Final Fantasy III and black DS Lite editions head to Japan

by Blake Snow { Jul 12th 2006 at 9:30AM }

Square-Enix is selling a bundle package of Final Fantasy III and a limited edition "Crystal White" DS Lite when the game launches this August 24 in Japan. This special edition DS features the artwork of Akihiko Yoshida and retails for a cool $198 even though the game itself costs $52.

In related Japan-gets-good-DS-loving, the Black DS Lite currently available in Europe is coming to Japan on September 2 for $142 smackers.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Andres @ Jul 12th 2006 9:52AM

first. maybe. anyway, this sounds like a ps3 killer.

kidding, fanboys. I jsut like the sound of this, and I'll first in line to consider buying it.

J @ Jul 12th 2006 9:55AM

Man... I want it!

Andres @ Jul 12th 2006 9:59AM

second

Jay @ Jul 12th 2006 10:00AM

wow, if the character artwork is very light then this would be the most beautiful DS to grace ever.

Marc @ Jul 12th 2006 10:13AM

So, nothing for America? Aww to hell with it. I'm tired of waiting for Nintendo to announce new colors.

I'm getting a white DS lite NOW!

(although when I leave the store Nintendo would probably announce 4 new colors for America. That ALWAYS happens to me.) :(

Paul P. @ Jul 12th 2006 10:16AM

$52 for a DS game? Hold the phone. Is that the normal price in Japan or does Square think their games are so much higher quality they can charge an extra $20?

J Ron @ Jul 12th 2006 10:19AM

I hope they do this in the US!

Also why did they repeat apple's mistake and make it so that the artwork was upside down when the DS is open and being used? (remember the upside down apple logo on the notebooks?)

On and.... Why the do these 12 year olds have to say "First post" "second post" GROW THE HELL UP!

TravistyOJ @ Jul 12th 2006 10:29AM

Yet another awesome extra that will never see US shores. :(

patrick @ Jul 12th 2006 10:33AM

liksang it if you want it that bad.

and I also express concern over a $52 price tag. I mean the game looks awesome, but 52 bucks? That seems like unfair price gouging.

idioteraser @ Jul 12th 2006 10:37AM

Square usually charges 72 bucks for their no frills PS2 games in Japan. It's why they wanted to kill the used gaming market in Japan. For example Final Fantasy 12 sells a million in it's first week. The hardcore being the first to buy beats it in a week. Those games turn in the used game shops and are sold for 48 bucks. A million copies in the used game market are sold to the more casual. Less then a hundred thousand copies are sold the reminder of the month brand new.

It's why Final Fantasy 12 dropped off the charts so fast. Nintendo games on the other hand tend to avoid going into the used game market.

Sony would like to kill the used game market because each and every PS2 game falls off the chart in Japan ultra fast.

Only the DS and gamecube games avoid the used market oversaturation.

devin13 @ Jul 12th 2006 10:38AM

too bad the DS sucks.

Jeff @ Jul 12th 2006 10:41AM

"and I also express concern over a $52 price tag. I mean the game looks awesome, but 52 bucks? That seems like unfair price gouging."

Not sure what the price actually is in yen, but that's not really expensive for a Japanese game. A lot of new PS2 games sell for 7800 yen, which is around $70. 3800 or 4800 are more standard for portable games. $52 sounds like it's probably 5800 yen - I'm not sure if that's really out of line or if that's just "premium" pricing. But there's really no one standard price tag for games in Japan.

RyanV @ Jul 12th 2006 10:45AM

I've been waiting for the black DS ever since i saw them announced... if they are on their way to Japan, North America cant be too far behind. I'll definitely keep waiting.

chris @ Jul 12th 2006 11:26AM

While the new DS design looks good, im more than happy with my Black DS in the good old EU. Im not sure of the normal DS pricing in USA/JAPAN but the UK should get this for £35 at the most.

n8dogg @ Jul 12th 2006 11:29AM

Whoo, go idioteraser for saying that Nintendo can so deftly avoid the "used market" without exactly saying why!

I see you're still up to your usual standards!

On topic: GODDAMN YOU NINTENDO. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE DIFFERENT COLORS. And if you HAVE to make different colors, why the hell don't you release all of them at once? Or at the very least, IN THE UNITED STATES. YOU KNOW, ABOUT ONE WHOLE THIRD OF YOUR FANBASE??!!

UGH. They always pull this shit. I wanted a DS Lite so badly, so I gave Nintendo my money on the day they released their system. Now, I find that my early patronage is punished as I'm missing out one some sweet looking handhelds.

Y'know, I thought the whole faceplate business on the 360 was rediculous, but at least if you wanted your system to look a certain way, you didn't have to buy another fucking system.

PiratePete @ Jul 12th 2006 11:47AM

^^ yep it's Ninny up to it's old tricks in having N. America have to wait till who knows when before they start selling the black DS Lite over here. There is absolutely not reason why they can't release it over here. It's that same arrogant attitude that they have and always had. Man, I know they get a lot of love from people but they really do treat their N. America customer base like crap most of the time. Can some one explain to me what's the hold up of the black DS Lite coming to N. America? Why would they do that when they know that it would be an absolutely, guaranteed big seller over here?

Michael @ Jul 12th 2006 11:56AM

yo, you could just get stickers for your ds.

BassMaster @ Jul 12th 2006 12:07PM

Does anyone have any links to good FF3 videos?

Aran @ Jul 12th 2006 12:10PM

@ PiratePete (15.)

Why are you complaining about N.America getting bad treatment from Nintendo? What was the date you guys had your DS Lite in N.America? I remember reading news and comments about "DS Lite Buyer's Guide" etc. when DS Lite's Europe Release was weeks away. Was it worth complaining? No. Was the few weeks worth waiting? Yes.

And if you want the different color so badly, then why don't you import it somewhere? Also I bet you can wait few weeks for getting it officially.

In mean time, why don't you try PSP? It has some great games... Just kidding! :D

Mike @ Jul 12th 2006 12:11PM

"I'm getting a white DS lite NOW! (although when I leave the store Nintendo would probably announce 4 new colors for America. That ALWAYS happens to me.)"

Marc - on behalf of everyone waiting for a Navy Enamel US DS Lite, please buy your white one today! :-)

thrillho @ Jul 12th 2006 12:16PM

America, we got the original DS first, remember?

Brian @ Jul 12th 2006 12:31PM

If they announce that FFIII bundle in America, I'll return my white DS Lite instantly with receipt in hand...

mandarin @ Jul 12th 2006 12:47PM

By the way, whats his name, the nintendo USA vp guy reads joystiq.

This is addressed to him:
I havent bought a DS yet because I dont want the white one. Im pretty sure you are rushing this to come out soon. However my attention will diminish so strike while the iron is hot right?

PiratePete @ Jul 12th 2006 12:55PM

@ Aran

I was pointing out the fact that there is absolutely no reason why Nintendo could not of released the Black, White, Navy, or what ever colour DS Lite in N. America the same time or shortly after it was released elsewhere.
They were able to release the white ver. why not the black also? Why is it that other regions have to get only one particular colour while others get multiple?
AND as a loyal customer why the heck should I have to in the end pay more for the same product which only difference is the colour it comes in by importing it when it could of as easily been sold here?
Why?
Also, I'm a bit older then you so I still remember the days when we had to wait almost a year from the launch of the super famicom in Japan to the launch of the SNES in N. America and then when it finally came here why it looked so dull (Not that it really mattered in the end) compared to the colourful SFC.
Lets not get into the fact that the best and most interesting games were released in Japan only (Yes, yes some of those Nintendo didn't have much control over and I've already heard the "cultural differences" excuse but that could of been worked on if they really wanted to).
Sure, things are a lot better now then they were back then but what's the reason for this now?
Have they even announced when they will be shipping the black DS Lite to N. America if ever? It's not like they said it was coming.
It just seems that it's being assumed that it will eventually.

idioteraser @ Jul 12th 2006 1:25PM

The reason why Nintendo only got one color is because each color for each region takes a chunck of the 2.2 million DS lite production run.

If they have to add another color it means more DS lites have to be produced or another color has to be reduced in it's production chunck.

Nintendo games are considered worthy of being kept by it's playerbase. Most Nintendo first party titles are kept by their buyers so the used game market for such titles is limited. Is that enough of a explanation for the used game situation Sony Defense Force Moron by the name ofn8doog? Do I have to spell things out in words consisting of less then three syllables?

James @ Jul 12th 2006 1:27PM

Okay guys, I'm as ticked off as the rest of you about the new colors coming out elsewhere, and Right now, i'm considering importing. So, tell me this; On Lik-Sang.com, what is the difference between the Black DS Lite, which usually ships within the week, and the Jet Black DS Lite, which won't be out until Sept 2nd? Please tell me!

shivr @ Jul 12th 2006 1:29PM

jez all this whining about color, quite childish.

manuel @ Jul 12th 2006 2:04PM

#11 (Jeff)
The suggested retail price is 5980 Yen.
amazon has it for 5262, which is still over the usual DS price of 4800 Yen.
FF3 is far too expensive. Square is greedy. :(
I mean basically it's an existing game souped up for the DS.
I think I'll get it used on my next trip to Japan. 2400Yen and I buy it. Thanks Square.
Used games rule. ;)

Marc @ Jul 12th 2006 2:14PM

"America, we got the original DS first, remember?"

So? How is this relevent? I don't care that we got the original DS first. Japan and Europe have the NEW and BETTER DS lite NOW in much more attractive colors than white.

Nintendo knows that a Black DS lite (or even a Black DS Phat) would sell more than the PSP based on color alone. That's because America loves having a good image, and (in the mind of most Americans) Black goes with everything, and looks cool. But Nintendo decides to only give us one option, while everyone else has variety.

NEWS FLASH Nintendo! Not all Americans like being the same as everyone else! If you aren't going to release a Black DS lite here anytime soon, at least give us a Black Wii at launch!

idioteraser @ Jul 12th 2006 2:41PM

The two blacks are the same. The one black being sold is the black lite meant for the European market.

If you want to bitch go bitch at Sony for only releasing one PS2 color in America while Japan got far more then just black.

thrillho @ Jul 12th 2006 2:53PM

""26. "America, we got the original DS first, remember?"

So? How is this relevent? I don't care that we got the original DS first. Japan and Europe have the NEW and BETTER DS lite NOW in much more attractive colors than white.""

People were saying that nintendo never took the USA into consideration, and I was showing they did. I agree that America does get shat upon when it comes to gaming in general, e.g Club. Nintendo, but I was playing devil's advocate, because they did give us a nod once...

Lee @ Jul 12th 2006 6:24PM

In short:

* FFIII far from a NES game just souped up, especially given it's lack of internationality before. Look at some screens for God's sake.

* idioteraser once again shows himself as being mind-numbingly stupid.

* Europe's been screwed for as long as I can remember in the gaming market. You guys pissing and moaning about not getting this colour is making my day as I stroke my Lite.

That is all. Don't bother replying, I'm not coming back.

idioteraser @ Jul 13th 2006 12:01AM

No Lee I speak truth. Nintendo published games don't go into the used game market like other games so more Nintendo games get bought new then other publishers.

Nintendo games sell their consoles more then so called third party exclusives do.

The reason for colors is quite simple production runs.
Each color you add means you either have to reduce the runs of the other colors or increase the production.

PS2 consoles in Japan came in wide variety of colors. Yet Sony fanboys in America don't bitch about the limited production runs of say the Final Fantasy PS2 consoles or the green PS2 or red PS2.

At least the gamecube in America was in several different colors and schemes. Same with the N64.

Lets face it Sony treats it's consumers with dirt in regards to color choices. Only reason why Sony is going with white is because they want to duplicate Nintendo's Ipod motif in which white sleek devices sell like hotcakes.

MyNameIsGame @ Jul 13th 2006 12:35AM

When you sell more than roughly 70 procent of your DsLite's in Japan, it's not more than logical that you start selling your bulk of black DS's there. They are fabricated there (or china i'm not sure) but why move them all around the world to a market that really isn't that big a deal compared to home ground. At the moment every black DS wasted on US soil is 1 less sold "at home". They just used they're extra production space to start making more Black DS's to sell to europe because they knew they were going to crank up that production anyway. And as I recall by an earlier posting of numbers, Europe is more important to them then the US is if it comes down to sales. I mean they even cost more here than they do in the states. So quit your whining, as if you all you guys are now forced to buy another DS because of it's exterior colour. Let me tell you, on the inside we are all the same.

Dan @ Jul 13th 2006 1:32AM

idioteraser, most of your statements seem very speculative. Even if you could find me a source saying fewer Nintendo games reach the used games market, your reason for this is just a guess, there are any number of factors that influence used game sales.

You also need to recognise that the demand for different colours in home consoles is never going to be high. People just aren't spending time looking at their console, that's usually reserved for a small niche of collectors and DIY case modders.

If people can remember, this happens with all of Nintendo's new handhelds. They know demand will be high at first, and so whilst it is they leave the default colour on the market. Then they trickle in more, until by the end of the lifespan there's a stupid number of different colours and L.E.s for the GBA SP. The black was released in Europe because market research tells us that Europeans aren't as willing to rebuy hardware with slight improvements, unlike Japan. And Japan gets it shortly afterwards because the Lite has had time to set in over there. It's just a case of unneccessary expenditure whilst the product is still selling.

Then it stops and you release another colour, then idiots jump out and buy more, because people are stupid. They buy anything.

Oh, and one last thing, Sony's only releasing white to try and duplicate Nintendo's iPod motif? What Nintendo products other than the Lite has had this motif? I ask this because the Lite came out months after the white PSP, at least in the land of the rising sun.