At Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited, we’re for the players. Since 1995, they’ve brought unbelievable experiences, incredible adventures and a cast of thousands into the homes of gamers worldwide – and sent players out into the world with whole universes in their hands. The PlayStation 3 (abbreviated to PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2 and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It competed with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November 17, 2006, in North America, and March 27, 2007, in Europe and Australia.