Sony Computer Entertainment New Zealand (SCENZ) has confirmed that the PlayStation 3 is being discontinued in New Zealand, signalling the beginning of the end for seventh-generation consoles.
The news was originally shared prematurely by Mighty Ape on Facebook, before the post was removed.
However, SCENZ has since released the following statement: "SCENZ will not be shipping anymore 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 stores will continue to sell PlayStation 3 consoles until they exhaust their stock. After that, they won't be able to place any more orders, though stores that deal in second-hand units will continue to do so.
Sony's PlayStation 4 has been available here for almost two years now, and it's been exceeding Sony's sales expectations worldwide.
The discontinuation of PlayStation 3 was inevitable, though this is perhaps sooner than expected; global production of Sony's previous console, the PlayStation 2, continued up until January 2013, more than 12 years after its original release in 2000.
NZGamer.com
