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In November 2006 (November 11 in Japan and November 17 in North America), Sony unleashed its latest home video games console, destined to become the head-on rival for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, released the previous year. The PS3 brought the Japanese tech firm hurtling into the high-definition era.
Sony faced a considerable challenge given the overall success of its previous-gen console, the PS2. Released in 2000, the mark-two version of Sony’s PlayStation earned pride of place in gaming history, as well as in the homes of gamers worldwide, with sales reaching 157 million devices. This record remains unbeaten to this day for a home gaming console.
A DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT CENTER
More than a mere gaming station, Sony’s black-cased monolith was billed as a technology-packed entertainment hub, setting it up as a major rival for the Xbox 360, which was winning over gamers at the time. Its main CELL microprocessor, designed by Sony in partnership with IBM and Toshiba, and its RSX graphic processor made it the most powerful console on the market at the time.
But the device’s real plus point was its built-in Blu-ray player, championing a new high-definition disc format that Sony was then starting to sell. At a time when Blu-ray hardware was still out of reach for many, the PS3 landed as the market’s most affordable player.