The console has shipped 2 million units worldwide. This week, rumors spread that PS3 supply in Japan might be too abundant. Later reports on the Japanese 2chan forum indicated that the discount was also in effect at other Japanese Don Quijote outlets.
Within minutes of the pictures hitting the Web, anti-Sony fanboys were already touting it as further proof of the PS3's premature demise. Their theory: Surely if a console this new was already being marked down, it must mean that sales of the console are stagnating, right? The official story: After conferring with their Japanese counterparts, US Sony reps dismissed the PS3 sale as a single chain trying to promote itself. This is especially true for several PS3 titles from Japan.
Whether it's due to the lack of popularity, licensing issues, or some other unexplainable reason, there are several gaming gems that remain unlocalized and can only be imported by gamers. Here's a list of 10 of those games. The Yakuza series is pretty popular in and outside of Japan. Most of the games in the series follow yakuza Kazuma Kiryu.
In each game, Kiryu finds himself involved in a dangerous situation related to his past, often dealing in the world of Japanese organized crime. Nearly every game in the main series has made it over here, but the same can't be said for its spinoff series'. Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan! It follows a fictionalized version of Japanese historical figure Miyamoto Musashi, who has given up his sword and his identity for the name Kiryu Kazumanosuke.
Linked to being an ancestor of the main series' Kiryu, he finds himself dealing with similar troubles as his decedent as he takes on the assassination mission targeting a man impersonating him. Fans of the third-person shooter series Lost Planet might not know about the spin-off title E. Where Lost Planet has a more serious and darker tone to it, E. Troopers is a more light-hearted anime-style third-person shooter. The game follows rookie pilot Bren Turner who fights against hostile forces using his Vital Suit.
This has similar elements to the other games in the Lost Planet series, though T-ENG thermal energy , which had been used for survival and currency in previous games, is now used for gaining life and charging attacks. Combat is fast, action-packed and also features melee combat that's similar to Devil May Cry. Taking place during the Japanese time period known as the "Warring States," players take on fictionalized versions of historical figures.
Fans of the Dynasty Warriors franchise would be familiar with the series' hack and slash style combat and facing against a large number of enemies on the battlefield, using strategy and superpowered moves.
Despite doing reasonably well, the next game in the series, Sengoku Basara 4 didn't make it over here. It is an improvement on an already great game with polished graphics, and smooth gameplay. Apparently, they'll often get a shipment of PS3's in, and that will satisfy the demand for weeks. Also, he's told me that clueless people are STILL coming in, seeing the stock, and buying them to put on e-bay.
Of course, that's probably why they get at least one unit returned every week. Also, I went to Tuscon this past weekend, and there was plenty to be had there as well. Things are similar in the Dallas area. My coworkers and I noticed stacks of the things lying around at various retailers when we picked up our copies of WoW:BC.
That should say something about how well the Wii is selling, at least in Tuscon, AZ. Obviously, you're not trying very hard. Just pay shipping. Alternatively, put your zip code in and see if any local stores have some. According to their site, just about every Gamestop in my area has them. I'll give the grandparent one thing, there are places where they aren't everywhere yet. For example, try my zip code on the ebgames store list and you have to go 22 miles before you get a store that has any in stock for the 60GB model [gamestop.
Although, I'd think the area I live in would be on the lower end of the "PS3 availability" spectru. I'll use this to reply to both the people who said "22 miles isn't that far. My commute is actually a good 30 miles for there and back - 15 one way daily, and it was a few more over the summer internship - I'm still finishing up college. But to drive that far in the kind of traffic we have around here Not just Southern California as the you noted, but Orange County during any time when most.
I'm going to buy a Wii eventually Score: 2. Even with a discount, they are too expensive. Exclusive Titles Score: 4 , Interesting. Hopefully they drop the price on the PS3 in the U. I would sure hate to miss out on the next Shaddow of the Colossus.
Re: Score: 3 , Interesting. Of course, the price needs to be a bit more competitive with the I usually end up owning all the c. It's currently not possible to play Guitar Hero on the PS3.
Hopefully they will make a Guitar that uses Bluetooth so that you can do so, but until then, well, you could play it, but you'd have to use a Sixaxis, and that control scheme throws me all off.
It Might Sell if Score: 2 , Insightful. I saw a mountainous stack of PS3s the other day at Best Buy. People always make that point, but it's not really a very sound argument.
It's not like RFoM is the only game you will have to play for the entire life of the system. Early adopters just pay more to have the system earlier. Other games will come, and most people will expand their library. Maybe I'm giving the GP too much credit. Anything else that comes out and I'm sure there will be tons of things that come out will make that initial investment even better.
I could have much more fun spe. Sure so why not wait until those games come out and hope that the price of the system has dropped? Well, to be fair, the Playstation brand has never had a lot of really good games at launch.
Because Sony depends so heavily on 3rd parties, they're at the mercy of 3rd party dev schedules. Microsoft handled this problem by buying some developers and pushing stuff out the door early on. Nintendo is one of the most prolific game development firms in the world, and they had a lot of content prepared for launch, so they're always going to look better out of the gate than the competition. This bad press i. Who is losing money Score: 2.
Wouldn't they be losing a lot of money doing this? At some point, you realize profit is not and option, and it becomes a matter of mitigating loss. The "new sales" video game market is not a good place to retailers, whether people want to admit it or not. And thus the reason why retailers now have the option of returning the games to distributors.
See Atari 's ET for past issues with these rules. This is something Microsoft should do as well. They can cram as much crap into the "high end package" and charge whatever they want for it. The problem Microsoft and Sony face is that their "Basic Package", which is supposed to be the bargain version, really isn't a bargain at all. Both of these consoles have a "Basic Package" that is too expensive and is reflected in their sluggish sales.
Even though Microsoft can claim some sort of victory in shoving 10 million units out the door, neither of these are even close to where the PS2 and XBox where a year later. I see Sony heading down this same sluggish sales path unless the drop the price of their supposedly cheaper unit soon. This is all a reflection of how horribly expensive console gaming has gotten.
We might as well be spending our money on gaming computers instead. Problem is, at the current rate, Nintendo will have sold around 10 mio Wiis end of may. The situation over here is insane, I have yet to spot a single Wii in one of the stores here in central europe since launch day.
At launch day all wiis over here were sold out within minutes, and since then I have not spotted anything, but at least the situation has gone back to normal regarding the wiimotes and nunchucks, they can be obtained now almost everywhere that has happend the last two weeks The situation is e. Hey, we Norwegians make British salaries look like teenage allowances. Yes but the prices you oil guys have and also the taxes make Britain look like a tax paradise, it all evens out at the end ;-.
I agree but I have to say I do like Sony's basic package better than Microsofts. It's a package that you can live with. You can buy it and it'll work. We don't all need wifi or HDMI. The package isn't like that. Seriously what's the point? At the very least I give Sony props for not doing it that way. Is that so? And to think I've been told, again and again, that the PS3 will sell "no matter what" in Japan, because it's made by Sony!
It couldn't have been that those people were all talking out of their asses , could it? Re: Score: 3 , Informative. They're not there. Nobody in Japan wants them at all. The whole Wii thing was unexpected No, this was well into the period when the Wii hype was at its highest. Still Some Hope Score: 2. There's still some hope here for the PS3. Afterall, even if the retailer takes a loss to clear the shelves of consoles for now, those buyers will likely be back to buy games once more good games come out.
In the meantime, valuable shelf space is freed up for other products, like Wiis maybe. Re: Score: 2 , Funny. What's Spanish for "Engrish? It's like saying "Mejico" or "Tejas.
Well, if Sony is willing to buy back unsold stock I have never seen this idea in print before, tohugh I have heard it once or twice , they would probably only buy back at the wholesale value, aka the stores still take a hit Shipping, storage, etc.
However if the stores can move it a little bit above wholesale value, then they have a better chance of being in the black. Ah, schadenfraude Score: 4 , Insightful. Leave it to the Germans to come up with a word for "Pleasure taken in witnessing the deserved suffering of others. When someone gets away with something unjust or unfair, it hurts us a little.
Conversely, when their uppance comes, we get a little thrill of pleasure. This isn't actually a bad thing. I'm sorry, how is Sony making a video game console and selling it for a high price unfair or unjust to you? Re: Score: 2 , Insightful. It's not. Them fucking over loyal customers, lying, acting arrogantly and still expecting us to buy their overpriced console is unfair.
That's why it feels good to learn that people aren't buying. Of course, this all hinges on whether you think the things Sony did were unfair. One person's schadenfraude is another person's callous mockery.
Re:Ah, schadenfraude Score: 4 , Insightful. I guess it is someone's opinion whether they feel screwed over, but I still fail to see how Sony setting the price high on their next console is screwing over previous customers. People with monopolies do screw you over with pricing - I'd definately see your point if you were talking about Microsoft losing out to Linux or something, but at the point where you can say "No thanks, I'll get a Wii or or upgrade my PC for the newest and greatest games" I don't see how they've treated you unfairly.
But to each his own I guess. No one is saying it is unfair for them to TRY to get whatever they want from us. As I said, it's the rootkit, the DRM, lik-sang, etc. Thus, when Sony fails people are happy. People ARE saying, "No thanks, I'll get a Wii or or upgrade my PC for the newest and greatest games" and not only do they feel they've made a betetr choice, they feel they are doing their part to snub a prickish company.
At least that's how I see it. I agree with all you said but for me the best part is them getting a shot in the mouth after all of their cocky attitude. Their execs have been so arrogant and cocky about the PS3 it's fun watching them get put in their place.
The consumers have spoken. I compare it to a college american football rivalry or any sports rivalry. You go to the game and listen to all of the cocky fans for the other team talk about how their team is going to stomp you because their t.
Sony's Mistake Score: 5 , Interesting. In my view, Sony's major mistake was putting marketing in charge of development. Basically, Sony promised the moon and beyond, and delivered something that one would have realistically expected. However, they managed to deliver it in such a way as to alienate many of their customers and suppliers. Let's list out their recent Mistakes individually: Delivering a 6 hundred dollar console. Any rudimentary survey of the market would show this is just too damned much.
But they wanted to expand the market for blu-ray, and somehow convinced themselves that it wasn't too much for the next generation of gaming. Then realizing the losses, they actually raised the price for launchs in other parts of the world. Again, not engendering affection from their customers.
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