunplay and crunchy melee combat, the story of Joel and Ellie was an instant hit.

The digital age

As broadband became stronger and more reliable worldwide, PlayStation’s suite of digital services began to expand and become a cornerstone of the way we play.

PlayStation™ Network

An evolution of the PS2 console’s early steps online, PlayStation Network – or PSN – made online play easy thanks to PS3 launching Wi-Fi ready. Online play, downloadable games, Trophies, streaming services, social media and much more were suddenly in everyone’s reach and opened up incredible new possibilities to the world via our new online platform.

PlayStation® Store

This all-new PlayStation Store offered users a streamlined shopping experience running within the PS3 console itself, providing immediate access to a vast collection of digital games. The same easily navigable setup came to PSP too, ensuring a unified experience across home gaming and portable play.

PlayStation® Plus

PlayStation’s new subscription service offered games, multiplayer services and discounts to PS3 players, and launched with WipEout HD alongside a full game trial of inFamous and a handful of classic PlayStation titles. Things have come a long way for PlayStation Plus, which now offers subscribers an incredible catalogue of games from across the PlayStation generations and various membership plans to choose from.

PlayStation Home

PlayStation Home was a PS3 social space that grew to 41 million users, each represented by a customizable avatar, enjoying community events, minigames and a variety of areas to interact with each other in. Virtual versions of the PlayStation E3 booth within Home, and the 2009 alternate reality game Xi, which played out in real-time, was a massive hit with users.

2011

Japanese release

December 17th 2011

North American release

February 22nd 2012

European release

February 22nd 2012

PlayStation® Vita marked another evolutionary leap forward in portable gaming, with revolutionary new features bringing new elements to handheld play, while staying anchored to the spirit of console gaming with incredible experiences and blockbuster games.

The World is in Play™

PS Vita built on the promise of console-quality gaming in a portable device with a launch line-up that catered to all tastes – from affordable, digital-only titles like Super StarDust Delta to blockbuster adventures like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and WipEout 2048 that also came loaded on tiny game cards.

Changing the game

Putting a true console experience into the pockets of gamers worldwide meant innovations on a more compact scale, from how players interacted with game worlds, to building an interconnected ecosystem with home PlayStation consoles.

OLED display & touch screen

PS Vita’s premium screen offered a higher resolution for games and had them popping with clarity and colour. Touchscreen functionality came into its own on games like Tearaway and the PS Vita’s version of LittleBigPlanet.

Rear touchpad

Additional touch sensitivity on the rear of the PS Vita gave players increased options for control and comfort. Using this unique input, players take control of games in new ways, shooting with greater accuracy in FIFA® Football and activating special moves in the God of War Collection.

Remote Play

Many PS4® games – and a selection of PS3 titles – could be played on PS Vita via Remote Play over a WiFi network, allowing gamers to free up their TV screen and take their adventures on the handheld screen.

Amazing indie games on PS Vita

PS Vita survives the apocalypse

PlayStation TV

Some of the blockbuster games available on PlayStation Vita were perfect to be enjoyed on a TV screen as well as on-the-go. PlayStation TV used PS Vita game cards or digital downloads, allowing small-screen hits to be played at a bigger scale with a DualShock 3 controller, and later supported Remote Play from the PlayStation® 4 console.