Sony reportedly stops production of PlayStation 3

Production of Sony’s popular PlayStation 3 500GB model reportedly ended this week in Japan. According to the company’s product page, the shipment is marked as complete, suggesting end of production of the gaming console which was first released in 2006 and sold over 85 million units since its launch.
 
According to Gematsu, the PS3 500GB model was the only remaining PlayStation model to be in production in Japan. The report falls in line with Sony’s announcement earlier this year indicating support for the production of PS3 will soon end. This comes amidst Sony’s plans of further expanding the sale of its PS4 console. The next-generation console was first launched in 2013 and brings improvements in terms of design and hardware. Sony claims that the PS4 is about 10 times as powerful as the PS3.
 
If reports are to be believed, the company is also keen on expanding its PlayStation Plus subscription service. In order to attract more gamers, Sony aims to make the subscription more lucrative with freebies. Recently, the company hinted at changes coming to the service which currently offers up to two games per month free for download. ALSO READ: PlayStation 4 review: Sony scores a direct hit in latest console war
 
At the company conference, Sony Interactive Entertainment Deputy President Tsuyoshi Kodera explained Sony’s strategy to grow the PS4 ecosystem, which would involve investing in network services and infrastructure. While the company didn’t specifically mention as to what the June 2017 update to the service will bring to the gamers, rumors suggest the company might add a list of new PlayStation VR games to the list of offerings.
 
It is worth mentioning that Sony is yet to officially confirm production end of the PS3 500GB model. However, Gadgets 360 reports that several retailers in India have also confirmed that the particular model has been unavailable from quite some time now. The 128GB variant has also been unavailable.

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