PlayStation 3 arrived in Japan and North America in November 2006, with Europe following in March 2007. This was PlayStation moving into HD, Blu-ray, and a much more connected c…

PlayStation 3 arrived in Japan and North America in November 2006, with Europe following in March 2007. This was PlayStation moving into HD, Blu-ray, and a much more connected console experience. The system could handle games, movies, downloads, and other media through the XMB menu. The PlayStation Store also made downloading games part of the console itself. Having all of that on one machine changed what people expected a game system to do once they turned it on. The controller went wireless with Bluetooth and added motion sensing through Sixaxis. DualShock 3 later brought vibration back alongside those motion controls. Sony also revised the console itself, with a smaller model in 2009 and another redesign in 2012. But the games are where you can really see the generation develop. Uncharted introduced Nathan Drake and built its action around climbing, shooting, and big cinematic sequences. LittleBigPlanet gave players tools to build and share their own stages. By 2013, The Last of Us was bringing Joel and Ellie’s story to that same console. The PS3 library covered a lot of ground between those experiences, from player-created levels to tightly directed, character-focused adventures.