Japanese Business Media Believe Sony Created the Cheaper Japan-Only PS5 to Regain Market Share in Its Home Country, Where Nintendo Now Dominates

On November 21, Sony volition merchandise a cheaper, Japan-exclusive integer variation of the PS5 console. The CFI-2200B01 exemplary is Japanese-language only, offers 896GB retention alternatively of 1TB, and retails for 55,000 yen (approx. $354) from the authoritative Sony store (compared to 72,980 yen oregon astir $470 for the regular PS5 Digital Edition). But wherefore is Sony doing this present successful Japan, 5 years aft the console’s launch?

Last Friday, TV Tokyo broadcast a treatment betwixt its journalists that dived into the reasons down Sony releasing this caller PS5 variant. They determined that a cardinal information is the playerbase successful Japan — TV Tokyo reports that the PS5 has been losing much and much of its stock of the Japanese console marketplace to Nintendo. The reporters enactment that Nintendo’s Switch 1 and 2 consoles look to beryllium much fashionable with children and young radical successful Japan, citing the Switch’s versatility arsenic a handheld oregon TV-connected console arsenic a cardinal portion of its entreaty (the precocious popularity of Nintendo characters similar Mario, Link and Kirby besides help).

The console income figures look to backmost this up with this year’s motorboat of the Switch 2 outpacing the PS5 and adjacent Nintendo’s ain expectations for demand. Japanese crippled mag Famitsu’s estimated beingness income for PS5 and the Switch 2 amusement that the Switch 2 has shifted astir 2.6 cardinal units successful Japan since its June 2025 launch, whereas beingness income for each PS5 models (including the PS5 Pro), beryllium astatine a combined full of 7.1 cardinal units since 2020. TV Tokyo besides suggests that Sony reacted to Nintendo's occurrence successful releasing a cheaper, Japanese-only Switch 2 by releasing a Japan-exclusive PS5 astatine a reduced terms conscionable 4 months later.

With the archetypal Switch console, immoderate ports ran poorly oregon looked visibly worse connected the Switch than the PS5. This was particularly the lawsuit for precocious show games, giving radical much reasons to prime the PS5 oregon PS4 mentation of third-party AAA titles. However, the much almighty Switch 2 seems to beryllium moving these goalposts. Nintendo’s latest console is getting ports of erstwhile PS5-exclusives Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Although these ports astir apt won’t lucifer the graphical fidelity of the PS5 versions, they wouldn't tally connected the little almighty archetypal Switch.

Speaking astir the Switch 2's occurrence successful the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun connected November 18, Nintendo nonmigratory Shuntaro Furukawa pointed retired that the console builds upon its predecessor and is "a almighty console with processor show that tin grip what crippled developers privation to make."

Another crushed down Sony’s caller Japanese-only exemplary was to make a PS5 that volition much reliably extremity up successful the hands of home players. With the anemic yen, determination has been a inclination for resellers to bargain Japanese PS5s for the intent of exporting them (the programme reports that this is particularly the lawsuit successful China, arsenic the Japanese PS5 is successful request due to the fact that it does not artifact definite games similar mainland models do). However, the caller Japan-exclusive PS5 exemplary volition lone person Japanese connection enactment and tin lone beryllium utilized with a PlayStation Network relationship acceptable to Japan (according to Sony’s authoritative site). Like the modular Digital Edition, users tin inactive upgrade it with the separately-sold disc thrust if they privation to play carnal games.

Sony's cheaper, Japan-only PS5. Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Observing Sony’s inclination to absorption connected the overseas marketplace much successful caller years, TV Tokyo’s economical analogous Kinji Abe suggests that Sony Interactive Entertainment’s caller CEO Hideaki Nishino whitethorn beryllium liable for this pivot backmost towards the Japanese market. After a little stint arsenic associated CEO with Hermen Holst, Nishino became SIE’s sole CEO successful April 2025.

Although issues similar PS5 terms hikes and the 2020 spot shortage person impacted the console successful different regions, successful its location state of Japan the anemic yen has besides contributed to the rising terms of Sony’s hardware. Back successful November 2020, the PS5 Digital Edition started retired with a 43,980 yen motorboat price, nevertheless this climbed steadily implicit the adjacent fewer years. In September 2024, the terms was bumped up to 72,980 yen, prompting online disapproval of Sony. With Monster Hunter being specified a fashionable franchise successful Japan, a batch of this sermon astir Sony’s 2024 PS5 terms hike centered connected the highly-anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds, with users debating astir picking up a gaming PC oregon an Xbox to play the crippled connected instead. This treatment was truthful wide that online stores started moving campaigns to merchantability gaming PC setups to Monster Hunter Wilds hopefuls, and Xbox Series X and S consoles experienced a surge successful income (as reported by Automaton).

TV Tokyo graph shows the rising terms of PS5 successful Japan. Image credit: YouTube / TV Tokyo.

Worldwide, the PS5 has tally into respective issues since its launch. The console’s scarcity post-release, coupled with proviso concatenation issues, meant that it was hard for galore customers to get clasp of a PS5 during the pandemic erstwhile galore radical had much clip to play games. Also galore games person continued to beryllium released connected PS4 arsenic good arsenic PS5, which means that compared to erstwhile console generations, players inactive person amazingly fewer exclusives to motivate them to prime up Sony’s newer console.

In addition, Sony’s propulsion towards unrecorded work games was not arsenic palmy arsenic it had hoped. Although Helldivers 2 was a hit, anterior to that Sony cancelled a full big of in-development unrecorded work titles (including those from large Sony developers, similar Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game). Then there’s the costly nonaccomplishment of Concord (and consequent closure of Firewalk Studios), arguably the biggest catastrophe successful PlayStation history.

It remains to beryllium seen however acold this cheaper, Japan-only PS5 volition spell successful helping Sony summation backmost the marketplace successful its location country. Looking towards the future, determination are rumors that the upcoming PS6 volition beryllium a dockable handheld, suggesting that it volition mimic the Switch successful this regard.

Verity Townsend is simply a Japan-based freelance writer who antecedently served arsenic editor, contributor and translator for the crippled quality tract Automaton West. She has besides written astir Japanese civilization and movies for assorted publications.