PlayStation 3 officially launched in Japan

PS3 News | We sum up everything you may or not know about the new console.

The PlayStation 3 has officially launched in Japan, and reports are quickly filtering through on some things that Sony hadn't clarified about the console prior to the launch. We're sure to learn a lot more next week when the PlayStation 3 officially launches in America, PAL gamers waiting for the console are still facing at least a five month wait, at least.

The PlayStation store is fully operational and features a wide range of things to download, including Blast Factor which is 840 yen. You'll require a Japanese credit card to purchase items off the store. The full list of everything currently available to download on the store includes:

GAMES:

Mainichi Isshyou
Ridge Racer 7 demo
Blast factor demo
Blast factor full game

EXTRA ITEMS:
Genji Character costumes (Free)

VIDEOS:
Gran Turismo HD
Afrika
Genji
Casino Royale trailer
Open Season trailer
BluRay Trailers (SWAT, Stealth, Underworld)

The firmware immediately needs to be updated from 1.0 to 1.10. The PSP's 3.0 firmware update is currently set for release at the end of November, it is then when PlayStation One emulation will be possible on the PSP.

One of the biggest games available for the launch is Ridge Racer 7. There are six new tracks in the game: Lost Ruins, Old Central, Mist Falls, Shadow Caves, Bayside Freeway and Industrial Drive. There are twenty more tracks, although these have been ported from Ridge Racer 6 - in fact some of the first few tracks you play in the game will instantly seem familiar. As previously revealed, you're able to save parts of Ridge Racer 7 to the hard-drive and speed up the loading times. It takes a considerable amount of time but you're able to play Xevious while you wait.

The backwards compatibility is far from perfect - with Japanese gamers trying out hundreds of games it seems there are issues with some of them; this is something that is expected to be fixed with a few firmware updates. The Japanese PlayStation 3 can only play Japanese PlayStation 2 and PlayStation One titles, confirming there will be region lock restrictions for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation One games.

Despite what everyone expected, you won't actually need to buy the PlayStation One/ PlayStation Two memory card adaptor unless you want to transfer your save data from your existing cards over. You're able to create "virtual" memory cards for both the PlayStation One and PlayStation 2 on the hard drive.

You're able to multi task with the PlayStation 3. The web browser can open up to 6 pages simultaneously. 64MB memory is always reserved for the browser, the instant messenger and other XMB activities even whilst you're playing a game. If you press the PlayStation button in the centre of a controller in game then you can bring up basic features, although not everything.

You're able to connect USB mass storage devices such as the PSP, but you can't plug and play with devices that have special transfer methods, such as the iPod.

So that's everything that we've found out about the PlayStation 3 so far. 80 000 lucky Japanese gamers now have the console in their homes, and we have to wait five months. We'll update this article as we find out more about the console, so keep checking back.

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35 Comments

DancesInUnderwear

6 years ago

Interesting stuff. The multitasking stuff seems interesting - does everything still run at full speed even when games are running with multiple browser pages and the like in the background?

mqphu1

6 years ago

If you've played both the PS3 and Wii (I DID),
then the Wii is like a "Kid's Toy" compared with the PS3.

I am serious! I am No Fanboy!
From my perspective, Wii is A Kid's Toy.
Many Ninty fans in this forum should grow up a little, just a little.

PS3 will be the market LEADER no doubt (Wii is just a HYPE or FAD)

Good Luck to those trying to defend the Wii. The japanese
gamers have spoken.

Luke

6 years ago

^
Not really, i mean 80k isn't hard for Sony to sell through. Though, im very hyped for the PS3 after seeing the crazy lines etc..

Infested Jibbs

6 years ago

Where does the 360 lie in the future mqphu1??

Oh, and since you can obviously see into the future, what are next weeks winning lotto numbers?

mqphu1

6 years ago

Jibbs wrote

Where does the 360 lie in the future mqphu1??

Oh, and since you can obviously see into the future, what are next weeks winning lotto numbers?

The Japanese market is the like a capital of gaming and entertainment.
If the Xbox360 failed in JP then other regions will follow suit EVENTUALLY.

PS3 is SO different to the Wii.
As an individual gamer, PS3 got my vote. ITS JUSTIFIED the high PRICE.
As for the Wii, it is a kid's toy and DOESN'T JUSTIFY the high PRICE.

However, I will get all three. Wii in December (Toy'r'US preordered 2 months ago)
and PS3 in December (i will be in JP in for confernence). Expect photos in December in my blog

DancesInUnderwear

6 years ago

The Xbox failed miserably in Japan, yet the Xbox was a hit in the US, in the UK, and in Australia.

Even THOUGH you type
all of your posts like this that doesn't change the fact that
your predictions are FLAWED and NOT BASED ON FACT.

Klawrence

6 years ago

mqphu1 wrote

Jibbs wrote

Where does the 360 lie in the future mqphu1??

Oh, and since you can obviously see into the future, what are next weeks winning lotto numbers?

all you have proven is that you are a naive kid, who wastes your money on unjustified things.

mqphu1 wrote

you also love to contradict yourself.....

mqphu1's character analised.

Look guys no nead for a respect meter on this forum, i have identified a n00b.

thebigm

6 years ago

I don't know, what do you think of the DS and PSP then, same situation huh?

Your post reeks of trolling mqphu1

Anyway back on topic, did they really need to call Ridge Racer 7, Ridge Racer 7 when it's more of an updated version of 6 than anything else, but then again they did that for Ridge Racer -> Ridge Racer 2 on PSP from what I've heard.

Luke

6 years ago

thebigm wrote

I don't know, what do you think of the DS and PSP then, same situation huh?

Your post reeks of trolling mqphu1

I agree it should be Ridge Racer 6: SE

GooberMan

6 years ago

mqphu1 wrote

The Japanese market is the like a capital of gaming and entertainment.

IIRC, the Japanese market is also in decline. It's also a completely different culture over there. The Xbox was effectively a failure in Japan, trailing a distant third to the Gamecube. Yet, overall world wide sales have put the Xbox in front.

If you're going to pretend to be an analyst, at least look at the historical facts first.

If Nintendo can tap in to the same market they wowed over with the DS, they could easilly sit on top in at least Japan. Western markets may be a different story, as it's more geared towards better looking graphics. It again depends on what market they can tap in to.

slapshakle

6 years ago

Luke wrote

thebigm wrote

I don't know, what do you think of the DS and PSP then, same situation huh?

Your post reeks of trolling mqphu1

I agree it should be Ridge Racer 6: SE

I was watching a video of RR7 on gamespot yesterday, I saw that quite a few of the tracks are the same as RR6.

I want to buy a PS3 at launch but I don't think its going to be worth spending $1100 just to play RR7, since none of the other launch titles seem to tickle my fancy. Also the fact half of them are Already 360 titles aswell.

Infested Jibbs

6 years ago

mqphu1 wrote

Jibbs wrote

Where does the 360 lie in the future mqphu1??

Oh, and since you can obviously see into the future, what are next weeks winning lotto numbers?

The Japanese market is the like a capital of gaming and entertainment.
If the Xbox360 failed in JP then other regions will follow suit EVENTUALLY.

Then why did the original xbox, which bombed in japan also, enjoy critical acclaim all over the world?The 360 has already made it's mark, it's the ps3 that need to now justify the price tag.

EDIT-yeah, what my g-banger sporting friend said.

cycosippius

6 years ago

I need to grow up apparently.

asylum99

6 years ago

The Japanese market is not in decline, one only needs to take a look at the sales figures for DS games. The Wii will sell the most hardware and the most software in Japan but the PS3 will come out on top worldwide.
The Japanese culture and Microsoft's lack of understanding of it, meant that the 360 was always going to have a hard time breaking in. Japan is a very nationalistic country, so support for home grown product in hardware and software will always be extremely strong.
As for the PS3, well after waiting in massively long lines and surviving ridiculous lotteries (one major store had 40 consoles for over 2000 people) I'm able to say the PS3 is one amazing piece of tech and well worth, especially with the Blu Ray player, the price.
The Wii is gimmicky, but it's a gimmick that is inventive and forward-thinking, two things that the gaming world lacks.

Jim Dash

6 years ago

The PS3 may eventually come out on top worldwide, but not for a while. The way I see it, the PS3 could suffer the same situation as the 360, but in opposite countries - succes in Japan but not the rest of the world.

Sony have their consoles for the long term. PS3 will still be going strong in 10 years. By then, we'll be on our new Xbox.

David

6 years ago

asylum99 wrote

Actually, the Japanese market was in decline for TEN YEARS, and only started to grow again a year ago when the DS took off.

Apart from the DS, it is still in serious decline (ie home console software sales).

Jim Dash wrote

Once again, no. Video games are a momentum based industry. If the PS3 stalls in the next year or so, it will die - either quickly (like PSP is now*) or slowly (like Gamecube).

*Just to back up this point:

US Monthly Hardware sales October 2006
DS 360k
PS2 235k
360 218k
GBA 169k
PSP 130k

NeoSanity

6 years ago

mqphu1 Do you have any idea what your talking about? Seriously? I went off a couple of weeks ago to a playtest thing in the city with a couple of guys (How I ended up being dragged along is beyond me). I have to say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.
We played all these different sports games, which at first were annoying, but once you got into it was a lot of fun (And the controller strap is awesome too since mine kept slipping out of my hand). Personally from that experiance I can say that the Wii is a great lot of fun, it's something you can pick up and really get into.

While I can't say anything about the Playstation 3, I just think that even it's launch was rather lacklustre. Barely a mention over here, even when the Xbox 360 had it launch I remember watching MTV on the night and seeing the two hour launch event. News presentations and whatnot.

I think Sony have fallen victim to bad economics, shipping a product that's predessesing their best selling product (obviously something that'll be in high demand). At a high price (which cuts a lot of average consumers off for another 12 months), with limited stock (Half a million in Japan and America apprently, so a lot of children will be disapointed this year) and with limited games (Even though the Xbox had about the same amount of games, I just feel that the Xbox had more of a varitey).

The Playstation 3 will no doubt be a long-term investment, but knowing Microsoft and their huge bankroll. They would've already started work on their new product.

How about we don't predict the future peopel and enjoy what we've got on tap today. The anaylzing the future is for those not happy with what's happening now.

Crestfallen

6 years ago

Wii man wrote

mqphu1's character analised.

analised?!?!?!?!?!

hey everyone Wii man just anal-ised mqphu1!

matrix-cat

6 years ago

Mainichi Isshyou...

Everyday together?

Klawrence

6 years ago

crestfallen12 wrote

Wii man wrote

mqphu1's character analised.

analised?!?!?!?!?!

hey everyone Wii man just anal-ised mqphu1!

meh, an i for a y....iv said it numerous times that im a crap spillier.

NeoSanity

6 years ago

Wii man wrote

crestfallen12 wrote

Wii man wrote

mqphu1's character analised.

analised?!?!?!?!?!

hey everyone Wii man just anal-ised mqphu1!

meh, an i for a y....iv said it numerous times that im a crap spillier.

What are you, 12? I'll be your english tutor for about $30 an hour!

Ellegarden

6 years ago

mqphu1 wrote

PS3 is SO different to the Wii.
As an individual gamer, PS3 got my vote. ITS JUSTIFIED the high PRICE.

I agree its different, I'm tempted at PS3 very much unless Microsoft prove me otherwise. By no way is the price justified by Sony, R&D went wrong and Sony went greedy like usual.

Crestfallen

6 years ago

UmbrellaCEO wrote

mqphu1 wrote

PS3 is SO different to the Wii.
As an individual gamer, PS3 got my vote. ITS JUSTIFIED the high PRICE.

I agree its different, I'm tempted at PS3 very much unless Microsoft prove me otherwise. By no way is the price justified by Sony, R&D went wrong and Sony went greedy like usual.

i wouldn't call it greedy since Sony lost so much money in the last fiscal

Ellegarden

6 years ago

crestfallen12 wrote

UmbrellaCEO wrote

mqphu1 wrote

PS3 is SO different to the Wii.
As an individual gamer, PS3 got my vote. ITS JUSTIFIED the high PRICE.

I agree its different, I'm tempted at PS3 very much unless Microsoft prove me otherwise. By no way is the price justified by Sony, R&D went wrong and Sony went greedy like usual.

i wouldn't call it greedy since Sony lost so much money in the last fiscal

True, but I dont see how Playstation consumers got to do with this, we've been loyal. UMD, Cell, Memory sticks, BD's all sony has done look at its overall growth not look at consumers' point of view.

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