Sony's PSX A Hit In Japan, PS2 Launches In China

Thanks to Reuters for their story revealing Sony's PSX 'media center' has been a major hit in Japan, after the PlayStation 2, DVD recorder and DVR combo "went on sale on December 13 in Japan amid a flurry of media attention." According to Sony boss Ken Kutaragi: "We sold 100,000 PSXs in the first week. It sells for almost 100,000 yen ($941) and it still sold out. There are no products out there that can say that." CNET News are also reporting that the PlayStation 2 has finally launched in China, after "the company... shelved plans for its December launch but failed to provide a full explanation for the change." The PS2 roll-out seems very low-key indeed, though, as "the electronics giant cut down its distribution to two cities from the original five."

Comments

It might be making money now...

[Realistic_Dragon]

...but what happens when Sony get sued by TiVo for including a PVR?

Re:It might be making money now...

[Travoltus]

With as much money as Sony has? Hardly anything at all, I bet.

$941???

[Anonymous Coward]

You could buy all the different players seperate and still come out ahead, sheesh.

Re:$941???

[iainl]

"You could buy all the different players seperate and still come out ahead"

Yes, you could. However, they wouldn't then be all in one stylish box. Sony haven't really made much fuss about these boxes being aimed at anyone other than people who want cool gadgets that look good next to their plasma screens and iMacs; boxes aimed at the more cost-conscious buyer, or at least price-cuts to reach them, will come once the first lot have been sold for a fortune, just like with the PS2.

Re:$941???

[Golias]

It's not just about style. Little all-in one devices (such as the PSX and the iMac) are popular in Japan because Japan is a tiny island with about 150 million people on it. Anything that saves space is worth a premium, because housing there makes an American efficiency apartment look like a mansion.

I don't really care if I need to set an entire room aside, separate from the media room, for just my entertainment devices. My "server closet" is practically a walk-in, and I'm fine with that. I've got plenty of space. Most Japanese people, even if they are well off, don't have that luxury.

Re:The wisdom of integrated components?

[Max Romantschuk]

The thought of shelling out ~$1000 for a box that does so much fills me with slight dread <snip> When it breaks at best you lose a lot of stuff while it is repaired under warranty - which still costs you mony (time, shipping) - at least if it was just your PS2 or your DVR that broke you could entertain yourself in the meantime. Not to mention the fact that as seperate parts it would probably be cheaper...

Then again, a lot of people simply don't want to tweak/assemble their own hardware. They want a box which does what it does, and they don't want to know how it does it.

Judging from the sales, Sony seems to have delivered.

The Chinese don't like Japan

[lazyl]

The PS2 roll-out [in China] seems very low-key indeed

Many Chinese (including those under 30) are still quite upset at the Japanese over the Sino-Japan War atrocities they committed, and would never consider buying a legit PS2 from Sony when they could easily get a black market, pre-modded one for a fraction of the price.

Apple says it every day...

[adzoox]

"[High Price] ...It sells for almost 100,000 yen ($941) and it still sold out. There are no products out there that can say that." Apple says that about the iPod all the time. They sold 740K of a high priced product (vs the competition) and usually upon ANY introduction it makes (PowerBook, iBook, G5) it sells the first two shipments in the channel in a matter of days. Anybody that makes a cool a product (regardless of price) will sell out. If Sony releases that iPod/Playstation/VideoPod cell phone, all in one - they'll sell it out within a matter of hours for several months straight.

Noise level in comparison to PS2

[Kingpin]

Anyone know if this is as noisy as the PS2?

Space considerations

[bryanp]

I was wondering if someone would beat me to this post. People who haven't lived in Japan just don't seem to grasp just how much space is at a premium. Flatscreen monitors and wallhanging plasma tv's sell in droves not just because they're "cool" but because they allow people to reclaim space.

I think too many people base their ideas of Japanese life on anime. Most of the apartments and houses in those shows are unrealistic. Think "Friends" where a bunch of people with mediocre jobs somehow manage to have apartments in NYC that would cost ridiculous amounts of money in the real world.

Re:Supply and demand in Europe

[bfree]

I live in Ireland. I have yet to see the first Tivo like appliance in the stores for average consumers (the closest we come is Sky's Sky+ which only works with sky's satellite TV). I think that TV Listings are the primary issue for the slow roll out of these products into different countries. I personally suspect the PS3 will probably be the first real product to hit Ireland with this, Sony having "perfected" the system with the PSX in Japan will probably carry it forward worldwide.

Re:What happens when PS3 comes out?

[aliens]

Last time I checked, when a new system comes out you can still play your old one.

That and with the popularity of the PS2, you will be seeing games coming out for it a couple of years into the PS3 era.

And a few years is also a DAMN long time! Unless you're a 500 year old being getting 3-5 years out of a device seems like a good deal to me.

I mean why get the PS3, in just a few more years the PS2012 will be out and you'll have wasted your money on the PS3.