Who thinks there will be no PS4?

[Dianko]

Final-Fan said:

Dianko said:
I say no PS4. 4 is an unlucky number in Japan (like 13 in the west), so they'll call it something else.

Maybe, but I understand it's simply unlucky because it's pronounced "shi", which is the same way they say "death". In fact there's a whole alternate word (yon) for the number four to avoid saying "shi".

Anyway, my point is that it seems possible that it might be OK if they use the English word "four". Can any Japanese speakers give their opinions about this, or at least tell me if I'm totally wrong or not?

 

Yes, but having another pronounciation doesn't take away the cultural and superstition factor. Just like you won't find many buildings in America with a labeled 13th floor (and some hospitals in Japan don't have a labeled 4th floor). Basically, calling it PS4 in Japan is asking everyone to joke around calling it PS Death, the last Playstation, etc. Granted it's not that big of deal, but its inviting ridicule unnecessarily. Plus, Japan is a fairly superstitious country (though not overtly religious), and naming it the PS4 would be like MS deciding to launch their next console on a Friday the 13th.

As an example of how saying "well, it's the PS Four (or PS Yon)". You know what some popular nicknames for the Xbox are there? Pecke-bako (one way they refer to the "X" mark), meaning failure box, even though it's officially pronounced phonetically the eh-kusu-boh-kusu.

My belief is that a Japanese company will not name one of their flagship product in manner that could suggest of imply death. They're very superstitious about those things, even if they don't really believe in it.