PlayStation CEO Pushed Through Cut-Price PS5 in Japan After Seeing System Slump Against Switch 2

PlayStation’s prior leadership deemed it tolerable for Nintendo to diminish its market presence in Japan. However, the new CEO Hideaki Nishino – who is Japanese and has succeeded British executive Jim Ryan – intends to resist this trend.

Per a report from TV Tokyo (translated by user Hartmann on Install Base), the firm pledged to its strategy of introducing a budget-friendly, Japanese language-only variant within four months of its competitor executing a similar approach with the Switch 2.

This decision carries considerable risks: the model might incur losses for the manufacturer, as the costs of components have surged since the PS5’s debut in 2020. Nevertheless, Nishino seems convinced it is vital to halt PlayStation’s local decline.

Although the PS5 initially performed well in Japan, its sales have drastically decreased due to increasing prices. To complicate matters further, Nintendo’s strong foothold in the region with its more enticing hybrid hardware design is starting to undermine Sony’s market share.

A major wake-up call for the manufacturer may be observing significant titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Final Fantasy 7 Remake beginning to launch on the Switch 2. Historically, these kinds of titles have bypassed Nintendo’s hardware due to technical constraints.

Sony still faces a steep challenge ahead: it cannot rival the cultural supremacy of its opponent’s first-party games, and the stationary design of the PS5 will always place it at a disadvantage.

However, Nishino will be optimistic that the substantial price drop and revitalized marketing campaign will at least set the PS5 on a more favorable path once again.

In the following months, we should gain clearer insights into whether his gamble has yielded positive results.