Some PS3 Games to Cost $75 in Japan

Gamasutra reports on pricing for PS3 games in Japan, where some titles may rise as high as (equivalently) $75. From the article: "Japanese game prices can vary considerably across even a single format, depending on the title. Higher profile games, such as the recent Nintendo DS title Final Fantasy III, are often sold at an increased price. Similarly, Xbox 360 titles Dead Rising and Lost Planet will be priced at ¥8,379 ($72) when they are released — ¥1,000 to ¥2,000 ($9 to $17) more than usual. Tecmo's Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 will be sold at an even more excessive ¥9,240 ($79)."

Re:Why is this singling out Sony?

[Anonymous Coward]

But did you buy it in Japan? He's referencing the dollar difference for the price of two games in Japan, not the price of one game in Japan and one game in some other country.

Consumer Prices in Japan

[spoonboy42]

It should be noted that most things are more expensive in Japan. The minimum wage and median salary are also higher. In general, the standard of living in Japan and the US is comparable, even though prices in Japan seem somewhat higher, it's generally balanced by higher wages. Relative scarcity makes some things (like fruit and real estate) much more expensive in Japan, but prices on a lot of consumer goods (particularly those produced domestically, like video games) generally scale with Japan's higher average wages.

Occasionally, you can get crazy bargains in Japan as well. At a hyaku-en (100 yen store) a couple of years ago, I got an 8-pack of the longest-lasting double-A batteries I've ever used for under $1.

Re:Why is this singling out Sony?

[Frag-A-Muffin]

I know it's fun to bash Sony and all lately, but the caption below the title is talking about XBOX 360 games being $72. Is that $3 newsworthy?

If you RTFA you'll see that they're saying "normal" PS3 pricing is in the range of $75-$84USD. Then they later compare "premium" titles to this price mentioning DOA X2 priced at $79USD.

Do you see the difference?

PS3's normal pricing will all be around the price range of the other consoles' "premium titles" pricing!

That's pretty significant if you ask me (especially since there are very few titles for the other consoles in the "premium titles" pricing category). Essentially, all PS3 titles are premium titles ;)

Re:Different Country Different Costs

[neuromancer2701]

"Japanese news site Impress Watch has suggested that the cost of Japanese PlayStation 3 titles will range from ¥8,800 ($75) to ¥9,800 ($84), an increase attributed to rising development costs."

"PlayStation 2 game price in Japan of ¥6,800 ($58)"

I was speaking in general terms because it also states that "Tecmo's Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 will be sold at an even more excessive ¥9,240 ($79)." which is for the Xbox360 (I am not 100% sure)

The 58$ would be the exact thing that I am talking about because the standard PS2 game in the US is between 39-49 dollars.

PS3 games = (84 to 75dollars) - (15-10 dollars)= 70-55 dollars which is not far off from the Xbox360 games (59.99) at release.