Playstation 3 + 20GB Preorders

Preorders are welcome for the Japanese version of the Playstation 3 + 20gig HDD which ships in Japan on Nov 11. Sony plans on allocating 100,000 PS3 units for the launch which is 300,000 units fewer than the North American debut on Nov 17. Since the launch date is a Saturday in Nihon, we expect the units to arrive on November 13 or 14. The published price is JPY49,980 but NCS starts preorders at US$689 per console.

The price is based on quotations from eight Japanese suppliers and three Hong Kong based agents. Since last minute price hikes are common during the debut of new consoles, we asked suppliers to give us realistic price projections now. For example, months before the PS2 launch, vendors accepted preorders at a price of roughly US$550. A few days before the launch, prices ramped up to US$780. That routine was getting tired.

Since the proximity of the North American PS3 launch is so close to the Japanese debut, the price of US$689 is not expected to change but it's still a possibility if Sony's 100,000 launch units changes to 50,000. The only PS3 game opened up for preorder so far has been Konami's Mahjong Fight Club: National Play but the others should open up in the next few days.