I expect PS3 to be like the PSP, a late-bloomer when it hits a low price and a slim model.

can some1 answer this: what ps3 model does japan have? the 40gb sicne they have no b/c?

If people were going to buy the PS3 based on hype, then it would have taken off from the beginning with it being the successor to the PS2. The PS3 is not some unknown upstart that has never gotten any press. It is the next in the line of extremely popular consoles. It is well known to everyone, and FFXIII being released on it has been known from the beginning. This isn't a surprise development, but something that has been known since before the system released.

People buy consoles for games they will play. FFXIII just being on the system will not sell more consoles than copies of FFXIII. It will infact move fewer consoles than copies of the game are sold as is the case with every game ever made. Why would someone buy a console for a game they won't play?

so then y r some people saying "sony took out the b/c option in ps3 japan models"?

You sure they still have them? They were discontinued a while ago.

Those 2 models have recently been discontinued. I imagine you could still find them in shops if you looked around, but eventually they will disapear forever from the last market that still sold them.

 Edit: Or maybe it was a while ago. I have no sense of time. Thinking back it might have happened before the end of last year. Either way there was no sales drop when they discontinued them. Sales have returned to around the same average it has been selling at for a while now.

Why is the PS3 struggling in Japan? Have you guys seen the game selection, it's far too expensive for that kind of library.

SE has already said they don't want DQIX and FFXIII in the same fiscal year. The reason is because they don't want to have huge revenue one year, then have it drop the next, because that will kill the stock price. So in all likelihood, FFXIII will be after March 2009.

FF13 + GT5 + MGS4 + Future Price Drop

4 things that will lead to better sales.