The PS3 has been discontinued in New Zealand, suggesting it won’t be long until it’s discontinued worldwide.
PlayStation New Zealand confirmed the news in a statement. If you’re in New Zealand, you can still buy the console, but Sony won’t ship any more consoles to retailers.
In other words, when it sells out, it’s gone forever.
The statement was sent to ThoseGamers.com, via Gamepur. It reads: “SCENZ will not be shipping any more PlayStation 3 consoles to its retailers however the platform is still available in retail outlets throughout NZ and being supported with peripherals, great new releases and back catalogue software.”
New Zealand is a relatively small market. It’s likely Sony is starting discontinuing the console there before the rest of the world follows.
We’ve contacted Sony for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Read more: Sony PS4 review
The PS3 has been on sale in New Zealand and the UK since 2007, which is a long time in console years. We’ll have to wait and see if some units are still on sale come its 10th birthday (23 March 2017, if you’re interested).
Sony recently said it wasn’t likely to release a follow-up to the PS Vita handheld console. It said the “climate is not healthy because of the huge dominance of mobile gaming.” Smartphones aren’t going away anytime soon, so it’s possible Sony will rethink its strategy before making any concrete decisions.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
