Fans of Sony's gaming platforms will be surprised to know that the company has officially halted production of the PS3 in Japan. The move obviously pulls the plug on one of Sony's successful game consoles as it has reached the end of its generation. A few months ago, the Japanese electronics company shared its plans to end the shipment and production of the PlayStation 3 soon. It has been on store shelves more than a decade.
The official page for the 500GB PS3 model reportedly has a description saying "shipments are scheduled to end soon." Sony is expected to reveal the exact date that all manufacturing and shipment of the console will cease to function. Game Rant claims that the announcement has specifically noted that it is for Japan only. Therefore, it has not been confirmed if the PS3 end of production is a global mandate or kept local in Japan.
Games industry experts have also pointed out that once a game console has stopped in Japan, Western production will quickly follow afterward. The gaming industry could probably see the end of the Sony PS3 soon and it will be a global affair. Nintendo also ended the Wii U's production last year, which led to the global stoppage for the Wii U after the company failed to gain relevant third-party support for the console.
Sony's PS3 was able to sell more 80 million systems across the globe. It originally launched back in November 2006. Gamespot adds that people still continued to purchase the PS3 even after the PS4 was officially released. A Sony executive once said that the company will continue to provide support for the PS3 "as long as there is a good business there for us."
With PS3 officially retired Sony can focus more of the assets to market the PS4 and its games. Most of the newer AAA titles have only opted to come out for the current-gen consoles. Some speculations also claim that Sony already has a new flagship system ready for release next year. Games like Destiny 2 have partnered with the Japanese gaming firm to deliver more exclusive content just like it predecessor.
