PS5 Launch Could Include Japan. Here’s Why That’s a Bummer

If Sony does plan to release PS5 in Japan at the same time as other regions, fans will be hoping that the company is ready to have a huge number of consoles ready. | Credit: Charly Triballeau/AFP

  • Sony suggests that PS5 could launch in Japan at the same time as other regions.
  • Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that the decision to launch PS4 later in Japan was not a “good idea.”
  • Not delaying PS5’s launch in Japan could lead to console shortages.

Speaking to Japanese language publication Japanese Business Insider and translated by Gematsu, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said that there was “reasonable ground” for the decision to release PS4 in Japan three months later than the U.S. launch. Ryan said:

[These] days I do not think that was a good idea…[There] may have been other options.

Ryan didn’t confirm which regions PS5 would launch in first or if Japan would get the console the same time as the United States. However, some fans are taking this as a confirmation that Japan and the United States will get PS5 at the same time.

When Sony delayed PS4’s launch in Japan it was because gamers there were enjoying its handheld, the PlayStation Vita. A lack of support from Japanese developers is also one reason that Sony used.

Sony has also added one new Japanese developer to its SIE Worldwide Studios, ForwardWorks. Games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Grand Theft Auto V, which are made by European and American developers, are popular in the region. This means that there is likely to be much more support for PS5 from Japanese gamers than there was with PS4.

That could be great for Japanese gamers and Sony, but it may not be as good for gamers in Europe and the United States. It could potentially lead to huge shortages when PS5 launches during the 2020 holiday season, meaning that some gamers won’t be able to get the console before Christmas.

When the Nintendo Switch launched, the console was incredibly popular and it meant that there were stock shortages for six months. If Sony does plan to release PS5 in Japan at the same time as other regions, fans will be hoping that the company is ready to have a huge number of consoles ready.

This article was edited by Gerelyn Terzo.

, , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *