Tremendous cost for Japanese PS3 games?
updated 11:25 am EDT, Mon September 25, 2006
Jpn.'s high-cost PS3 games
You might want to think twice about importing PS3 games from Japan. Translated by IGN, a Japanese site called Impress Watch writes that prices for PS3 games may average around 8,800 to 9,800 yen - that's $75 to $84 US. For reference, PS2 games normally sell for about 6,800 yen (about $58), but might occasionally hit the 8,800 mark for blockbusters like Final Fantasy. Blame is laid on the intense development costs of PS3 titles, compounded by the scrapping of reduced third-party royalty charges. The idea was for official third-party games to compete with royalty-free indie products on an open network - but since network development has stalled, Sony may revert to selling a low-cost PS3 while profiting on the software. It's suggested that the company may try to minimize the importance of the $599 PS3 in favour of the $499 model.
