The PlayStation 3 (abbreviated to PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, formerly Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the successor to PlayStation 2, and is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It competed with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan,[8] November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 27, 2007 in Europe and Australia.[9][10][11]