PS3 Launch

It's been seven years since the November 2006 launch of the PlayStation 3, and Sony has claimed its console has just crossed the 80 million unit marker.

In that time frame, 4,332 third-party games have been released for the console, not including downloadable games. A handful of Sony's most popular exclusive properties like Gran Turismo, The Last of Us, and Ratchet and Clank will continue carrying the pace well after the launch of the PlayStation 4.

This impressive statistic comes as a bit of a shock after the console's disastrous launch. An absurd retail price, a legendarily disastrous E3 reveal, and a one year head start from Microsoft's Xbox 360 had the invincibility of the PlayStation brand called into question.

The Xbox 360 crossed the 80 million mark just last month, taking eight years. Neither has been able to catch Nintendo's 100 million unit mark that the Wii set.

The PlayStation 3 did come into its own as my console of choice after one too many Xbox 360 consoles caved in on me. Increasingly impressive exclusive titles, especially from Japan, and the free content from PlayStation Plus proved to be too much to resist, and ultimately swayed me back into Sony's court in the end.

Still, the mark falls far short of the heavenly 155 million units the PlayStation 2 ended up selling. The best selling console of all time has little to worry about from its successors at being dethroned, and it seems like it might stay that way until we redefine what a console is.

I doubt the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One will reach that point unless they get supported for over a decade.