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The story
A post on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board claiming that the PS5’s Japanese price of ¥55,000 is a steal — arguing that if converted at the real exchange rate it should actually cost close to ¥100,000, and that not buying it out of ignorance is a waste — sparked heated discussion. In response, posters pushed back from multiple angles, offering concrete calculations of electricity costs, pointing to the thin software lineup, and noting that opinions on the console’s design are split. Data was also cited showing domestic PS5 sales fell from 1.016 million units to 683,000 units over the past year, making it a talking point that demand can’t be explained by price alone.
What people said
Yeah, fair point.
Also I just can't picture myself buying ¥50,000 worth of new games on top of that.
Rough guide to PS5 electricity costs (per hour)
This is a rough estimate based on the standard rate from the National Household Electrical Appliance Fair Trade Council (calculated at about ¥31/kWh).
While gaming (approx. 220W): about ¥6.8/hour
While watching video (approx. 80W): about ¥2.5/hour
If you game solidly for 2 hours every day, the monthly (30-day) electricity cost comes out to roughly ¥400–450.
Guess even a broke pig like you can't afford that lol lol
All it's got is crap like Wolverine.
And it's just a giant phone-sized brick that gets in the way, don't need it.
Just crack the overseas version.
You won't get online, but let's be honest, you wouldn't stick with it without mods anyway.
Pornhub and AI chatbots?
but they won't buy stuff they don't need.
Is that really where things stand —
is Nintendo getting crushed in their earnings?
Sony having good earnings isn't a reason to buy a PS5.
For a game console, if the games aren't fun, none of that matters.
It's wild that there isn't a single million-seller.
Even counting digital sales, Monster Hunter is probably the only title clearing a million — what a hellish console lineup.
Finally catching on, Re: #1?
If your reason NOT to buy it is the price, go ahead and buy it.
That's a legendary quote about entertainment right there.
Right? That's exactly why I bought a PS5 Pro.
I already said my goodbyes to PlayStation back with the Vita.
Guess people won't realize it until the price goes up.
Struggling with Japanese?
Probably PC-exclusive games…
Stuff like Java Minecraft or the original Touhou games will never come to consoles.
PS5 sales from November two years ago through October last year were 1.016 million units, while sales from last November through this October were 683,000 units.
Sales did spike the month the Japan-market Digital Edition launched, but looking at the yearly average, sales have dropped quite a bit.
I mean, a game console's probably still the better call, though swapping PC parts works too.
Sure, some people are holding off because there's no game they actually want yet,
and some probably saw the price drop coming.
Exactly.
If you already bought the console, a price cut doesn't mean a damn thing to you now.
Background and Key Points of This Debate
Since its launch, the PS5’s price in Japan has been revised several times, and the thread itself brings up this history — a ‘hike to ¥80,000’ and an ‘effective ¥17,980 price cut.’ Simply converting the console’s U.S. dollar list price into yen at the current exchange rate makes the ¥55,000 price tag look like a bargain, but actual retail prices are set region by region based on local purchasing power, tariffs, and logistics costs, so arguing for a ‘true price’ from exchange-rate math alone is misleading. The sales trend cited in the thread — a drop from 1.016 million units the previous year to 683,000 units — suggests the thin software lineup may be driving down purchase motivation more directly than the price changes themselves. Sony’s strong earnings and domestic hardware sales trends are separate issues, and conflating the two appears to be one reason the discussion talks past itself.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “PS5 Japan Edition at ¥55,000 — Stupid Japanese People Not Realizing How Insanely Cheap This Is, Should Really Be Almost ¥100,000 at the Real Exchange Rate.”
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