Signaling the beginning of the end for seventh-generation consoles, Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand (SCENZ) has affirmed that the PlayStation 3 is being discontinued in New Zealand.
The news was initially prematurely shared by Mighty Ape on Facebook, before the post was deleted.
However, SCENZ has released a statement which says that SCENZ will no longer be shipping PlayStation 3 consoles to its retailers. It added that the platform is still available in retail outlets in New Zealand and is being supported with peripherals, back catalogue software and great new releases.
Stores in New Zealand will continue to sell PlayStation 3 consoles until their stock is finished. Thereafter, they will not be able to place any more orders. However, stores that deal in second-hand units will still sell the PlayStation 3.
The PlayStation 4 has been available in New Zealand for 2 years now, and has been surpassing Sony’s sales predictions worldwide.
The discontinuation of PlayStation 3 was unpreventable, however this might be sooner than anticipated; worldwide production of the PlayStation 2 continued until 2013, over 12 years after its release in 2000.