Sony is launching a Japan-only edition of the PS5 Digital for $355
The discounted console is still more expensive than the PS5 Digital was at launch, however
Sony has announced a special Japan-only PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which will be sold at a discount.
The current price of a PS5 Digital Edition in Japan is ¥72,980 ($475), following a steep price increase last year.
However, as announced during its latest State of Play Japan presentation, Sony has announced that it will be releasing a new, cheaper version of the PS5 Digital Edition which will be locked to Japanese language support only.
The console, which says “Console Language: Japanese only” on the packaging, will sell for ¥55,000 ($355), a discount of ¥17,980 ($120).
This makes it significantly cheaper than in other regions, such as the US where a PS5 Digital Edition currently costs $499.99.
The PS5 Digital Edition launched at ¥39,980 ($260) in Japan, before its price was increased to ¥59,980 ($390), then again last year to ¥72,980 ($475).
While this new ¥55,000 ($355) Japan-only edition may be receiving a sizeable discount compared to the price of today’s console, then, it’s still ¥15,920 ($95) more expensive than the console was when it originally launched.
The decision to sell a discounted Japan-only PS5 Digital may have been somewhat influenced by recent comments by Capcom president Haruhito Tsujimoto, who partly blamed Monster Hunter Wilds’ poor sales momentum on the price of PlayStation 5 consoles, which he claimed in an interview was providing a barrier to entry for younger players in particular.
“The console costs around ¥80,000 ($540),” he told Nikkei in September. “Factoring in the cost of software and monthly subscriptions, it comes to around ¥100,000 ($675) at the time of purchase. This is not an easily affordable price, especially for younger generations. This situation is not limited to Japan, but is similar overseas.”
Sony isn’t the only company to have sold a Japan-only version of its console this generation. Nintendo is selling ‘Japanese / Domestic Only’ versions of the Switch 2 console at retailers in Japan for ¥49,980 ($325).
A more expensive Switch 2 with multilingual support – much like the Switch 2 consoles sold elsewhere around the world – is only available on the Japanese My Nintendo Store, at a price of ¥69,980 ($455).
