PlayStation 3 Slim
Variant of PlayStation 3
- Manufacturer
- Sony
- Released
- 2009
- Generation
- Gen 7
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $299
- Units sold
- 87.4M
About PlayStation 3 Slim
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, followed by November 17 in North America and March 23, 2007, in Europe and Australasia. It competed primarily with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
1,450licensed games
- North America: 978
- Japan: 1,110
- PAL: 950
What's different from PlayStation 3
- Larger 120GB / 250GB HDD options at launch
- Lower power consumption (~190W vs. ~280W Phat)
- Quieter cooling (single larger fan)
- Bravia Sync HDMI-CEC support
- Matte black finish (less fingerprint-prone)
- All PS2 backward compatibility (software AND hardware — final nail; early Phat 60GB had hardware EE+GS, 80GB had software PS2 emu, Slim has neither)
- SACD playback
- 'PS3' logo flip (no glossy spinning logo)
- Memory card slots (already removed in later Phat units)
- Linux OtherOS support (eventually removed via firmware on Phat too — class action followed)
- noise: Loud multi-fan Phat → notably quieter
- weight: 5kg Phat → 3.2kg Slim
- form factor: Glossy curved Phat → flat matte rectangular slim
Lineage
Pricing
Launch price (2009)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $299
Controller
Sixaxis / DualShock 3
Launch titles & exclusives
Resistance: Fall of Man · MotorStorm · Genji: Days of the Blade · Ridge Racer 7 · NBA 07 · Tony Hawk's Project 8 · NHL 2K7 · Marvel: Ultimate Alliance · Madden NFL 07 · Call of Duty 3
None standard; many bundles included Resistance, MotorStorm, or Uncharted
Uncharted trilogy · The Last of Us · God of War III / Ascension · Gran Turismo 5 / 6 · Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3-exclusive for years) · LittleBigPlanet series · Killzone 2 & 3 · Infamous 1 & 2 · Resistance trilogy · Heavy Rain · Beyond: Two Souls · Demon's Souls (PS3 original) · Journey · Flower · Ratchet & Clank Future trilogy · MotorStorm trilogy · Twisted Metal (2012) · Folklore
Shakedown: Hawaii (2019) was among the last licensed releases on PS3
Demon's Souls 'Asia English' import (~$200+ CIB); MGS4 Limited Edition Bundle sealed; God of War III Ultimate Edition CIB; Atelier series limited editions; Mister Mosquito-tier import oddities
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- Cell Broadband Engine
- Gpu
- RSX Reality Synthesizer @ 500 MHz
- Ram
- 256 MB XDR DRAM (system), 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM (graphics)
- Sound
- AV Multi: (Stereophonic sound, 2ch), RCA connector, Analog stereo, Optical audio: (2ch, 5.1ch), Advanced Audio Coding, AAC, Dolby Digital, DTS (sound system), DTS, Linear PCM, HDMI: (2ch, 5.1ch, 7.1ch), AAC, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD*, DTS, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD…
- Os
- PlayStation 3 system software
Hardware revisions
- Original 'Fat' PS3 CECHA/CECHB(2006)
60GB SKU had full PS2 backward compatibility (Emotion Engine + Graphics Synthesizer hardware), card readers, 4 USB ports — the most collectible PS3 SKU
- CECHC/CECHE(2007)
emulated PS2 compatibility, partial
⚠ CECHG/CECHH; 2007–2008; PS2 compatibility removed entirely
- CECHK/CECHL/CECHM/CECHP/CECHQ(2008)
Yellow Light of Death (YLOD, BGA solder reflow failure) the platform's signature defect, comparable to Xbox 360 RRoD
- Slim CECH-2000 / 2500 / 3000(2009)
redesigned cooling solved YLOD epidemic
- Super Slim CECH-4000(2012)
final cost-reduced top-loading SKU, sliding cover
Launch colorways & special editions
- Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Edition (JP, 2009)
- Uncharted 2 Bundle
- God of War III Bundle
- Move Bundle
- Move Sports Champions Bundle
- Killzone 3 Bundle
- MGS4 25th Anniversary Edition (JP, blue)
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- Custom Firmware (Rebug, Evilnat, PS3HEN); PS3 ToolBox for management
Reception & legacy
Catastrophic launch — $599 USD price (highest console launch price at the time), shortages, third-party developer complaints about the Cell architecture's difficulty; recovered after 2009 price cut and Slim redesign
Removing PS2 BC was the most controversial Slim change — buyers who skipped the Phat could no longer play PS2 games on PS3 ever; OtherOS removal via firmware triggered the Hotz class-action lawsuit and the famous fail0verflow root-key reveal; some Slim units shipped on launch firmware that was already non-CFW-friendly
Cemented Blu-ray's victory in the format war; PSN outage reshaped industry security practices; The Last of Us and Uncharted defined cinematic Sony first-party output that continues today; one of the most architecturally interesting console failures-turned-successes
References
More from Sony
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