320°

Sony Delays New PS4 in Japan to Focus on U.S. Holiday Sales

Sony will release the Japanese version of the PlayStation 4 console three months after reaching shelves in North America as it seeks to avoid the supply issues that caused the preceding model to miss initial targets.
The timing will allow the company to focus on meeting demand for the peak holiday shopping season, Andrew House, chief executive for Sony’s game operation, said in Tokyo. The console will be released Feb. 22 in Japan, compared with Nov. 15 in North America and Nov. 29 in Europe. Sony’s machine will reach 32 markets this year.

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bloomberg.com
xHeavYx3880d ago

Well, it's not like they will have any competition in Japan

mewhy323880d ago

You're right. In Japan they completely dominate. They want to get in the best shot at the bone's home market. By the looks of it they are taking the market by storm and they're going to need to throw as many units at the U.S. as they can manufacture.

Regis3880d ago

Dude just calm down we get that the PS4 is better and they got the majority of the US market and you keep saying like they never had the advantage in the US in the first place. They will make plenty of PS4s for sure and I can see going into gamestop after Holidays, because I was stupid and didn't preorder PS4 and still see them not on shelves.

ohiostatesman3880d ago (Edited 3880d ago )

In my opinion. I think the PS4 has yield issues. Based on the late Japanese launch. Plus there was a factory fire that just made gddr5 chips. Sony might be in trouble this holiday but its just my prediction.

XB1_PS43880d ago

@ohiostatesman You have a link to that fire news?

M-M3880d ago (Edited 3880d ago )

@mewhy32

I agree, They already have a great amount of other products dominating in other countries, so dominating in the US is like the homerun. It also looks like they're over prepared to meet demand this time, so a lot more people might have their hands on PS4s sooner than they think if they didn't preorder.

@ohiostatesman

Here's my prediction, you just made that account to troll. I'm right, deal with it 8|.

AsimLeonheart3880d ago

I agree; Japan is their home ground with decades of dominance so there is no hurry. Although I am puzzled by the sensationalist title for the article. How can Sony "delay" the PS4 in Japan when they never announced any released date for Japan in the first place? I guess a "PS4 release DELAY!" makes a much more sensational news.

Name Last Name3880d ago

So Japan gets Infamous SS on launch day?

kneon3880d ago

@ohiostatesman

In my opinion you're full of it. Stop making stuff up just because your beloved console isn't doing very well, it doesn't change anything and makes you look like a fool.

The preorder allocations for the the PS4 were several times higher than those available for the XB1 and were increased several times due to the high demand. If anyone is having yield issues, it's Microsoft.

Sevir3880d ago

How is it a delay when the only regions announed for 2013 was North America, Europe and UK? to delay would mean to announce a date then revise it.

I mean MS Said NA and Europe and UK and then revised its shipments with Only 13 Markets. Is that a delay?

user55757083880d ago

the xbox brand has no real attachment rate in japan

ps4 will have no problem there. only competitor is the Wii U in japan or if you want to get technical the 3DS because it will prob be the best selling console of this gen.

gaining back the market share in north america is key to sony and ps4 dominating the next gen

Cerberus21253880d ago

The factory fire ohiostatesman is talking about it's from company that supply mobile chips to Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Dell and Sony,it has nothing to do with PS4. http://www.theguardian.com/...

badz1493880d ago

the PS3 is still owning the console scene in Japan with many games still coming. and I think they are pushing the Vita TV first before the PS4 over there. it's not a smart move to push 2 new hardwares all at the same time. Plus, there's no Christmas or Black Friday or anything in Japan like in the West for them to garner massive sales out of the gate too.

personally I think it's about catering to the correct audiences. Japan are huge on handhelds while the west are huge on home consoles. so why not try to shoot different bullets at different targets here, right?

it's still coming albeit a bit late and gives the Wii U a room to breath and Nintendo a chance to pull something big before it launches next year. Xbone is not a concern over there though as it's still not having a solid launch date over there either!

SilentNegotiator3879d ago (Edited 3879d ago )

Don't you need to announce that you're launching in a region in a certain time frame BEFORE it can be "delayed"?

Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall an official announcement that Ps4 was launching 2013 in Japan.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 3879d ago
Tony-A3880d ago

That's why I think it was a very smart move on Sony's part. I swear, every strategic move they've pulled since the Feb. reveal makes me feel like they had this idea down from the moment they got all the hate on PS3.

They can wait to give their home country the new hardware for a few reasons:

1. The seventh gen started off rough for them in Japan because all they bought were Wiis.
2. Releasing the PS4 in February 2014 gives them time to produce as many PS4s as they can for Japan, giving them time to focus on selling those current units to the US and EU.
3. Unlike the 7th gen, Nintendo isn't dominating in Japan and MS isn't even going to bother marketing or giving their product to Ninty and Sony's land.
4. They strategically placed it on February 22nd, giving them just enough time to have the PS4 launch there along with a ton of very popular Japanese titles. The Japanese launch lineup is killer!

Another smart move. Makes me feel like it wouldn't be this perfect if they never got killed in PR back in 2005 - 2007.

mistertwoturbo3880d ago

Wow didn't really think of it this way. They are going after the U.S. market hard. Sony is really fine tuning themselves this time around.

Foxgod3880d ago

So basically if theres no competition, which they still have from Nintendo anyway, you get the bad end of the stick....

xHeavYx3880d ago

The PS4 has no competition in Japan, the 3DS is not a home console, they already know the PS4 will fly off the shelves in Japan.
Not sure why I waste my time with you, all you do is troll Sony articles

ZBlacktt3880d ago

I think you know what he was saying..... real gaming consoles ( PS4 and X1 ). Notice how those two are the only ones ever talked about? There are adult toys and then there are family/kid toys.

Magicite3880d ago

ur dumbest creature on this site, always going antisony, are you some MS hired gun?

Persistantthug3880d ago

Makes sense to me, because for whatever reason, Japan seems to not like home consoles as much anymore these days. I'm not sure why though.

MizTv3880d ago

Japan just don't like xbox
It's a fact

ZBlacktt3880d ago

Well, who came blame them? Worst fail rate in console history. To the most flip flopped console in gaming history. What do you trust?

MizTv3878d ago

I lost trust when I got rrod 9 times
In my eyes they suck

aceitman3880d ago (Edited 3880d ago )

my question is how is it a delay when the launch date was never announced, they got ps3 1st on nov 11th, usa 2nd nov 17th of 2006 and Europe got it in march 2007 . so its kind of reversed . http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Seraphim3880d ago

I think this has less to do w/ lack of competition and just goes to show how small Japans gaming market has become. Not to say it's completely irrelevant but it has slowly shrunk over the past decade to the point where Sony is doing the once unthinkable. Releasing in the West first while hosing Japan.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3878d ago
Kydawg3880d ago

I want your opinion please. Do you think this story is a duplicate of this one?
http://n4g.com/news/1349953...

FogLight3880d ago

No, it isn't a duplicate since the story you linked didn't mention the reason why Sony made a February release date for PS4 in Japan. At least that is how I see it :)

nyobzoo3880d ago

well it's not really delayed if there was never a release date to begin with

Foxgod3880d ago

Well, there was never a release date for B priority country´s either.

Foxgod3880d ago

And they bashed the X1 for not releasing everywhere, the ps4 doesnt even release in its home territory.

Regis3880d ago

I know right however you could say the same for microsoft in Europe

Foxgod3880d ago

They are releasing in Europe, and Europe is not MS home territory.

mark134uk3880d ago

X1 isnt even welcome in japan

YNWA963880d ago

Fox, these arguments are always like this.... Forget it.... Watch world war z, and you will see what fanboys really look like...

wishingW3L3880d ago (Edited 3880d ago )

32 > 13

it was always 32 and it was known since the reveal back in Feb that they were releasing the PS4 on Japan in 2014. They never claimed to lunch in 32 territories only to back down and say 13 or do 180's on other of their claims.

pyramidshead3880d ago

It's a good strategy to be fair. Sony got this on lock. Why debut the console to the market least excited for it? Console usage in Japan is on the decline, but they are all over hand helds. Hence the lil TV thing thats debuting there instead of over here. It's a nice trade off. Western markets are clearly the more demanding for the actual hardware so it's kind of a no brainer really. Over 1million pre-orders etc etc.

Chevalier3880d ago

Yeah well not only are MS getting killed on home turf and UK they aren't releasing 32 countries like Sony so yeah if your surprised they're being made fun off your an idiot.

ZBlacktt3880d ago (Edited 3880d ago )

Because the US is 47% of the global market. Your highest demand is your fastest way to make a profit. Or to generate revenue to containing supplying the demand. It's not personal, it's business.

The US and Japan got the PS3 first in 2006. All of Europe didn't get it until the spring of 2007.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 3880d ago
JunioRS1013880d ago

I sort of feel like a spoiled little fucker for living in the US... but hey, I'm not the one makin' these choices.

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110°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg8h ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos7h ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion7h ago(Edited 6h ago)

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola3h ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

Show all comments (6)
140°

PlayStation Doesn't Need a Dedicated PC Store Launcher

With all the PlayStation games that are now coming to PC, is it time for Sony to release a dedicated PC launcher?

thorstein4d ago

No, and they already solved any need with the overlay that's coming.

Vits4d ago

Unless they are trying to kill their recently created PC business, I would advise against opening a dedicated PC store. It's an extremely hard endeavor, and people, in general, are very comfortable with Steam. Even Epic, with their billions of dollars invested, is still struggling to find a foothold, and they have Fortnite.

just_looken3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Money is one thing security is another but again millions have 0 knowledge past 2020.

Epic store for years struggled with a shopping cart/account theft/credit card theft

Rockstar launcher/store to this day over 5 years later still has horrific user interface security flaws lost account's and stolen CC

Then you got that activision need phone number oh we lost it launcher

The crown jewel is the ea launcher/store ea app 3 yrs old still has hundreds of threads were people lost games/accounts/game access or just straight up crashes.

Edit" Oh ubi launcher were you buy a game that may or may not be there again or work and the launcher 5yrs old still has no 4K support if you launch it on a 4k screen there is a high chance it will just crash.

ocelot073d ago

Can tell who ever put this together is not all that clued up on pc gaming.

It's just a known fact. The PC gaming community prefer Steam and Steam alone. They don't like different launchers. I personally don't mind them. But majority just stick with steam. Hence why EA and Ubisoft went back to on releasing on steam and why Microsoft release games on steam as people hated buying from the windows store.

The only other launchers that I imagine are doing ok is GOG due to being drm free and epic games due to the free games every week. Sony shouldn't release any sort of pc launcher n

Nitrowolf23d ago (Edited 3d ago )

It literally says in the OP that PC gamers don't like multiple launchers lol. It even mentions Steam being the go to for gamers

Tacoboto3d ago

Title: "PlayStation Doesn't Need a Dedicated PC Store Launcher"

N4G: "Can tell who ever put this together is not all that clued up on pc gaming"

When you don't even read the headline...

ocelot073d ago

I read it and had a brain fart. As read the title then this "With all the PlayStation games that are now coming to PC, is it time for Sony to release a dedicated PC launcher?"

So I hold my hands up on that mistake. Rest of my comment still stands.

Giblet_Head3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Steam and GOG are highly preferred because of the rich feature set. Ubisoft, Rockstar, EA, Epic etc have all set a precedent over the years for customers to instinctively expect individual publisher launchers to be so extremely half-assed that the majority simply don't want to bother dealing with what is almost an inevitable disappointment by comparison to Steam or GOG. Those publishers and their inaction or general disinterest to improve have effectively ruined any future adoption to be taken seriously.

Einhander19723d ago (Edited 3d ago )

This is just another ridiculous double standard article.

It's like how Microsoft can spend 20 years of making nothing but gaas and live service style games to sell microtransactions, dlc and subscriptions and get praise for doing it, but if Sony wants to make a single game like that every website under the sun is writing articles saying how Sony is anti-consumer or whatever.

derek3d ago

Yep, huge double standard look at the tortured reaction to the ps5pro, websites hyperventilating like Sony is forcing people to buy it.

just_looken3d ago

Wait my xbox from 2004 has avengers gaas on it? wow your so smart

m$ Gaas started with the other companies like sony

Gamepass yes they are deep into that but its still a huge money saver sense you do not own your games then get a service like that.

Now there pc xbox launcher that is trash for years now

Show all comments (15)
240°

Is Driver (PS1) Still Worth Playing in 2024?

"Driver was a technical achievement for PS1, a pioneer in cinematic gaming, and an often brutal challenge - TechStomper asks if its brand of 70s car chase antics still holds up."

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techstomper.com
PrimeVinister11d ago

The driving holds up, most of everything else does not.

PrimeVinister11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

@Shane Kim

Well, I mean the driving physics hold up. The draw distance, police AI, visuals in general etc do not

Cacabunga11d ago

One of my all time favorites on PS1. I spent a summer vacation playing this was so good

isarai11d ago

Sadly youd be hard pressed to find any driving game with better physics these days. But the draw distance really kills it for me

PrimeVinister11d ago

The physics hold up ridiculously well. And the draw distance is a real hurdle at first.

__y2jb11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Nonsense. The physics in any modern game or any 360 game is light years beyond Driver.

Dandizzle11d ago

This game is hard, you will fail and quit

PrimeVinister11d ago

But you will get there eventually... maybe

MatrixxGT11d ago

All in the first two minutes.

jznrpg11d ago

Stop with is it worth it articles. If you want to play a game play the damn game!

anast11d ago

I loved this game awhile back.

Barlos10d ago

Yeah but is it worth reading pointless articles?

__y2jb11d ago

It wasn’t worth playing in the 90’s.

Espangerish11d ago

My thoughts exactly. I bought it at release for full price and got frustrated and bored with it very quickly.

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