Sony Ends PS3 Production in Japan

It seems that the PS3 is finally on its way out. The 500GB PS3 - which was, until a couple of months ago, the only variant in production in Japan has ended its production run.

This comes via the official PlayStation Japan website that lists the PS3 500GB shipments as “ended” according to a translation from gaming blog Gematsu.

Earlier in the year, Sony's site stated that “shipments are scheduled to end soon” for the 500GB PS3, which was at the time the only remaining PS3 in production in Japan.

As for India, several retailers speaking to Gadgets 360 have confirmed that the 500GB PS3 has been unavailable for the better part of a year, while the 12GB variant has also been tough to get a hold of.

“We haven’t received any PS3 stock since November, and the demand hasn’t been there either. Not for the console nor the games,” says an independent game store owner based in Delhi.

What’s more is sources in the supply chain claim that Sony India’s focus has been squarely on the PS4 with the goal to double its sales on that console. So much so that the PS3 has not shown up on order lists that the company sends to game stores on a monthly basis.

And while Sony India hasn’t commented on this just yet, we won’t be surprised if the axe has silently fallen on the PS3. Launched in November 2006, it was a tough sell after being announced with a $599 price point by Sony’s Kaz Hirai.

However, it managed to recover thanks to a host of solid exclusives and astute price cuts ending up selling close to 84 million units, with around 350,000 of them in India.