PS3 shipments have finally ended in Japan. Sony's grill is laid to rest

That's it. PS3 is done. Retired. Put out to pasture. Sony's Japanese product page for PlayStation 3 now lists shipments as having 'ended', or being 'complete', depending on translations.

Gematsu noticed the recent update. Back in March we knew PS3 production was ending soon but there was no clear date. Only a retail rumour pointing to March. Now it's official, "shipment complete" says the Google translation of the page.

That has a certain ring to it, actually. Like it's done its job and achieved all it had to do. 

Historically, the console had a shaky start, with an initially high cost and an unfriendly development environment. However, it won out over time as studios got to grips with its unique Cell chip, and hardware revisions brought the price down. 

We've got an amazing old 2006 interview with then Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison on PS3. That's interesting read if you want to see what Sony was thinking with the console at the time (Myspace was a big influence on the online stuff, for example). 

And if you want a little bit of nostalgia then we've got a look back at what it was like to own a PS3. Remember how bad those triggers were on the DualShock 3? And all the attempts to make people like SixAxis motions control? 

If you've got any good memories of owning a PS3 then drop them in the comments, and let's all have a good reminisce.