By Sickr on November 18, 2025

A new report by Japanese site TV Tokyo has revealed that Sony's recently announced Japan-only PlayStation 5 console was only brought about after the company executives learned that Nintendo were preparing a Japan-only Nintendo Switch 2, which has since proved popular with Japanese consumers. The system is a cut-price, Japanese language only model which Sony hopes will reverse the fortunes of the PlayStation 5 in Japan. The PlayStation 5 has been selling poorly in comparison to the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 in Japan. Here's some translated highlights from the TV Tokyo piece.

In the PS5 resale market for China, the mainland version has strict content regulations and very few playable titles, so the unrestricted Japanese PS5 sells at high prices.
The decision to sell a Japan-only PS5 model began when Sony executives saw that Nintendo was preparing a Japan-only Switch 2. They decided "we should do the same", and the price cut was approved in only four months.
This price reduction carries significant risk and may mean Sony is selling the console with a substantial loss.
In the background, while global PS sales are growing, the brand has been losing share in Japan, as a result, there was an internal sentiment within SIE that "it is acceptable if the Japanese market continues to shrink".
However, the new president Nishino, who is Japanese, feels a strong sense of crisis about the decline of the PlayStation brand in Japan, this sense of urgency shared by Nishino and the Japanese team helped push forward the Japan-focused measures.