PlayStation 3 production finally shut down

Sony has manufactured its final PlayStation 3.

The news has been a while coming - in fact, it's almost a surprise PS3 has lasted this long.

PS3's trusty 500GB model has managed to stay in production more than three years since PlayStation 4's launch. Alas, no more (thanks, Gematsu).

It's an impressive extended lifespan, but nothing compared to the 13-year production run of the PlayStation 2.

PlayStation 3 first launched in November 2006 in Japan and North America, and then March 2007 in Europe - around 10 years and two months ago.

The console's European launch line-up included MotorStorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ridge Racer 7, Virtua Figher 5 and Call of Duty 3.

More than 80m PS3 consoles have been sold since launch - leaving it almost level with Xbox 360, despite Microsoft's console having got off to a far stronger start.

PlayStation 4 looks set to sail past PS3's sales, however - the console is already on 50m sales, with plenty of life left in it.