PlayStation 3 hits the Japanese market

Thousands of people queued for many hours in cities across Japan on Saturday, but many people went home empty-handed. The console went on sale for about £270 (about 400 euros).

There are also reports that poor Chinese men and women and homeless people were hired by opportunistic Japanese businessmen to queue for the console in many Japanese cities. The Chinese men and women were being paid up to £90 (about 135 euros) for queuing.

An extreme lack of supply ignited an extreme surge of demand and some people took full advantage of it. Sony is being accused of staging a national launch event with 80,000 units.

No wonder PlayStation 3 consoles advertised as used are appearing for sale in Japanese shops as well as online auctions. They are being sold for up to four times the retail price of the console.
One PS3 with a 60GB hard drive, which cost about £270 in Japanese stores, was on sale on the auction site eBay for an asking price of £1,200, that’s about 1,800 euros! Other PS3s were attracting bids starting from £313 up to £771.

The PlayStation 3 is being sold in two configurations. The more expensive version has a 60GB hard drive and wi-fi on board and its official cost in Japan is about £270. The cheaper version has a 20GB hard drive, lacks the wi-fi and will cost about £222. Both versions include a wireless controller, a Blu-ray high-quality video player and a port so they can work with a high-definition display. Buying a PS3 also gives owners free access to the online PlayStation Network where they can meet and take on other gamers.

The firm put the European launch of the console on hold until March 2007 due to the shortages.

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