The PlayStation (プレイステーション, officially abbreviated as PS; unofficially referred to as the PS-X or PS1) is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, 1994. The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. Upgrades and variants include the Net Yaroze and the PS One, with the PlayStation 2 being the console's successor. The PlayStation was the first "computer entertainment platform" to ship 100 million units, which it had reached 9 years and 6 months after its initial launch. Sony ceased production of the PlayStation on March 23, 2006, eleven years after it was released.