Japan outlaws resale of retro game machines
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Mar 13th 2006 at 6:00PM }
On April 1,
Japan's Product Safety of Electrical Appliances and Materials Law (PSE) will take affect, prohibiting the resale of more
than 259 electrical devices made before April 2001. The new law was designed to prevent electrical fires, but has been
called into question by Japanese retro gamers. "Who do they think they are protecting?" questioned a shopper
at the Super Potato secondhand game store. Despite the fact that sellers are permitted to submit products for
recertification and that some devices, including most Nintendo and Sony consoles of yesteryear, have escaped the reach
of the law, PSE's bureaucratic web of exceptions and conditions has outraged gamers. Unfortunately, Japanese officials
have said there are no plans to postpone PSE.[Via GameInsider]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jay @ Mar 13th 2006 6:12PM
April Fools to you too!
Manoel Neto @ Mar 13th 2006 6:14PM
This will probably help increasing the prices of any japanese console prior the PS2.
Geez, I should've got some Navi Hi-Saturns and some NEC PC-FX units if I knew about that.
djSyndrome @ Mar 13th 2006 6:22PM
Ironic that you would use a picture of the Dreamcast, especially since Sega just started selling refurbished ones.
Max @ Mar 13th 2006 6:25PM
Got a vid of two dreamcasts http://youtube.com/watch?v=j0Mi1wPKtdM ^^
Michael Cicconi @ Mar 13th 2006 6:35PM
Possibly an early April Fool's prank? One already happened today ...
Bryce @ Mar 13th 2006 6:35PM
Sounds like good news for Nintendo and their virtual console in Japan.
Morder @ Mar 13th 2006 6:44PM
no...all electronics are outlawed that are like 6 years + old...due to safety standards...this has nothing to do with old consoles. if the safety standards are met, then all is fine.
dvddesign @ Mar 13th 2006 7:38PM
I'm happier than hell I bought a famicom back in August then... Now I just gotta locate an extra one to keep just in case...
GusGus @ Mar 13th 2006 7:40PM
I thought only FOX news put out alarmist reporting... http://www.mutantfrog.com/2006/02/22/2nd-hand-electronics-sales-will-not-soon-be-illegal-in-japan/
bandersnatch @ Mar 13th 2006 7:43PM
I doubt TIME would pull a April Fools but you never know...
Austin @ Mar 13th 2006 9:00PM
Yeah this has already been debunked on Engadget, I think that's where I read it.
Jeff @ Mar 13th 2006 11:34PM
"Yeah this has already been debunked on Engadget,"
It wasn't "debunked". The guy who debunked it didn't know what he was reading.
Some guy posted a translation of the law that may or may not have been accurate, and then another guy posted to Engadget saying that translation of the law said consoles were unaffected.
The problems are a) the translation was admittedly problematic, as the guy who did it said right at the top and b) game consoles were *specifically* mentioned as being covered by the law even in his flawed translation. I don't know if the guy just didn't read down far enough or not, but there's a category for something like "home amusement machines" (that's how it was translated, anyway) running on 100 volt electricity.
Anyway, you think Time (the magazine) is making this all up? Right from the first paragraph of the article: "On April 1, Japan's Product Safety of Electrical Appliances and Materials Law (PSE), designed to prevent electrical fires, will prohibit the resale of 259 types of electrical goods made before April 2001including some of the most coveted video-game machines."
The debunker has been debunked.
Mutantfrog @ Mar 14th 2006 12:23AM
Jeff, my later posting makes it clear that video game machines are potentially affected. The problem is that many sources are not indicating that it's an issue of inspecting individual items for resale. Technically there are no categories of banned items - ANY item can be sold as long as it passes the safety tests. Undoubtedly there will be products that are much more difficult to sell, and the law will very unfairly limit sales of certain kinds of collectible vintage music and gaming equipment, but even in the very worst case it will probably be possible to upgrade old equipment with a modern power supply and plugs so that it can pass certification.
Try reading our second post on this issue, that also discusses AC adapters:
http://www.mutantfrog.com/2006/02/22/straight-from-the-horses-mouth-meti-explains-stance-on-secondhand-game-consoles/
Also, the original article I wrote my post in response to made a wild claim that all second hand electronics would be illegal. It made no note of the certification requirement, or the fact that foreign sales are completely unrestricted. I believe that particular article was thoroughly debunked.
WhiteTigerShiro @ Mar 14th 2006 2:11AM
This is NOT an April Fools joke. The same assumptions occured when the SquareEnix merger was announced for April 1 a few years back.
The reason for it is simply that, in Japan, the business year starts on April 1st. As such, many changes that become implemented (be they new laws, or new companies) will often occur on April 1st.
To the best of my knowledge, Japan does not celebrate April Fool's Day.
mkp @ Mar 14th 2006 2:15AM
HAHA, GREAT APRIL FOOLS JOKE!
c'mon, Joystiq. Don't fall for that.
boneyard @ Mar 14th 2006 4:47AM
i don't believe it is meant as april fools or such, but i do recall seeing the news before and it turned out to be differently then expected i think.
Lampbane @ Mar 14th 2006 10:23AM
It's not an April Fool's joke. It an extension/adaptation of a previous law that applied to automobiles.
Kevin D @ Mar 14th 2006 2:12PM
Are you people tards or what????
Think of Sony (or ninty) pushing REALLY hard on the Gov't of Japan to squeeze out all 'old systems' being sold....
That would make the PS3 and Rev sell ONE HECK of alot more machines, now wouldn't it...
THINK PEOPLE, its all about the MONEY....
Mutantfrog @ Mar 14th 2006 4:32PM
Kevin-you're just being ridiculous. That claim might make sense for appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, rice cookers etc that are all affected by this law- but come one. Do you seriously think that anyone is going to rush out and buy a PS3 because they can't find a used Famicom disk system? That's delusional.
kisarazu @ Mar 16th 2006 7:08AM
First off, I live in Matsusaka, Mie-ken. Second, the Japan's Product Safety of Electrical Appliances and Materials Law (PSE) --isn't an April Fools joke. And third, the sales of some older consoles will be generally un-affected. Retro game machines are not "outlaw"ed as the title assumes... otherwise about 5 stores (within biking distance) are going out of business in two weeks.
Do you honestly think that modifications and new tech/power supply eq is not available? The way I look at it, people will just have to spend a bit more to pick up what their cherished consoles. The Mega-drive is not about to disappear forever people. (not that droves of people cared anyway)
Hamsterbaffle @ Mar 16th 2006 11:42AM
"To prevent electrical fires?" You've got to be kidding. This is a sweetheart regulation for electronics manufacturers.