PlayStation 4 Launches In Japan On February 22, 2014. Why So Late?

Earlier at Sony Japan’s press conference, Sony Japan president Hiroshi Kawano revealed that the PlayStation 4 will be coming to the region on Febuary 22, 2014. To make up for the late launch date, Sony will provide a special early bundle containing the PS4, DualShock 4 controller, Mark Cerny’s “Knack” and a 1-year extended warranty for the regular price of 41, 979 Yen.

It is very unfortunate that Sony wasn’t able to get a 2013 launch date for the PlayStation 4 in the console’s home country, but there are several reasons why the Japan launch is so late in the production cycle.

First off, it appears as though, “Japanese game developers have required more time to develop games for the PlayStation 4,” according to SCE president Andrew House. While there are plenty of North American games ready for a 2013 launch in Japan, it makes sense that Sony holds off until more region-specific content is made.

Second, it is safe to say that the PlayStation 4 will hold a wide margin of control of the console market share when it launches. Knowing that Microsoft sees Japan as a,”Tier 2 country,” and seeing that the Wii U only sold ~435,000 units in Japan this year compared to over 592,000 PS3’s and over 685,000 PS Vitas sold this year, Sony has the advantage in Japan when they enter the 8th generation of console gaming. It most likely will be out before the Xbox One in the country, as well, meaning it won’t be as late in comparison.

The only way we can guess how late of a launch this is for Sony when a Japan date is set for the Xbox One. Once that is settled, we will finally begin to see how each console stacks up in the region over the quarterly market reports to come.

The PlayStation 4 will launch in North America on November 15, in European and South American countries on November 29 and in Japan on February 22, 2014.