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[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Increasing the price of the X in a region where they barely have given it supply, almost exclusively having XBS sales rely on Series S, is a baffling move.

I guess they'll earn more per sales but I would think they would increase X shipments before raising the price.



There hasn't been a single week where Microsoft has shipped a significant amount of Series X in Japan since launch. At some point the S hits a cap.

There were a few weeks where X shipments to Japan spiked and it sold better than the S IIRC. And by "significant" we need a qualifier here; 2.5 - 3K a week was significant for Xbox and they were doing that (mostly Series S) for a little while.

But that has not been the case for months, Series X isn't exactly a unicorn to find there and supply could've been beefed up if demand warranted it to the decision makers. As for increasing Series X shipments to Japan, I doubt that does anything: the big selling point for Xbox there this gen was the Series S being much smaller and cheaper. So many people have repeatedly insisted that; Series X runs antithesis to that.

That said though, even if they see a small drop in overall hardware sales, long as it isn't more than 10%, they'll be making more money off hardware revenue sales there.

XSS is #1 on Amazon jp best seller ranking now .

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/movers-and-shakers/videogames/ref=zg_bs_tab

This really doesn't mean anything. Is it just #1 for the day? For the hour? Where was Xbox trending on Amazon Japan for say the past 3-4 weeks? Can we use any of that to correlate between Amazon Japan ranking and actual weekly sales?

I'm guessing MS gets a small spike in Series sales before the price increase goes into effect. Maybe they'll break 5K again for the next week or two, it's been a few months.

 

[THE DUCK]

That’s the title of the story from Gematsu who originally translated the story from Famitsu. I didn’t editorialize anything.

Doesn't mean you aren't able to, especially if the title is not clear on what it really means. But nothing I'm going to say will change your positions, clearly.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

But that has not been the case for months, Series X isn't exactly a unicorn to find there

Your'e downplaying an ongoing unaddressed concern in Japan since the launch. there has been no time where there has been any significant stock of the Series X in japan, and the closest you could come close to meeting half the definition of significant was also the times it done as well or better than the S those weeks. If anything, that showed that Microsoft was prioritizing the X elsewhere and couldn't get enough production there.

Since Japan isn't the only country with that same issue between the S and X, it's clear there's an issue going on with how Microsoft is handling X production, even in its key territories, which is a bad look when PS5 is heading toward normal status and may start producing more PS5D's in the future.

The S has a cap, that audience will continue and possible grow through the gen but you're not going to be able to squeeze more than a certain amount of consumers for the S per year.

 

[Raonak]

RiP Xbox in Japan

 

[lh032]

Phil visit to Japan bear fruit finally.

 

[reinking]

Yeah it's funny that some people are realizing it now, a few months ago it was called just greed and being anticonsumer.

Btw first games, then hardware, next services?

Count on it. Phil laid the groundwork toward the end of last year. I hope they forget about the conversion loophole when they increase Game Pass prices.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Your'e downplaying an ongoing unaddressed concern in Japan since the launch. there has been no time where there has been any significant stock of the Series X in japan, and the closest you could come close to meeting half the definition of significant was also the times it done as well or better than the S those weeks. If anything, that showed that Microsoft was prioritizing the X elsewhere and couldn't get enough production there.

There hasn't been significant stock, because there hasn't been significant demand. It's really that simple. Microsoft have had several times in the latter half of 2022 to increase supply of Series X in Japan by notable amounts IF they felt demand warranted it. They haven't. So that should really tell us everything about the situation there.

Since Japan isn't the only country with that same issue between the S and X, it's clear there's an issue going on with how Microsoft is handling X production, even in its key territories, which is a bad look when PS5 is heading toward normal status and may start producing more PS5D's in the future.

I agree with this, and was always a concern expressed about their strategy even before Day 1, but you're crossing wires on the X's role in some of these markets. Microsoft did not make the Series X to have Xbox be competitive in markets like Japan; they made the Series S for that purpose. So a glut of more Series Xs in certain markets like Japan isn't going to suddenly result in a surge of sales.

Microsoft know this, it's why they're prioritizing a 5,000 yen price increase instead of more supply of X models to the market.

The S has a cap, that audience will continue and possible grow through the gen but you're not going to be able to squeeze more than a certain amount of consumers for the S per year.

Then it really brings into question the flaws of MS's approach. If it's as you say and the X is what they clearly should have prioritized more, then if by pushing Series S so much this early on they have suppressed Series X production and gimped their own chance for market growth in a key time period, then doesn't that reinforce the notion that ultimately, this two-SKU approach was not a bright decision?

If the S has a hard cap that isn't doing much in and of itself, would they have been better served withholding its release until the halfway point of the generation, or just skipped it altogether to price-reduce Series X like normal? I feel like Microsoft took this S/X approach just to appear novel and do something different but the problem is, that only works if you clearly know what you are doing, and that means having been in a position of strength in the market long enough to understand what customers and developers truly want.

Sony and Nintendo have been in those positions and if even they don't see a dual-SKU approach the Series S/X way being beneficial or worth doing, it just really begs the question why did Microsoft think it would work long-term? Because it doesn't appear to be doing so. And I would be hesitant to think Series S's audience grows considerably in the years to come: Nintendo's going to have a Switch 2 (and probably a Lite version for that) which will attract would-be Series S buyers away, let alone Sony with the rumored PS5 Revision D models that'll allow them to eventually bring a discless PS5 option near Series S-pricing at some point in the generation. Both of those options will make Series S look like a pretty bad deal, and I don't think the value of Game Pass will make up for that.

 

[Moses85]

This is good decision.
More Japanese will buy xbox until price increase.

So 3 more consoles they will sell.

 

[Eddie-Griffin]

There hasn't been significant stock, because there hasn't been significant demand.

You have to stop contradicting sales data you don't have evidence against, especially when Japanese sales data is public and isn't hidden like NPD.

I'm also curious how MS "had the chance" to increase X shipments when they didn't increase them almost every where else, and still undershipped in its strongest territories, and of course you ignores how the times they did have stock the X did better than the S those weeks, or tied.

Microsoft did not make the Series X to have Xbox be competitive in markets like Japan; they made the Series S for that purpose. So a glut of more Series Xs in certain markets like Japan isn't going to suddenly result in a surge of sales.

Literally made this up with no evidence, and it contradicts Microsofts own statement of the goal for the X and the S and it had nothing to do with countries but demographics.

Microsoft know this, it's why they're prioritizing a 5,000 yen price increase instead of more supply of X models to the market.

Curious how MS can increase supply of X in japan when they can't seem to do that anywhere else. Or how they are "prioritizizng" an X price increase, when they also rose the price for the S too.......

If the S has a hard cap that isn't doing much in and of itself, would they have been better served withholding its release until the halfway point of the generation, or just skipped it altogether to price-reduce Series X like normal?

The issue is they were clearly not expecting the X to take this long to have better production levels. The S was from various Microsoft sources was supposed to be an entry level machine that would drop in price and become the best selling unit over the gen, that plan was changed because the over 2 years in is still not at the production it needs to be, so to keep XBS alive until then, we saw the fire sales we saw in NOV and DEC, and still deals now on the S.

However, the S is not impacting the X's productions as they are made differently, while having more space fo X would increase units, it's very clear the productions issues are caused my more problems than just a slight split of parts with the S, which is incredibly easy to produce.

 

[Banjo64]

Comes in to effect today.

A price hike of 5,000 yen across both Microsoft consoles. That’s the equivalent of $38.33 / £31.14 / AU$ 54.84.

 

[supernova8]

This really doesn't mean anything. Is it just #1 for the day? For the hour? Where was Xbox trending on Amazon Japan for say the past 3-4 weeks? Can we use any of that to correlate between Amazon Japan ranking and actual weekly sales?

I'm guessing MS gets a small spike in Series sales before the price increase goes into effect. Maybe they'll break 5K again for the next week or two, it's been a few months.

Here is the nationwide sales data for Japan (not just Amazon)

week ending	PS5 (Disc)	PS5 Digital	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
2023/1/1	37,648	4,930	100	770
2023/1/8	37,648	4,930	100	770
2023/1/15	39,468	4,645	267	785
2023/1/22	38,602	3,550	205	740
2023/1/29	53,256	9,652	435	830
2023/2/5	76,450	16,576	367	14,277
2023/2/12	81,798	11,776	506	3,429

(1/1 and 1/8 were reported together so I just halved the 2-week number, that's why they're identical)

I think what's happening is that Amazon is not handling much PS5 stock (it's still only available by invitation, and my "number" certainly hasn't come up) whereas the Series S is available to buy as normal without scalper pricing or having to enter a lottery. Whether Amazon is purposely not ordering in stock or whether the bulk of PS5 shipments are already earmarked for local Japanese electronics retailers is hard to tell, but I can say that the PS5 is available as usual at (new higher) RRP at the large retailers. Amazon is now the only place in Japan where you still need to jump through a hoop.

Also, we don't know what the actual sales numbers are on Amazon, but judging by the nationwide Japan figures (sourced from Famitsu's weekly data), Xbox Series S sales spiked during the week ending 5th Feb and were also relatively strong the following week. Definitely interesting to see what happens with the upcoming week's worth of data (for the seven-day period Feb 13th -> Feb 19th), and whether Series S is still over 1,000 units weekly.

The only thing the Series S has/had going for it was it's low price and its high availability at a time when it was still definitely to get a PS5 at RRP. Now that the PS5 is readily available and the Series S value proposition isn't as good, I personally expect Series S and X sales to be.... shit.

 

[Three]

Here is the nationwide sales data for Japan (not just Amazon)

week ending	PS5 (Disc)	PS5 Digital	Xbox Series X	Xbox Series S
2023/1/1	37,648	4,930	100	770
2023/1/8	37,648	4,930	100	770
2023/1/15	39,468	4,645	267	785
2023/1/22	38,602	3,550	205	740
2023/1/29	53,256	9,652	435	830
2023/2/5	76,450	16,576	367	14,277
2023/2/12	81,798	11,776	506	3,429

(1/1 and 1/8 were reported together so I just halved the 2-week number, that's why they're identical)

I think what's happening is that Amazon is not handling much PS5 stock (it's still only available by invitation, and my "number" certainly hasn't come up) whereas the Series S is available to buy as normal without scalper pricing or having to enter a lottery. Whether Amazon is purposely not ordering in stock or whether the bulk of PS5 shipments are already earmarked for local Japanese electronics retailers is hard to tell, but I can say that the PS5 is available as usual at (new higher) RRP at the large retailers. Amazon is now the only place in Japan where you still need to jump through a hoop.

Also, we don't know what the actual sales numbers are on Amazon, but judging by the nationwide Japan figures (sourced from Famitsu's weekly data), Xbox Series S sales spiked during the week ending 5th Feb and were also relatively strong the following week. Definitely interesting to see what happens with the upcoming week's worth of data (for the seven-day period Feb 13th -> Feb 19th), and whether Series S is still over 1,000 units weekly.

The only thing the Series S has/had going for it was it's low price and its high availability at a time when it was still definitely to get a PS5 at RRP. Now that the PS5 is readily available and the Series S value proposition isn't as good, I personally expect Series S and X sales to be.... shit.

That sales spike is probably due to that week being the price hike announcement week (31 Jan) . People went out to buy it before the price increase came into effect. They/scalpers could even sell it for a profit by just waiting 2 weeks. It's unlikely that it's going to maintain that 3000+ a week figure the following weeks.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

The Series S spike is due to fence sitters buying it before the price increase.

It’s not going to be scalpers. Series S was only selling 700-800/wk and I don’t think a scalper is going to go through all this trouble to make $40.

 

[Tams]

Before someone panics due to a poorly detailed article, the new price translates into $461 and $291, which is still cheaper than in the west, so yeah, they're simply adapting to the super-weak yen, as many other companies have done.

Before this, you could grab a series X in Japan for the equivalent of $422 and an S for $248.

Basically, everything has been 30% off in Japan for a while (more recently like 25%) for anyone who was paid in Dollars haha. Last time I went in September/October, I had some fun shopping

Also great in mind that wages have stagnated in Japan for getting on two decades now.

tl;dr: lots of people can't afford shit.

It's gotten so bad that even the government has taken to trying to shame companies into increasing salaries, to some success.

 

[Three]

The Series S spike is due to fence sitters buying it before the price increase.

It’s not going to be scalpers. Series S was only selling 700-800/wk and I don’t think a scalper is going to go through all this trouble to make $40.

What trouble? An 18% return for keeping a few boxes for 2 weeks.

 

[supernova8]

That sales spike is probably due to that week being the price hike announcement week (31 Jan) . People went out to buy it before the price increase came into effect. They/scalpers could even sell it for a profit by just waiting 2 weeks. It's unlikely that it's going to maintain that 3000+ a week figure the following weeks.

Oh yeah sorry I misread the date this thread was made

The most likely place they would sell it is Mercari, which takes a 10% cut (or about 3,000 yen) and then you need to factor in the cost of delivery + packaging materials (probably another 1,000 yen).
If someone (likely a scalper) bought it at 33,000 yen and then sold it at 37,000 yen (the new RRP) that's a 4,000 yen profit at face value but once you factor in the 10% fee and delivery costs you're barely breaking in, that 4,000 profit is completely gone.

You'd have to buy it around 33,000 yen and then sell it around 40,000 for it to be worth your while, but stocks seem to be good enough that nobody needs to go the scalper route anyway. Plus, looking at Mercari right now I can see a lot of Series S available (used of course) for under 30,000 yen. The only way someone could profit would be to buy up one of those under 30,000 yen listings and then sell it for 37,000 yen, but that would only work if it was sold at RRP. If not then there's of course no incentive for someone to buy second hand for that price.

On that basis, I think the vast majority of the 14,000 sales were genuine (ie not scalper) consumers who were perhaps on the fence for some reason and the upcoming price hike pushed them over the edge.

On the flipside, you're probably right about future trends, especially if we assume that those 14,000 sales would have otherwise been spread over several weeks or even several months.

 

[Tams]

What trouble? An 18% return for keeping a few boxes for 2 weeks.

Bruh, you don't just magically get to keep all the profits.

 

[supernova8]

The Series S spike is due to fence sitters buying it before the price increase.

It’s not going to be scalpers. Series S was only selling 700-800/wk and I don’t think a scalper is going to go through all this trouble to make $40.

Yeah you beat me to it lol. There's way too much Series S stock available for it to be worth scalping,

The kicker is that they wouldn't even make $40.
They would make precisely zero after fees.

It's actually funny on Mercari these days, so many people trolling listings that are obviously by scalpers, saying stuff like "I'll buy it for 1,000 yen ($10)" etc, or "we can buy it at RRP anyway so you need to lower your price mate" (paraphrasing and translating into English of couese).

Equally shocking how all the above-RRP PS5 listings literally vanished over the last week or so.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

What trouble? An 18% return for keeping a few boxes for 2 weeks.

This isn’t the stock market where an 18% gain is great if you got $10,000 invested paying the broker a $5.99 transaction fee all done in a few mouse clicks.

It’s $40 per unit assuming the scalpers pays zero website or delivery fees to fulfill the order. And that even excludes the time to do it.

But way to go saying 18% because it sounds better.

 

[Three]

Bruh, you don't just magically get to keep all the profits.

Depending on where you sell it i guess you could especially if you're competing with stores that don't have free shipping either. It is surprising that 18% margin is not enough though. Would have thought it would be.

 

[supernova8]

Depending on where you sell it i guess you could especially you're competing with stores that don't have free shipping either. It is surprising that 18% margin is not enough though. Would have thought it would be.

As far as I can tell, all the major retailers do offer free shipping.

Plus, racking up electronics chain-specific points is definitely quite popular in Japan. You're more likely to see them offering double, triple, quadruple points etc at times when western retailers might just offer direct discounts. I suppose it's a way to try to lock in customers with the store's loyalty scheme. I try to negotiate and ask them to deduct the value of the points from the price - works sometimes not all the time.

The other flea market type platforms are more or less the same Mercari. For instance, Yahoo Auctions takes 8.8% if you have a premium account or 10% for regular accounts (I assume the premium account costs money, maybe for power sellers). Plus, you still need to either cover the cost of delivery or deduct it from the listing price (to stay competitive).

The only peer-to-peer type website is jimoty (ジモティ), which doesn't take any fees at all, but that's notorious for people who will offer one price and then try to knock you down to a lower price once they arrive (hoping you'll cave in all the awkwardness). Besides, it's not really the type of place where people sell gadgets. Mercari is the place.

So yeah, it would be very difficult to profit from trying to scalp the Series S right now.