Japanese PS3 games to cost up to ¥9,800 ($85 USD) [update 1]
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Sep 25th 2006 at 2:30PM }
[Update: Sony announced that pricing for first-party games would be ¥5980 ($50 USD) while third-parties have announced higher prices, like Sega's ¥7140 ($60 USD). Nothing to see here.]We'll begin by clearly and emphatically stating that the following information has no official bearing on the price of PS3 games in the U.S. or other countries.
IGN is sourcing Japanese journalist Munechika Nishida's "multiple information sources" that PS3 games will be between ¥8,800 ($75 USD) and ¥9,800 ($85 USD). Development costs are being blamed for the pricey games.
The article also states that third party developer support is lagging for the PS3 and that Sony will switch to a "traditional business model" where they'll sell the PS3 at a lower price and recoup the money off of software sales.
The big question is if Nishida's information winds up being true for Japan, what's it going to mean for the rest of the planet? Maybe non-Japanese gamers will pay less for games, considering we're not even getting that PS3 price drop. Then again, maybe not.
[Thanks, Martin]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
B33 @ Sep 25th 2006 2:33PM
THIS is a RUMOR. Not true! Activison has already announced that their games will cost $60. Stop posting lies Joystiq.
Anti-Fanboy @ Sep 25th 2006 2:35PM
This is merely a assumption... Why would you make it look like actual facts, joystiq?
Cynics @ Sep 25th 2006 2:36PM
the PS3 is sounding more and more like the Neo Geo everyday. I don't want to pay that much money to fight Giant Crabs.
greatn @ Sep 25th 2006 2:40PM
I would have to imagine these games would be slightly cheaper in the US. But at most I would think... $10 cheaper, which still leaves you $65 - $75, and that's pretty crazy if you ask me.
striderhayasa @ Sep 25th 2006 3:26PM
Jinkgies! I hope not, Sony wouldn't want to rape their fanbase like....oh wait!
LaughingTarget @ Sep 25th 2006 2:40PM
Japan pays inflated prices for software. The typical PS2 game sells for 6800 Yen, or around $60 US. We only pay $50 for a PS2 game standard new release, or 5800 Yen. The pricing will more than likely reflect a similar % difference. 8800 Yen will translate into $60 for the US markets.
Ethan @ Sep 25th 2006 2:40PM
As previously stated "THIS is a RUMOR. Not true! Activison has already announced that their games will cost $60". But even if the prices of some games do go beyond the normal $60, you get what you pay for. If a game developer is going to work harder to bring you more content at a higher quality, it might just be more expensive.
Justice @ Sep 25th 2006 3:30PM
If it's ture,I'll but an Xbox 360. I wouldn't even spend $50.00 for a game. Not even $40.00.
sonofnone @ Sep 25th 2006 4:16PM
I honestly think that this will have minimal bearing on the U.S. market. First off Sony needs more bad press like they need more proprietary formats. Secondly (this definately falls under opinion only - so feel free to correct) this may have to do with Japanese consumers being willing to shell out more for the latest and greatest. I wouldn't be suprised if the price for Japanese PS3 games drops to more normal prices in 6-12 months. Still, there is that tiny bit of gnawing in my gut I just can't deny.
coolashacka @ Sep 25th 2006 2:47PM
It might be true, but _stupid_ joytiq forgot to tell you that Japanese always payed more for their games. So as stated above in the comments: $85 = $60 USD really.
jc @ Sep 25th 2006 2:47PM
I would rather pay $75 up front for the game and get everything... than to pay $60 for the game and $50 for the downloadable content (looking at you Gran Turismo, Oblivion) and have to watch a ton of commercial / in game ads.
DojoRacoon @ Sep 25th 2006 2:47PM
First off B33 Joystiq doesn't post lies they repost rumors that come from other places. If you read the article the story came from IGN.
Second read the first paragraph. They could not have stated more clearly that these prices are strictly Japanese prices and mean nothing to the rest of the world.
Having said that I would be surprised if they tried making the prices over 75 stateside. Which is still at least 15 dollars more than I would ever pay for a game.
Sieth @ Sep 25th 2006 2:47PM
That is nothing new, all the major rpgs always retail for about 8500 yen. I payed that much for FF12 the day it came out from Bic camera.
pangit @ Sep 25th 2006 3:42PM
read the first paragraph people. :rolls eyes:
Drop A Load @ Sep 25th 2006 2:48PM
That sucks for Japan if true even with the price drop of the PS3.
Guess they gotta make up the money some where.
32_Footsteps @ Sep 25th 2006 2:48PM
Hmm... I wonder at what price point would Japanese gamers start modding their systems and just import the American version, which would be cheaper overall. If we're talking about games with near-simultaneous releases, I think that number has to be around 10k yen.
logikil @ Sep 25th 2006 2:54PM
I think the more interesting thing is that when the prices of Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey were announced there was a lot of "That's expensive" comments on multiple sites.
So if this does happen to be true, and i do know that the japanese usually pay higher "dollar" value for games, will this affect the Japanese gamers? Most already feel the system is a bit pricey.
Jarrett @ Sep 25th 2006 2:55PM
Jeezzz....what a bunch of whiny babies. The article clearly states that the "sources" are indicating a price of this nature in JAPAN! Why are you fanboys getting your boxers in a knot? Noting and I mean nothing has been confirmed by Sony. Hell they can't even decide on price points. Two weeks ago the 20G PS3 had no HDMI. Now this week it got an HDMI and a price reduction. So bumping up the price on software to recoup loses is a logical step. You fanboys keep hollering about wanting a price reduction here the same thing will happen. Sony has to make money at some point and they are going to get it on the software end or the hardware end. ECON 101.
And for you whiners talking about Activision already announced this and that....first send the link. Second that is Activision. Are they the only game developer out there? Nope. So that doesn't been Ubisoft, EA, etc. will follow suit.
Why shoot joystiq on this. They are merly giving you the reader a trail to make up your own mind on what to think. They are not swayed one way or another. Quit bitching and verify the information your own selves....
whiny ass babies....
Ethan @ Sep 25th 2006 2:59PM
32_Footsteps, The Japanese would not have to mod the PS3 to play US games, since there is no region coding on them.
Mal F4cti0n @ Sep 25th 2006 3:05PM
Hey B33, way to show off your reading comprehension skills.
"We'll begin by clearly and emphatically stating that the following information has no official bearing on the price of PS3 games in the U.S. or other countries."
It is not a lie you twat! It is a price point for JAPAN, not the US or EUROPE as Joystiq clearly stated.
Go show off your ineptness on a different site!
Circ @ Sep 25th 2006 3:39PM
I see lots of Joystiq hate in any thread that discusses Sony in any negative way (perceived or otherwise). I thought the post was pretty clear about the nature of the information. Joystiq pretty much hands you the grains of salt but the Sony folks flail about and get the salt in their eyes and then freak out about it. That is currently the worst thing about this site, not the editorial slant (which appears to be 360 friendly to this long time XBL subscriber).
rya20 @ Sep 25th 2006 3:07PM
No crap there clearley stating that japan is paying more for games I dont see any info saying where paying 75$ or 85 dollars for a ps3 game
ymmv @ Sep 25th 2006 3:11PM
$65 expensive? The retail price for new games is up to 69 euro in Europe. Of course this includes up to 19% taxes, a skewed dollar-euro exchange rate and it is possible to get better deals online so you pay "only" 55 euro, but still... I'd really love to get games as cheap as in the US of A..
darryl @ Sep 25th 2006 3:11PM
"THIS is a RUMOR. Not true! Activison has already announced that their games will cost $60. Stop posting lies Joystiq."
But that's what Joystiq does... why change now? Joystiq is a FUD machine, an amusing one at that.
foobob @ Sep 25th 2006 3:13PM
pay less on hardware and more on software, so that it becomes all equal. :)
anyway, Gamasutra reported: "Similarly, Xbox 360 titles Dead Rising and Lost Planet will be priced at ¥8,379 ($72) when they are released"
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10992
so it's everybody going bananas. yeah, i know, Wii games wiill be wayii cheaper. as well as any last generation games...
LordMinogue @ Sep 25th 2006 3:15PM
Oyay Ethan!
PS3 region encoding has been left up to the developer. Most third parties are choosing to encode their PS3 games by region, especailly multiplatform games. Stop sprouting your lies, or find an audiance that believes "gullable is written on the ceiling."
Dave @ Sep 25th 2006 3:17PM
well JUST so ya don't feel too hard done by, many irish new releases can go for around €80 ($100). Fantastic.
Rim @ Sep 25th 2006 3:18PM
Japan has been paying this much for games for years now.
This is not news.
Designerbradr @ Sep 25th 2006 3:19PM
There's much more to the story, Alexander. You can find it over here at IGN:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/734/734950p1.html
"There's a deeper story to this price hike. According to the article, Sony was, as of E3, planning to alleviate cost pressures on 3rd parties by lowering royalty costs. The thinking at the time was that users would be able to create their own games and distribute them online throught he PS3, and Sony would not be able to charge royalties for such titles. The company would want to offer 3rd parties a similar pricing environment, with the savings from royalty costs passed on to consumers in the form of lower software prices.
However, this strategy has apparently been put on hold as Sony has been unable to complete preparations for turning the PS3 into an open platform. The article claims that Sony has made no progress in the preparations for allowing users to make their own games. Such preparations include a development environment, manuals, security management and community features.
It should come as no surprise that preparations have been delayed, as the article also claims that even support for 3rd party developers is lagging.
With the delay in progress towards an open platform, the site speculates that Sony is switching to a more traditional business model where the PS3 will be sold at a "surprisingly low price" and losses will be recouped on software royalties. This is the business model that was used for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2.
As part of this strategy shift, we could be seeing changes to Sony's plans for multiple PS3 SKUs. The article claims that while the 60 gigabyte PS3 will still be available, the company's focus will be shifted to the 20 gigabyte model. This is part of Sony's hope to change from a multi SKU business model to a single SKU model. The article cites as a source software distribution firms which noticed, at the end of August, a change in Sony's marketing approach for the PS3."
You can also read some laymen's interpretation here in Gerry-IGN's blog:
http://blogs.ign.com/Gerry-IGN/2006/09/25/31859/
What this all means, if true, is that Sony is abandoning their business model of expensive console and reasonably-priced games for a cheaper console and more expensive software. The 60GB version of the PS3 will go on the backburner since the 20GB version now supports HDMI. This speculation seems to ring true when taking into consideration Sony's recent TGS announcement.
What I find even more remarkable though is the supposed decline in 3rd-party support due to the lower royalties on games. By raising software prices, Sony is hoping to court back those disinterested devs.
It's like a daytime soap opera.
lostgamer @ Sep 25th 2006 3:34PM
Correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't some snes games comeout at higher than $50 prices, about $70-$80? (Chrono Trigger and other rpgs specifically) So its not like Sony is setting a precedent here.
Morder @ Sep 25th 2006 3:34PM
"But even if the prices of some games do go beyond the normal $60, you get what you pay for."
No. Just because a game will cost more does not mean the game will be better or higher quality.
32_Footsteps @ Sep 25th 2006 3:34PM
Here's the big question - at what point does a price drop on the hardware but a bump on the software really kill the consumer?
I ask because if you're planning on not owning too many games, it's worth it in the long run. But it seems like after 8 games, the consumer is getting ripped off. And personally, I plan on more than 8 games for any next-gen system I pick up.
Faisal @ Sep 25th 2006 4:50PM
Activision already said the prices of their game would be $60. Joystiq always tries to bash the PS3 every way possible. Joystiq fears that PS3 will crush their Wii...wait...that didn't sound right -_-
TheVexedSoul @ Sep 25th 2006 3:43PM
"Multiple information sources"? Well now I just have to take this story seriously!!
That is a very stupid, very misleading, very incorrect post title Alexander. I know Joystiq loves Nintendo, but come on.
Kumman @ Sep 25th 2006 4:16PM
Yet an other unresearched article on Joystiq.
Games have always costed more in Japan, there were seculations, months ago that game would cost 80$ there.
Patrick @ Sep 25th 2006 3:56PM
Sony attacks your wallet's weak point for massive damage.
Enigma @ Sep 25th 2006 4:02PM
Japanese have been paying on average, $10-15 USD more for games the past 10+ years now. So why all of a sudden would it be an even exchange rate?
Oh thats right, because it is something negative to speculate against Sony. My bad!
epobirs @ Sep 25th 2006 4:04PM
#27
Those were games on mask ROM chips, which were far more costly to produce than even Blu-ray media. Production volume played a big role as well. Optical media production makes it easy to produce small quantities with very little penalty but mask ROMs favor big runs because there is a substantial cost and time factor every time you change the line to produce a different game.
Games like ChronoTrigger tended to have the highest capacity usage but fairly small production runs. This combined for high prices. Smaller games, like Koei's war sims, could also be affected. Although they tended to be on the small side, they had microscopic production runs, requiring a very high retail price to be viable.
Today's games are different. The media has gone from being the primary expense to a minor cost compared to development. Combine that with a massive hardware discount to the users and a small installed base, then publishers have no choice but to charge higher prices to make back their costs in a reasonable time frame, nevermind become profitable.
I find I'm in no hurry to become a PS3 owner. Sony needs far more affluent consumers than myself to make this work and eventually be accessible to a much wider audience. I can wait.
manuel @ Sep 25th 2006 4:04PM
That isn't so surprising. Games for PS2 can be quite expensive, too. 7000-9000 Yen are common prices. Some special editions often go over 10000 Yen.
Super Famicom games were expensive, too. My FFVI box has a SRP of 11.400Yen printed on.
I'm sure games will be cheaper in the US.
If not, well, then you must save more money or wait for used games. Or buy another console with cheaper games. ;)
dave mendez @ Sep 25th 2006 4:05PM
Anything above 49.99 is too much for any game. No way in hell will they get a penny more
(besides the sales tax :)
Nintendo has won this battle and it's not even out yet!
59.99 and up for 360 games that don't deliver the next gen gaming experience is what it's been so far for me. I've played a zillion FPS games on the pc and didn't pay over 45.00 for any of those games.
This next gen battle between Microsoft and Sony is embarrasing. Their systems are like gas guzzling SUV's and the software titles are comparable to fuel and the monopoly around the seasonal pricing and phony depleting supplies to drive the costs to insane ammounts and adjust accordingly for elections, holidays, competition etc.....
Nintendo is the equivalent of a Hugo Chavez (but much more likeable) with fair pricing all around on fuel and posing a threat to the fuel company monopolies while maintaining their status as one of the main players in the game.
Shad Genki @ Sep 25th 2006 4:07PM
Look, after so much Wii-bashing, I think we can afford a little bit of PS3 bashing, hmm?
JJ @ Sep 25th 2006 4:08PM
Justice you do know what you said makes no sense right?
"If it's ture,I'll but an Xbox 360. I wouldn't even spend $50.00 for a game. Not even $40.00."
You DO know the average 360 game costs $60 right? Even the average PS2/GC/Xbox games costs 50 and sometimes 40.
You just must buy a lot of used games then huh? Even for the 360 though those things are cheap.
B @ Sep 25th 2006 4:11PM
kaz.ytmnd.com
Im sure he did this with the games.
Enigma @ Sep 25th 2006 4:12PM
"Look, after so much Wii-bashing, I think we can afford a little bit of PS3 bashing, hmm?"
Im sorry, your poll numbers must be off. And/or a Floridian. But I think the Sony bashing, not just here but the interweb in general has the Wii beat 1,000 to 1.
It is getting old ... really.
Adam B.H. @ Sep 25th 2006 4:30PM
We had the Sony rep for the entire United States open for questions, on a video session, where I work. when asked the price of the games for the PlayStation 3 his answer was that they would stay competitive, but you may pay a premium for a better game. Not really sure what qualifies as a better game, though I imagine that it does mean you will pay more for exclusive titles or ones exclusively next generation titles, non PlayStation 2 ports that is. Though I get the feeling that he just didn't want us to give customers the idea that the PlayStation 3 was going to be way more expensive than the competition (especially after a comparison of the 60GB PlayStation 3 being about $400.00 cheaper than a Xbox 360 after all the equivalent add ons, to which he was making assumptions on the HD-DVD player beening $300.00, adding another $50.00 for a wireless controller (as if the core did not come with a controller at all) and $60.00 for HD cables.) Just thought that that input would help clear some things up for a few people.
George @ Sep 25th 2006 4:26PM
why do people complain about joystiq being fanboys or call them liars yet they come here to bitch about it. get a life people, you sound like little children. let joystiq post stories and if you dont like it go elsewhere instead of complain. thats how an adult handles a situation they dont like.
Novacharged @ Sep 25th 2006 4:37PM
joystiq sux i don't even know what console they like cuz all they do is bash a different cosole every week and with bias opinion. this sound like something a noob from gamespot would write
Brian O'lyaryz @ Sep 25th 2006 4:53PM
Everyone shouldn't blow up about a rumour, that's all it is. Joystiq didn't make it up so you shouldn't get angry at them
And Dave Mendez, nice call comparing Nintendo to a Communist Dictator, it's really fladdering. (sarcasm anyone?) For that matter Sony can be Fidel Castro and Microsoft can be Adolf Hitler!
polly @ Sep 25th 2006 4:47PM
@dave mendez
"Nintendo is the equivalent of a Hugo Chavez"
I think you have severe misconceptions about both of them.
vidGuy @ Sep 25th 2006 4:48PM
Disregarding exchange rates, which rarely, if ever, influence multi-national pricing schemes, the basic PS3 is retailing for 49,980yen and, as far as we know, USD$499. That's roughly a 100yen to $1 ratio. Dividing this RUMORED Japanese game price by 100 gets us $98. This RUMOR, if true, adds credibility to the possiblity that the games will be more than $59.
If I had to guess, I'd expect a $69.99 pricetag.