PS3 price cuts in Japan, down to $329 for 20GB.

[Cheese007]

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 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 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-stor...ices-230297.php

 

It's only been 2 months! Is it doing that bad?

[ManShowBoy]

Wow, very surprising. I thought the Japanese were major Sony fanboys, that bought anything with the PS logo. I wonder if well get a price cut here.....?'

 

The economy isn't helping either, most people can't even afford to live in a shopping cart these days, let alone buy a $600 game system. Another thing is people might not want a PS3 because they figure they'll have to buy a HDTV too to really get the most out of the console.

 

Thats the problem with these next gen systems, not only do you have to pay out the butt for the console but you also have to shell out an assload of money just to play it on a nice HDTV. Who wants to get a PS3 and play it on a 20 year old piece of shit tv? Not me. You have to buy both to get the most out of it, thats why it will be a very long time before I own one.

Edited January 23, 2007 by ManShowBoy

[spacecadet]

Well, at those prices, I may end up buying the import to save some cash!

 

Remember, no region coding on PS3 games, and Japan and the US are in the same Blu-Ray region.

 

btw, I actually like kotaku and read it regularly, but you know, 50% of their stories from Japan are just completely made up, or at best are based on completely anecdotal evidence from Brian Ashcraft's personal experience visiting a single store in some isolated area. And they get called out on it every time it happens, but they just keep doing it anyway. I don't know if this is one of those stories or not.

Edited January 24, 2007 by spacecadet

[Cheese007]

If ANY store can't move PS3s out at $329 in a country that's supposed to be filled with SONY fanboys, there's something wrong.

[xenomorpher]

If ANY store can't move PS3s out at $329 in a country that's supposed to be filled with SONY fanboys, there's something wrong.

 

Lack of killer games I think. Hopefully things will pick up when the good games come out later this year.

[CGQuarterly]

Well just from reading that, it sounds more like a particular chain of stores is having a sale. Perhaps they either want to get out of the PS3 business, or were too overzealous in ordering PS3 units, expecting higher sales. This would be bigger news if it were an official price drop. That being said, if for instance target put the 20 gigger on sale for $329, it would be big news around here as well because of the speculation it would create.

 

I think that there is no question that the PS3 is getting off to a cool start, but as has been repeated many many times, we won't know what is going to happen this generation for at least a year.

 

Chris

[Flojomojo]

Isn't the 20GB version the PS3 equivalent to the CORE 360? Lame and unwanted?

[spacecadet]

Isn't the 20GB version the PS3 equivalent to the CORE 360? Lame and unwanted?

 

The 20GB PS3 is a lot more capable than the core 360. The core 360 is actually completely *missing* a major component. All the 20GB PS3 is missing is wi-fi and a memory card slot - two things that the pro 360 doesn't have either, and which aren't directly related to gaming.

 

It was different when Sony originally planned to not include HDMI with the 20GB version. That would have made it a certified tardbox. But it's got HDMI, it's got a hard drive, it's got everything else its big brother has for games and video output, just no wireless and no memory slots.

 

I'd probably go with the 60GB myself if the difference is just $100, but if I could get a 20GB for $329, I wouldn't worry about what I was missing. I think the stuff the 20GB is lacking is probably worth about $120, so the 60GB is normally worth it... but wouldn't be if the difference was more than that. (Remember that the PS3 also uses standard hard drives, so you can always upgrade your 20GB hard drive later.) None of it matters for games either.

[moycon]

If they drop the price of the 60gig model to $429.99, I'll be the first in line to snag one.

I wont hold my breath though, it'll probably be a few years...altho I dunno,They need to get these units in folks houses and not on the store shelves. I was recently looking for a Nintendo DS, was having a hard time locating one, but I saw plenty of PS3s on the shelves.

[Hyper_Eye]

The 20GB PS3 is a lot more capable than the core 360. The core 360 is actually completely *missing* a major component.

 

The HDD isn't required to play on the 360 though I would agree it is a major component. But, the core 360 can be upgraded to have everything the premium has which seperates it from the PS3 in which you can never actually have everything the 60g version has on your 20g version.

[jedijeff]

The 20GB PS3 is a lot more capable than the core 360. The core 360 is actually completely *missing* a major component.

 

The HDD isn't required to play on the 360 though I would agree it is a major component. But, the core 360 can be upgraded to have everything the premium has which seperates it from the PS3 in which you can never actually have everything the 60g version has on your 20g version.

 

Name something that the 60gb version has that you can't add to the 20gb.

[ubersaurus]

Isn't the 20GB version the PS3 equivalent to the CORE 360? Lame and unwanted?

 

The 20GB PS3 is a lot more capable than the core 360. The core 360 is actually completely *missing* a major component. All the 20GB PS3 is missing is wi-fi and a memory card slot - two things that the pro 360 doesn't have either, and which aren't directly related to gaming.

 

It was different when Sony originally planned to not include HDMI with the 20GB version. That would have made it a certified tardbox. But it's got HDMI, it's got a hard drive, it's got everything else its big brother has for games and video output, just no wireless and no memory slots.

 

I'd probably go with the 60GB myself if the difference is just $100, but if I could get a 20GB for $329, I wouldn't worry about what I was missing. I think the stuff the 20GB is lacking is probably worth about $120, so the 60GB is normally worth it... but wouldn't be if the difference was more than that. (Remember that the PS3 also uses standard hard drives, so you can always upgrade your 20GB hard drive later.) None of it matters for games either.

 

 

The pro 360 has 2 memory card slots. It also has a slot for a hard drive. THe only difference between the 360 models are the hard drive and what controller it comes with. Much easier to upgrade than the PS3, where you pretty much have to buy a whole new unit

[jedijeff]

Isn't the 20GB version the PS3 equivalent to the CORE 360? Lame and unwanted?

 

The 20GB PS3 is a lot more capable than the core 360. The core 360 is actually completely *missing* a major component. All the 20GB PS3 is missing is wi-fi and a memory card slot - two things that the pro 360 doesn't have either, and which aren't directly related to gaming.

 

It was different when Sony originally planned to not include HDMI with the 20GB version. That would have made it a certified tardbox. But it's got HDMI, it's got a hard drive, it's got everything else its big brother has for games and video output, just no wireless and no memory slots.

 

I'd probably go with the 60GB myself if the difference is just $100, but if I could get a 20GB for $329, I wouldn't worry about what I was missing. I think the stuff the 20GB is lacking is probably worth about $120, so the 60GB is normally worth it... but wouldn't be if the difference was more than that. (Remember that the PS3 also uses standard hard drives, so you can always upgrade your 20GB hard drive later.) None of it matters for games either.

 

 

The pro 360 has 2 memory card slots. It also has a slot for a hard drive. THe only difference between the 360 models are the hard drive and what controller it comes with. Much easier to upgrade than the PS3, where you pretty much have to buy a whole new unit

 

Don't stop there, keep throwing out your bs and prove your absolute ignorance of reality.

[Bilnick]

Name something that the 60gb version has that you can't add to the 20gb.

 

Wifi connectability?

 

I think the 20gb version can only connect via an ethernet cable, where the 60gb version can connect wirelessly and ethernet. I suppose you could add a third party wireless device to the PS3 as well.

 

60gb version has some memory card slots built in that the 20 gb does not, but a usb reader could be used to get around that. To me thats a who cares feature really, I would unload my pics or whatever to my PC before my PS3.

 

There really is very little difference between the 60gb and 20gb versions. The entry level PS3 is a better value compared to the core 360.

[Mendon]

Name something that the 60gb version has that you can't add to the 20gb.

 

Wifi connectability?

 

I think the 20gb version can only connect via an ethernet cable, where the 60gb version can connect wirelessly and ethernet. I suppose you could add a third party wireless device to the PS3 as well.

 

60gb version has some memory card slots built in that the 20 gb does not, but a usb reader could be used to get around that. To me thats a who cares feature really, I would unload my pics or whatever to my PC before my PS3.

 

There really is very little difference between the 60gb and 20gb versions. The entry level PS3 is a better value compared to the core 360.

 

The 20gb can be armed with the same features as the 60gb by using a Linksys Game Adapter and a card reader.

 

The only feature that the 20gb can't be upgraded with (to the best of my knowledge) is PSP Remote Play as that requires the WiFi and can't be duplicated by using the Game Adapter.

 

Mendon

[spacecadet]

The pro 360 has 2 memory card slots.

 

I should have been clearer - I meant generic flash memory card slots. Neither Xbox 360 has any of those to my knowledge.

 

It also has a slot for a hard drive. THe only difference between the 360 models are the hard drive and what controller it comes with. Much easier to upgrade than the PS3, where you pretty much have to buy a whole new unit

 

As I said earlier, the PS3 uses a standard hard drive, unlike the proprietary Xbox 360 hard drive. You can stick a 250GB SATA hard drive in either PS3 the day after you buy it if you feel like doing so. There's no need to "buy a whole new unit", and you're not limited to whatever hard drive Sony feels like putting out on the market. You can use any SATA drive, just as you can use any wi-fi adapter or memory card reader if you feel like adding those to the 20GB model.

 

I wasn't aware of the PSP limitation with the 20GB model, though; still, it doesn't seem like a commonly supported feature.

Edited January 29, 2007 by spacecadet

[Bilnick]

What is the Remote Play feature used for? I set this up on my PS3 and PSP yesterday, all it did was allow the PS3's desktop/dashboard to be shown on the PSP. Some things were disabled, mostly the game menu, I guess it won't let me play Resistance on my PSP .

 

Are there or will there be specific games that use this feature?

[misspent_youth]

I'm not sure why you guys are aguing as to who has the better econo-system? Aren't you just arguing whose marketing department is better?

[Gabriel]

What is the Remote Play feature used for? I set this up on my PS3 and PSP yesterday, all it did was allow the PS3's desktop/dashboard to be shown on the PSP. Some things were disabled, mostly the game menu, I guess it won't let me play Resistance on my PSP .

 

Are there or will there be specific games that use this feature?

 

That's about all it does at the moment. It lets you use the PSP to see movies and pictures on the PS3. Big woo hoo.

 

Maybe it will turn into something interesting later, because right now it's pretty lame.

[jbanes]

I think that there is no question that the PS3 is getting off to a cool start, but as has been repeated many many times, we won't know what is going to happen this generation for at least a year.

I have a sneaky suspicion that the market won't stabilize until Nintendo can meet the demand for the Wii. Given the excitement surrounding the system, my opinion is that an "objective" view of the market for consumers is impossible at this point in time. We'll only know for sure once the Wii becomes as old hat as the PS3 is at the moment. (Sorry guys, but the existing supply is meeting demand.)

 

The way I figure it, Nintendo has just realized that the demand for the Wii is staying steady even after the end of the holiday season. If anything, every console they sell seems to cause a viral increase in the demand for more consoles. So by now, Nintendo is probably tooling up new factories to build more Wii and Nintendo DS units. Seeing as how they'll need at least a few months lead time to bring those factories online, I'd say that the Wii demand vs. supply should level out sometime around... oh... June.

 

Sony had better have something of interest ready by then, because that will be their big chance to come from behind and bust Nintendo's market. Not to mention that it had better be good. Nintendo is holding a lot of first party titles close to their chest at the moment. The only games (that I'm aware of) with a confirmed release date prior to June are Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Party 8. Mario Galaxy, Strikers, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, DK Bongo Blast, and Animal Crossing are all "sometime in 2007". Yet since we've seen demos of many of these titles, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo is practicing caution by using the extra time to improve the titles while simultaneously waiting on the PS3 before flushing the pipeline.

 

Should Sony make a move, Nintendo could dump half a dozen new, "must have" games on the market in a short period of time. If Sony doesn't make a move, then Nintendo will continue to dole out their first party titles at a more leisurely pace; using the massive Virtual Console library to make the gaps seem more palpable to the fans.

[MCHufnagel]

Nintendo is holding a lot of first party titles close to their chest at the moment. The only games (that I'm aware of) with a confirmed release date prior to June are Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Party 8. Mario Galaxy, Strikers, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, DK Bongo Blast, and Animal Crossing are all "sometime in 2007". Yet since we've seen demos of many of these titles, it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo is practicing caution by using the extra time to improve the titles while simultaneously waiting on the PS3 before flushing the pipeline.

 

I saw in the latest issue of Nintendo Power that Super Paper Mario will be released in April 2007. Although looking at their Game Watch Forcast reminds me of last generation. There are 40 Wii titles on that list, while there are 75 DS titles on there. Reminds me of the GBA to Gamecube ratio.

[Atari-Jess]

I saw in the latest issue of Nintendo Power that Super Paper Mario will be released in April 2007. Although looking at their Game Watch Forcast reminds me of last generation. There are 40 Wii titles on that list, while there are 75 DS titles on there. Reminds me of the GBA to Gamecube ratio.

 

Oh cmon, the DS (and GBA for that matter) is much cheaper to develop for. The costs are lower, the time to develop is lower, the DS has been out a couple years and is established thus it is MORE PROFITABLE to develop for it.

[AtariJr]

Well, at those prices, I may end up buying the import to save some cash!

 

Remember, no region coding on PS3 games, and Japan and the US are in the same Blu-Ray region.

 

btw, I actually like kotaku and read it regularly, but you know, 50% of their stories from Japan are just completely made up, or at best are based on completely anecdotal evidence from Brian Ashcraft's personal experience visiting a single store in some isolated area. And they get called out on it every time it happens, but they just keep doing it anyway. I don't know if this is one of those stories or not.

 

wow really? thast a great deal then.. damn.