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Pushsquare: Japanese Gamers Aren't Impressed with PS5's Price Hike

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/08/japanese-gamers-arent-impressed-with-ps5s-price-hike

The Blu-ray model, which cost ¥49,980 (~$366) at launch, will rise to ¥60,478 (~$448) – an unprecedented increase. And responding to Famitsu’s report on the news, many players are pointing out that they simply don’t need the platform anymore. There’s a lot of talk of transitioning to the PC, with some pondering whether exclusive Final Fantasy 16 will eventually be available elsewhere.

Many have also pointed out that they haven’t had an opportunity to even find PS5 stock yet, and already the price has gone up. Sony’s new-gen console has struggled to find its footing in Japan, due to a general lack of availability. Some major stores are running raffles in the country, with “winners” rewarded with the opportunity to snag a system.
 

mansoor1980

Member
not just final fantasy 16 every other exclusive is coming to PC

jimbo will soon join his friend OUTSIDE and ALONE IN THE RAIN

final-606895b03f80cc0093db3bdf-5.gif
 

TheDarkPhantom

Gold Member
Yes, it's still impossible to find PS5's here, I got lucky in January 2021 and was selected for one of those raffles after failing to be selected in a dozen previous ones, I thank my lucky stars.

A 20% price increase in Japan - especially under these conditions - is insane. I'm a Sony fanboy all day long but I'll always call PlayStation out on their bullshit, this is not a good look and will likely cause irreparable damage to the PlayStation brand in this market.
 
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TrueLegend

Member
Imagine betraying people of your home country. This is a new low. I really feel like another lesson is in works for sony. I have been supporting this company for years and I haver never seen it this greedy. For all you thinking I am making it too dramatic, the availability of PlayStation 5 in Japan was abysmal. Europe had a lot of PS5 drop compared to Japan. Sony was climbing back to being King with its Camera, TV, Headphones and ofcourse PlayStation success, but it seems they are going to be their own enemy soon. None of it is sustainable. What makes Sony 'Sony' is watertight internal processing and quality assurance. It's a value, not a thing that can be bought. Once it is gone, it's all gone.
 
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lh032

I cry about Xbox and hate PlayStation.
i mean price hike or not...its still way affordable than a gaming PC

Transitioning to PC makes no sense....its still a different platform with higher price entry point.

Unless they went to Xbox which is a different story, or a switch which I believed most of the Japanese already have one.
 
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nocsi

Member
Sony just shot themselves in the foot.
I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.
 

Elios83

Member
Lol who is gonna be impressed with a price increase? :messenger_tears_of_joy:
The transition to PC which is the most expensive platform by far as a solution to a 5000yen price increase is the icing on the cake of the usual clickbait article.
 

Chukhopops

Member
Consoles died in Japan for probably 10 years. It's all about handheld (and maybe PC and mobile?).
It’s surprising they actually increased the price the most in Japan when they are already lagging behind the PS4 (which itself was behind the PS3).

It’s pretty much guaranteed that JP devs will put more effort supporting the Switch and/or PC from now on.
 
It’s surprising they actually increased the price the most in Japan when they are already lagging behind the PS4 (which itself was behind the PS3).

It’s pretty much guaranteed that JP devs will put more effort supporting the Switch and/or PC from now on.
Sony doesn't have to worry about Xbox in Japan, that's why Japan is not a priority to them. There aren't many Japanese devs developing current gen only games to begging with and those that do are targeting a worldwide audience.

Once supply become less of an issue they'll send more units to Japan and it will be business as usual. Right now a PS5 selling in NA or the UK is more important to Sony than one selling in Japan.
 
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ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
How is switching to PC considered an option for people that care about cost? I love PC gaming, I'm a primary PC gamer, but I 100% recognize the cost of PC gaming is WAYYYYY higher than console gaming when it comes to initial hardware.

In the same way where if Nintendo Switch Lite price increased to the point where it is now just $2 cheaper than Nintendo Switch OLED. The players will now feel that if they are going to pay so much money for the Switch Lite, they might as well pay $2 more to get the OLED which can do more things.

Its an exaggerated example but I think you get the idea. When cheaper stuffs get more expensive, it makes other expensive stuffs look cheaper and more appealing than before because the price gap is narrower.
 

hinch7

Member
Imagine betraying people of your home country. This is a new low. I really feel like another lesson is in works for sony. I have been supporting this company for years and I haver never seen it this greedy. For all you thinking I am making it too dramatic, the availability of PlayStation 5 in Japan was abysmal. Europe had a lot of PS5 drop compared to Japan. Sony was climbing back to being King with its Camera, TV, Headphones and ofcourse PlayStation success, but it seems they are going to be their own enemy soon. None of it is sustainable. What makes Sony 'Sony' is watertight internal processing and quality assurance. It's a value, not a thing that can be bought. Once it is gone, it's all gone.
To be fair the sales of hardware and software for all non-Nintendo consoles have been abysmal in Japan for years.

The price hike is ridiculous for that region though.
 

Fbh

Member
Wait the original price was $366? Does that include tax? That's REALLY cheap.


i mean price hike or not...its still way affordable than a gaming PC

Transitioning to PC makes no sense....its still a different platform with higher price entry point.

Unless they went to Xbox which is a different story, or a switch which I believed most of the Japanese already have one.

Yeah complaining about the price seems weird as even with the increase it's still way more affordable than building a PC.
At the same time though price is basically the only thing Sony still offers japanese players. PC now gets almost all japanese games, including stuff like FFXVI and games which aren't on Ps5 like Octopath or Monster Hunter Rise. Plus cheaper games, free multiplayer and all the other perks of PC.

I don't think many japanese players are rushing to get Ps5's to play Horizon, God of War and yet another TLOU1 release.
 

jm89

Member
Jimbo would only really notice if European customers really started making noise, japan not so much.
 

Doczu

Member
Sony just shot themselves in the foot.
I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.
Animated GIF
 

smbu2000

Member
Wait the original price was $366? Does that include tax? That's REALLY cheap.




Yeah complaining about the price seems weird as even with the increase it's still way more affordable than building a PC.
At the same time though price is basically the only thing Sony still offers japanese players. PC now gets almost all japanese games, including stuff like FFXVI and games which aren't on Ps5 like Octopath or Monster Hunter Rise. Plus cheaper games, free multiplayer and all the other perks of PC.

I don't think many japanese players are rushing to get Ps5's to play Horizon, God of War and yet another TLOU1 release.
The 49,980 yen price above doesn’t include the 10% tax. With tax it was just under 55,000 yen originally.
The converted price is using the current exchange rate, which is about 137 yen/1 USD, which puts it at just over $400 now. The exchange rate at launch (Nov. 2020) was about 96yen/1 USD which was about $570 USD including tax.

Like other currencies around the world, the strong dollar has hurt the exchange rate.
 
No one affected by the price hike is impressed. Slow news day at Push Square.
Are you sure about that? Go to the GAF thread about the price increase and you'll find a few dozen die-hards commenting on how they see nothing wrong with this decision, implying that the PS5 should have been more expensive from the get-go, or explaining how "premium" products deserve a higher price tag :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 

Woopah

Member
It doesn't help matters, but the main issue Sony has in Japan is software appeal, not hardware price.
 

Reallink

Member
So what is the yen price of say a 3070 and i7/r7? Are they also 40% less than the US like the PS5 was pre-hike? If so Id be buying a PC too.
 
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Fredrik

Member
Everything made sense until they said they considered avoiding the platform to play on PC instead. Can’t even get a decent graphics card for the cost of a PS5.
 

TheMan

Member
Yes, it's still impossible to find PS5's here, I got lucky in January 2021 and was selected for one of those raffles after failing to be selected in a dozen previous ones, I thank my lucky stars.

A 20% price increase in Japan - especially under these conditions - is insane. I'm a Sony fanboy all day long but I'll always call PlayStation out on their bullshit, this is not a good look and will likely cause irreparable damage to the PlayStation brand in this market.
So you’re saying they shot themselves in the foot…
 

RCU005

Member
I've considered Jim Ryan a great choice for Playstation CEO, but I must say that he has his head way up his ass now. He is feeling invincible and PlayStation is going to take a huge hit with this nonsense.

PS5 is being affected hardly by cross gen games, now a price hike, and then they'll have to divide resources for PSVR2 which won't have more than 10% of the PS5 marketshare.

He is really starting to become the Matrick of PlayStation. I'll bet PS5 won't hit 100 million consoles in its lifespan.
 
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