Japanese Stores Lowering PS3 Prices

Kotaku is reporting that the 20GB PS3 is down by 20% the the Akihibara district of Tokyo. Reports from both here and in Japan would seem to indicate that PlayStation 3s are sitting on shelves, as gamers wait for price drops or new games. The Tokyo merchants are anxious, it seems, and ready to get their consoles out the door. From the article: "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."

Comments

20GB don't matter too much

[fistfullast33l]

Bidding on the 20GB on Ebay dropped off first as well - why would buy the 20GB when for $100 more you get a 60GB with the wireless, card readers, and the extra disk space? A lot of the early adopters probably had a PSP as well, which really doesn't talk to the 20GB at all. So all in all, while this is something to note, I doubt you'll see this in the US any time soon.

Re:20GB don't matter too much

[CK2004PA]

Actually, the PS3 isn't selling in the US either. And its not because Sony can meet demand, its because demand isn't there. Sony released this news and MarketWatch carried it on 1/16 , Slashdot just hasn't carried it yet.
http://www.vgcharts.org/news.php?id=58

However, he continued, "The PlayStation brand doesn't appear to be helping the PS3. If NPD's numbers are correct, there are over 300K PS3s on retail shelves. That is not good for a console launch of only a million and it's not good for publishers with PS3 software."
Would you like some nails for your coffin?

Re:20GB don't matter too much

[Stormwatch]

Apparently people bought, and continue to buy, the Wii, 360, and PS2, just not the PS3 or its sister console, the Dreamcast.

Hey! Don't insult the Dreamcast! Not only it had many more launch titles (18) than the PS3 (5), it had far BETTER ones too... the PS3 has nothing revolutionary like Sonic Adventure and Soul Calibur were back in 99.

Re:Anyone know about the dynamics of retail/mfg?

[AKAImBatman]

I heard that for the initial launch of a product, the manufacturer bears part of the risk by promising to buy back some number of unsold units. Is there any truth to this at all?

It depends upon the agreement between the manufacturer and retailer. In the 1980's this practice was uncommon in the video game sector, and resulted in the video game crash of '83/'84. When Nintendo introduced the NES, they promised to purchase unsold stock back from the retailers as a method of reassuring them.

So... it sort of depends. I honestly wouldn't be surprised either way. With the Playstation 2 having sold well over 100 million units, I imagine the retailers weren't too concerned. Of course, we're technically talking about the Japanese market were American retail policies don't apply. So most likely, the store is on the hook to get rid of them.