Amazon Japan PS3 preorders snapped up

  • By Walt Wyman, Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
  • Posted Oct 16, 2006 10:47 am PT

Online megastore sells out of launch-day preorder allotment for Sony's new system in under 20 minutes.

The Japanese branch of online retailer Amazon.com began taking preorders for the Sony PlayStation 3 at 7 p.m. Monday night Japan time. According to Japanese gaming blog Gameaholic, Amazon's entire launch-day quota pre-sold out in under 20 minutes.

The preorder rush mirrors last week's in-store PS3 preorder campaign for GameStop and EB Games, in which gamers lined up outside the stores before opening and snatched up all the stores' allotted preorders of PS3 systems in rapid fashion. PS3s are expected to be a tough find this holiday season, with Sony recently scaling back its plans for a worldwide launch of the system. Where it expected to have 4 million PS3s on shelves in the US, Europe, and Japan by the end of the year, last month the electronics giant delayed the European rollout until next year and halved its estimate of systems for 2006. Furthermore, the company said it would have only 400,000 units at launch for North America and 100,000 for Japan.

Despite the preorder sell-outs, gamers on both sides of the Pacific still have an opportunity to secure a system on launch day. GameStop and EB Games have yet to begin their online preorder campaigns, and the especially determined (or desperate) can always camp out by a store that didn't take preorders.

The PS3 is scheduled to go on sale in Japan on November 11, with a North American launch to follow November 17.

109 Comments

  • Arcade_Legend

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 7:27 am PT

    Well, it is now December 24, 2006...and it is safe to say that the Playstation 3 is a HUGE disappointment.

    In the December 17, 2006 issues of TIME magazine, the Playstation 3 is listed as one of the five BIGGEST disappointents of the year, at the very top of the page!

    The launch of the Playstation 3 really is a disappointing launch with very few games that are worth buying.

    TIME magazine says that the games available for the Playstation 3 are "lame," and I agree with them.

  • _Sam_

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 7:30 pm PT

    wow, I wouldn't have expected it to go that quickly

  • snake01

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 11:25 pm PT

    Dammm Thats Fast!

  • faizali86

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 11:10 am PT

    under 20 minutes! cool!

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 7:28 am PT

    Not really a surprise. The Japanese people like Sony so... . I wonder if there were preorders for Xbox 360? I think not.

  • TWOC2689

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 1:17 pm PT

    Japanese only buy PS3 for political reason and they cant see the truth that Sony are copy cats and are practically stealing innovative ideas from other companies that want to give gamers a good experience.

  • bobreturns

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 12:01 pm PT

    lol true audioaxes thats what i was saying there hardly selling any

  • audioaxes

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 11:34 am PT

    big deal, not hard to sell out when you are selling so few

  • maine_c86

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 9:19 am PT

    Also not surprised , just wish they had more.Have ps3 on the left , 360 on the right of my tv.

  • capthunt

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 8:42 am PT

    "Amazon's entire launch-day quota pre-sold out in under 20 minutes."

    HOLY!!

  • nitsua78

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 7:55 am PT

    Here's my question(s): Premium or Basic version of the PS3, and for how much? I'm curious to see what brick-and-mortar stores charge for the premium version versus what online retailers will charge.

  • Andron666

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 5:33 am PT

    I am not surprised.

    I just can't wait, but won't get one until march !!

  • Hattorihanzo15

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 4:39 am PT

    Wow, thats pretty crazy...

  • thefjk

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 4:16 am PT

    Wow, people want the PS3's bad... I guess to sell them for higher prices on eBay and such!

  • Dshenlong

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 2:28 am PT

    already got my wii payed off and dont even want a ps3 till all the bugs are worked out so i wont even care till summer 2007 before I get one...plenty of time to save up -shrugs- the only good looking game coming out remotely soon is lair......resistance looks kinda meh....ww2 with aliens...heh..heh......and yeah...main reason for getting one is MGS4 too, oh and the only reason ps3's ARE selling like hotcakes...is because sony spent millions of dollars just hyping their system on how godlike and better than all the other systems its gonna be....if it flops ill look forward to seeing some humilty from all those cocky sony fans.....and 360 is a good system...i look forward to seeing which one i play most (ps2 most likely...and sadly lol)

  • risi37

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 1:34 am PT

    "sold out in under 20 min"WOW

  • kornbeaner415

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 10:50 pm PT

    I have a pre-order on a PS3 but i still need that one for an e-bay sale.
    Wrong YES.... but there are few ways to make easy money legally.

  • blind59

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 10:30 pm PT

    Well people have been saving from the begining. People like my self will still buy a PS3 even though it's $600.

  • gertish

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 9:58 pm PT

    Well, duh. PS3 will sell like hot cakes. $600 hot cakes.

  • FighterHayabusa

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:11 pm PT

    Amazon.jp sold out Amazon.jp's allotment. They did not sell out the PS3 allotment (100,000) for ALL of Japan.

  • UntoldDreams

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:09 pm PT

    Mike GoBlue is supposedly Mike Zoran who is quite literally a paid employee of Microsoft. Paid to Blog... Must be nice.

    You shoudln't put too much stock in what he says. He is probably writing something someone told him to in an e-mail from his manager.

  • fartsimpson

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:08 pm PT

    Nforspeed:
    "xtremity
    ill wait til mgs4 to get my ps3 "

    "i am with you on that one. ill be happy playing with my wii"


    im sure you will enjoy playing with your wii. I will be playing PS3

  • wizardballa03

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:08 pm PT

    if people haven't bought the 360 by now they are/were probably waiting on the Wii or the PS3. even people who have the 360 have had time to save for another system (may even get rid of their old 360 to put money down on Wii or PS3). the fact that the 360 was released one year earlier than the other next gen consoles will eventually be its downfall.

    just wait and see

  • rbarahona

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 7:39 pm PT

    If this is any indication, then the PS3 will definitely rock.

  • I_Stole_the_Tv

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 7:38 pm PT

    Actually Sony probably sold about 2,000 PS3s, and that's being generous, so it's even better!

  • NezumiYaro

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 7:38 pm PT

    "Playstation 3 systems have even overheated when it was on display at the Tokyo Game Show! This happened with several different games, so the problem was clearly the hardware, not the software."

    and dude, its PLAYSTATION 3
    Hey Didnt you hear? the Wii also froze up.
    oh, and the Xbox360 also froze up, however the 360 froze up with its PRODUCTION MODEL.
    The Wii Dev kit froze in a box at the DigitalLife extravaganza in New York City. Playing a EA game... buggy ass games...
    The pre-production models and dev kits for the PS3 did freeze in those horrid unvented boxes in a room with 40 thousand people and no air-conditioning. But then again what console hasnt frozen?
    my Gamecube froze in Metriod prime...
    my PLAYSTATION 2 froze often but all due to scratched discs, my (friend's) PSX melted upside down...

    "Sony is not doing anything at all that could be regarded as impressive in terms of sales."

    Dude..
    Have you SEEN the PS2?

  • JIN-Omega

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 7:38 pm PT

    well its the playstation(s) only people that dont think its going to sell is the lemmings even the sheep know that sony playstation(s) sell

  • dark_reaper123

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    Wow, you Sony lovers should be so proud. Sony managed to sell out 100,000 PS3s. Yup, Nintendo/Microsoft should give up.

  • BYS2

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 6:53 pm PT

    go ps3

  • ultimate_zero

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 6:35 pm PT

    what did you expect, It's the pS3!

  • Ardus

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 6:14 pm PT

    Oh boy, PS3 fanboys are gonna be on the rampage after all this.

  • nappan

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 5:36 pm PT

    Sorry, I had to add this too...

    "mike_mgoblue
    This does not make me biased, this simply makes me someone who remembers what newspapers and websites have to say. "

    You want a cookie?! Why bother even expressing that "thought", it's so inane and emblamatic of all that is ignorant and poorly informed in EVERY arena of modern life. Burn little man, burn.

  • nappan

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 5:34 pm PT

    "mike_mgoblue
    Playstation 3 is doomed to fail. The fact that USA Today said that the Playstation 3 is the Biggest Disappointment proves this."

    HAHAHAHA oh man. I'm not even expressing an opinion about the PS3, it's just so moronic to say "USA Today said blah, so it is proven". USA Today is the rag ot end all rags, and this is something you depend on? I can't even read the front page of that clownish "news"paper without laughing myself to death. I mean, forget analysts and history and any real facts, USA Today said it man! I hope to hell you don't vote...

    "TryMe01
    It looks like the people have faith in the PlayStation brand, and it doesn't matter how much it costs?"

    Was there any doubt? Just because a debate rages on gaming forums, fueled by idiot fanboys doesn't change reality. Sony, MS and Nintendo are all going to do just fine yet again. Launch issues and broken hardware didn't stop the 360, and shortages wont' stop the ps3.

  • TryMe01

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 5:17 pm PT

    It looks like the people have faith in the PlayStation brand, and it doesn't matter how much it costs?

    Will the PS3 become the second console of choice in this gen with the Wii taking a "second choice" for Xbox360 owners and possibly for PS3 owners (if they still have money left over)? Time will tell...

  • gusti_airlangga

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    mike mgoblue you're just afraid 360 will loose, and of course it will. sony will once again dominate the industry. you were banned from 1up, you should be banned here too, you're so anoying man.

  • noxian

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    mike_mgoblue =
    the fact that USA Today and Yahoo said stuff means pretty little since their reviewers know crap. don't believe me?? read their Wii review, you'll notice they didn't even correctly report the launch number details.

    the fact that Sony has managed to sell out is impressive considering they're launching with more units than the XBox 360 did. most predictions, even on the low side have Sony at least producing 3 mil by March as you mentioned, WHICH IS MORE UNITS THAN MS PRODUCED IN THE SAME TIME. The 360 launched with a little over 300k units, only averaged 250k units per month after except in December where it sold 400k. the 360 barely hit 2 mil by last march (they launched claiming to have sold 1.5 mil world-wide but spent until march just trying to fill the orders for that 1.5 mil).

    MS has already sold 7 million worldwide, after a year. Since you like citing expert predictions so much, most expert predictions have the ps3 and the Wii hitting 8-10 mil in a years time already, WITH competition (something the 360 didn't have and STILL proceeded to get slaughtered in sales by the 6-year old PS2, even here in the US)

    you have no idea what's a lie about their sales numbers but once again since you like quoting sales number predictions, the FACT is, by the end of 2007, Enterbrain predicts the ps3 will have sold just shy of 12 mil units (3 mil less than the 360's high June predictions, since you failed to note MS's stated 13-15 range, and hitting 10 mil in less time than the 360. also only 5 mil short of the 360's predicted 17 mil amount by the end of 2007, which is impressive to anyone but the most ardent of 360 fanboys, like you maybe, due to the entire years less time for the Wii and PS3). predictions predictions, we can cite predictions all day, guess what?? most of them have the PS3 in a better position than the 360 in the equivilent amount of time. AND recently EVERY major analyst report downgraded what they thought the 360's overall market position will be at the end of this generations console war.

    the overheating claim was publicly made by one analyst, and back by little enough support to doubt whether it was anything out of the ordinary (and since then Sony's stock has fully recovered). as opposed to the 360, which has had how many problems with overheating??? overheating is hardly something to be hitting the ps3 about

    the point is, you know fairly little about how things will turn out. there's no analyst out there that serious believes the ps3 will flop. in recent weeks everyone of them has UPGRADED their ps3 outlook (versus the aforementioned downgrading their 360 outlook). and all their predictions have BOTH the ps3 and the Wii beating the 360's year by year sales numbers and eclipsing them completely within 2-3. Predictions aren't gospel but hey, you're the one trying to toss them around.

  • pos3

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:28 pm PT

    wow is it just me or did that commercial suck really bad.

  • popopopo_2

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:27 pm PT

    20min? omg :O

  • qubeley

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:26 pm PT

    Seriously what's the rush? And with so few systems available, it will be sold out anyway. Can't see a big deal on that. I won't buy mine until the price came down or until FF XIII comes out anyway, which could be another two years with Square-Enix pace of development. By that time, it should be cheaper hopefully.

  • Oni

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 4:22 pm PT

    Patience is a virtue. For me, the best bet is to wait a year. I'll feel much safer forking over the $600 once I know Sony has ironed out any potential defects. I'd be surprised if the PS3 defect ratio compared to the PS2 isn't doubled. Face it, the PS2 was riddled with bugs and that was built from proven technology. The PS3 on the other hand is all brand new technology. So ya, a year from now, I might pick one up and have a variety of games to choose from as well. Good luck to the early adopters .. you'll need it!

  • jc_tkml

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:38 pm PT

    what happened mike_mgo blue i think i've seen you in 1up disrupting people just because your afraid your console might lose....
    I get it you've been banned on that site aren't you then now you're here

  • wizardps2

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:23 pm PT

    Ha Ha Ha... Se Sony its all news and its the proof of the Victory of all the Game consoles HE HE HE HE.

  • funkinthenight

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:20 pm PT

    Lol, I was still thinking about camping out at wal-mart for mine, but then I decided "Do I really want to spend that money this way?" I decided against it, I'm going to wait until the Wii gets colours (yes I'm canadian) and buy one of those.

  • sexydaniboy

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:17 pm PT

    *rolls on floor*

  • shazanarkand

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:17 pm PT

    mike_mgoblue

    wtf are you talking about? This is a launch, its selling all 400k in one day. So you are comparing that to 325K xbox 360s in 6 days to 400k in one day. O and also about a few years back usa today gave dreamcast the best buy out of all the systems for christmas. So I wouldnt be believeing them just yet.

    Go cry some more in the xbox 360 forums

  • samuel75

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:09 pm PT

    Mike MGblue or whatever your name is...you need some serious help. Unless you work for MS, i'm really worried about your mental health.

  • abelmaestro

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 3:04 pm PT

    No need for worries,by feb the stores will be full of PS3`s .....rightO.O?

    PS:WTF are the people who posted those laaaaarge comments thinking ...do you think I`ll waste my eyes reading that crap!?

  • sjustememe

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 2:28 pm PT

    M$ expected the 360 to sale 10 million by 2006. but its not happening because japan don't want their crap. if japan did they would be 15 millions 360s by now. america alone cannot support the 360. and the japanese like gimmicks and with the tilt ps3 will do well in japan.

  • sjustememe

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 2:22 pm PT

    mike_mgoblue
    you are very stupid man. check this out http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-360-sales-lackluster-xbox-all-but-abandoned-207711.php

  • jeebs213

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 2:15 pm PT

    i can't believe this thing is FINALLY coming out in 31 days, not that i'll be getting it any time soon.

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