Japanese Stores Slashing 20GB Prices

[oasisboy]

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/01/ps3cheapinjapan.jpg

PS3 sales in Japan haven't cooled off, they've frozen. Consoles sit on shelves as gamers wait it out: Waiting for actual games to appear or prices to drop. Retailers, on the other hand, are an impatient lot. Retailers are also buying "used" PS3s at much lower prices than previously, paying well under the original sticker price. Just look at how the Don Quijote (http://www.donki.com/index.php) in Akihabara is slicing 20 percent off the 20GB PLAYSTATION 3. Nice 20-20 irony. The 20GB version originally books at 49,980 yen (US $412), but is being offered for 39,980 yen ($329) in a sale ending February. The shop is knocking a flat 10,000 yen ($82) right now. Japanese bulletin board 2chan (http://megalodon.jp/?url=http://game11.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/ghard/1169127452/&date=20070121061255) reports that this at other Don Quijotes as well. It's interesting to check out the PS3 vibe at 2chan; Reasons for not buying go from "there are no games I want" to "video stores don't rent Blu-ray movies." Well, not yet that is.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/japanese-stores-slashing-20gb-prices-230297.php

[Kaijufan]

This isn't a good sign for Sony. Still, it's a good sign for gamers who want a PS3 for a little as possible. I wonder if an offical price drop will happen soon in Japan.
I wonder if the same thing will happen in US stores soon.

[Animeguy]

Damn I would love that if I wanted one. Also has anyone check craigslist ? I just saw 2 ps3 60gb on there for under 400. I was laughing at it. Don't think they are real unless they need the money badly or broke it. Anyways I hope that happens over here before I want to get one. Still hoping to find one for about 300$


Side note OMG Wii are selling higher than the ps3s.

[blazerock]

i think it speaks to the fact that sony has made some serious timing errors. Mind you i'm patient enough to know that there will be some dope stuff coming out for the PS3 in the coming 6 months or so, but alot of people aren't as convinced.

The price i STILL contend is the LARGEST problem. and every other issue is kind of compounded-- i.e. the high price with no games, etc etc.

I like my PS3 alot but even i can recognize a problem.

[rodeojones903]

I like my PS3 alot but even i can recognize a problem.

I am in the same boat. I would be very upset if bought the PS3 just for games at this point in time, but I also am getting tons of use out of it as a blu ray movie player.

[dpatel]

Not surprising really. The "killer app" is a FPS.

[2poor]

Not surprising really. The "killer app" is a FPS.

Wasn't Halo the killer app for Xbox?

[Dr Mario Kart]

Wasn't Halo the killer app for Xbox?
We're talking about Japan http://www.platformers.net/forum/Smileys/platforumer/emot-eng101.gif

[Mechafenris]

I think once we see more games for the system, more variety if you will, we'll see an upswing. I mean, Microsoft indeed has a head start... but long-term the differences will weigh in and both consoles' strengths will come through more clearly... giving all of us gamers a better choice and keeping things competitive. We don't really want to have a clear, dominant winner... because that makes for a fat, lazy console... and we'll be playing worse games because of it. :)

Microsoft has always courted the FPS crowd, and will in the future continue the FPS-heavy portfolio... it's their "killer" app...

Sony is not FPS-light this gen (with a few big titles), but we tend to see as time goes on that their base will continue to grow as their AAA titles get shipping. Gran
Turismo, Final Fantasy.. etc... appealing to a different gamer, in some respects.

Microsoft benefited from a year head start by weathering their title drought on their own being the first out of the gate. I don't think Sony's caught with their pants down in terms of where they'd want to be right now, because they know they're competing in a 3-way race...But no mistake they'd like to have more of their flagship titles out there now to compete with the Microsoft lead... :D

It's not so horribly bleak, as it sounds... I think things will even themselves out... there's room for two big consoles I think... and the Wii being the gap or the 2nd console people pick up after going for one of the big two... (No offense intended... the Wii is a great console... Nintendo's just catering to a different demographic this time around...) They're doing fabulous so far too... :applause:

[David85]

The problem is the high price and lack of games makes no one want to buy it. With a small base the PS3 games will be ported to the 360 to make up for the uge costs of making a PS3 agme.

[Mechafenris]

Sure, it's a high price ($100 more than the 360 premium), but if its got games you want coming for it, it's not that big of a leap...

If you're a new gamer, or one that had no Sony experience before this (which might be rare... but I suppose it's possible...) the barrier of entry is the games when you look at the shelves. But I find the game selection to be quite fine for now... with what I know is coming in the near future (VF5 being the more closeup fun I'm ready to embark on), the Ps3 was an easy purchase (I bought the 20GB, because it's not as crippled as the $300 "core" 360)...

And yes, I own a 360 too. They serve different gaming interests for me... For those who can, it's the best solution... for those who want to make a choice and haven't yet... it shouldn't be about the shelf space now, but the shelf space in the future... because if there's a game you want on the PS3... well, it's not like the company's going out of business tomorrow and leaving you holding a $500 Blu-Ray player... ;)

[richbastard]

This is just the 20gb version,just like the no hard drive version of the xbox 1.5 (i mean 360) or the n-ds phat they are all going to die sooner or later.

[gunm]

I'd bite on a 20GB PS3 for $329. Don't need built-in wireless and can easily swap out the HDD. Too bad they are region locked--I'm definitely not importing Blu-Ray movies.

Just out of curiosity, OP, what Blu-Ray movies are out in Japan, particularly the Japan-produced titles?

[Mechafenris]

This is just the 20gb version,just like the no hard drive version of the xbox 1.5 (i mean 360) or the n-ds phat they are all going to die sooner or later.


The 20gb version is not the same as the "core" 360. The only thing you sacrifice on the 20gb (if you can even call it that) is wifi built in and a media reader (oh and snazzy chrome grill)

Since the HDD is user-upgradeable, having 60gb in the box is not that much of an incentive.

Now, on the core 360, you get no HDD ($100) and no wireless ($50) controller... (I'm not sure if you get decent cables, but then again, you don't in either PS3 configuration....)

I'd say the Core 360 is more likely to fade away than the 20GB PS3.... (and since MS won't let you upgrade your own HDD, you're stuck with 20GB until they decide to make a larger one... and you can bet it's not going to be $65....)

Just an observation...

[Mechafenris]

I'd bite on a 20GB PS3 for $329. Don't need built-in wireless and can easily swap out the HDD. Too bad they are region locked--I'm definitely not importing Blu-Ray movies.

Just out of curiosity, OP, what Blu-Ray movies are out in Japan, particularly the Japan-produced titles?

Well, thankfully they're only movie region-locked... but that is of little consolation if you're not in the US/Japan region (I thought someone said that the US and Japan were in the same Blu-Ray region, but I could be wrong about that...)

Region coding an locking is an aggravation companies should abandon these days... with worldwide releases and such, I don't see why they need to artificially balkanize the new format like they did the old one... (which I have a region-free player to avoid....)

[daphatty]

Japan and the US do not have separate region codes for Blu-Ray movies. That being said, try finding Blu-Ray movies in Japan...

This discount is nice, especially since I am now in Asia, but there still isn't a reason to buy a PS3.

[gunm]

My bad, US and Japan are in the same region code so they are interchangable.

That's actually pretty cool--too bad shipping that bad boy over to the US would be over $100, or I'd bite.

[Zoglog]

it's really funny how ignorant the public is about the diff between the 20gb and the 60gb.

But I guess it's not suprising since most people panic at the thought of swapping out any Hardware, no matter how easy it is.

[The Mana Knight]

The PS3 has already outsold Xbox 360 by almost 2X in Japan (despite the Xbox 360 having more games), so games that are more appealing to the Japanese market won't exactly be ported to 360.

Anyway, Japan gets Virtua Fighter 5 soon (They won't even think about the 360 version) and Gundam Musou soon, which can sell. Also, Hot Shots Golf 5 should push consoles also (The series sells around 500k to over one million in Japan).
i think it speaks to the fact that sony has made some serious timing errors. Mind you i'm patient enough to know that there will be some dope stuff coming out for the PS3 in the coming 6 months or so, but alot of people aren't as convinced.

The price i STILL contend is the LARGEST problem. and every other issue is kind of compounded-- i.e. the high price with no games, etc etc.

I like my PS3 alot but even i can recognize a problem.I feel the PS3 has a few decent games, but oh course there isn't many. I do feel that the PS3 does have some awesome downloads currently.

I really do hope PS3 picks up, because I admit I'm definitely impressed with the hardware itself. I'll be honest, I was VERY disappointed in my PS2 at launch (I liked the DC so much more) and I felt it just wasn't all that big of an upgrade compared to PS1 (only adding a DVD player, better controller, and better graphics). The jump from PS2 to PS3 was huge IMO (Tons of media features, HDD, network adapter built in, definitely an improvement on graphics, and so on). That's why it was worth $500, compared to spending around $475 on my PS2 (since I'm including memory cards and network adapter, which I don't have to buy with PS3).

GAF just said, there's no price drop. Just a specific retailer doing a temporary slash.

[Zoglog]

rumor debunked

http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25329411&part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6164563

Just a promo from a single store.

[dallow]

That's why I hate blogs taken as news.

[YoshiFan1]

I'd consider getting a PS3 for $329, I know it will never happen but the way they are sitting on shelves in the US as well it would be nice to see a huge price cut here.

[Dhuk]

I'd consider getting a PS3 for $329, I know it will never happen but the way they are sitting on shelves in the US as well it would be nice to see a huge price cut here.

20 GB are dropping at a rapid rate in price on ebay. But I am noticing a distrubing trend. PS3 sells below retail, the PS3 dosen't get sent. Scummy sellers don't like losing money, then don't sell something that dosen't sell, ala PS3.

[Moses144]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-PlayStation-3-60-GB-PS3-FAST-Shipping_W0QQitemZ190075795428QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6 2054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Funny how he tries selling it for this much.