The PlayStation (プレイステーション Pureisutēshon?, officially abbreviated PS) brand is a series of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Spanning the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations of video gaming, the brand was first introduced on December 3, 1994 in Japan. The brand consists of a total of three consoles, a media center, an online service, a line of controllers, two handhelds and a phone, as well as multiple magazines.