By Kosaku Narioka
Sony Group plans to start selling a new, cheaper PlayStation 5 model for the Japanese market in time for the holiday shopping season.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company's videogame unit, said Wednesday in a blog post that it would begin selling the new disc-free PlayStation 5 model on Nov. 21 for a recommended retail price of 55,000 yen, equivalent to around $357, and will start taking orders Thursday.
Its regular disc-free version playable in many languages has a price tag of Y72,980.
The company said the basic functions of the new model remains the same as the regular model, but some specifications are tailored for the Japanese market. The new model can only be used by accounts in the country using Japanese, it said.
The coming holiday shopping season is an important period for Sony as it competes with rival Nintendo's Switch 2 console. The new Nintendo console has sold 10.4 million units as of September since its launch in June. The Japan-only Switch 2 model is on sale for Y49,980.
In the U.S., Sony raised its recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles by $50 in August, citing a challenging economic environment. The disc-free version is now sold for $499.99.
Sony said Tuesday that it sold 3.9 million PlayStation 5s globally in the three months ended September, slightly more than the 3.8 million units sold in the year-earlier period.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-11-25 2330ET
