Hardware About how much would it cost to import a PS5 to the US around launch

CaseyDog · Mar 5, 2020

I mostly play Japanese games, and in Japan, O=confirm and X=back. When localised for the reversed international layout, this causes discrepancies that grate on my OCD, like what's now the back button still being used for affirmative actions outside menus, and buttons with commands designed to be close together now further apart. I'm also majoring in Japanese in college and want to start playing games in the language when I'm proficient enough.

There's no system option on the PS4 to swap these buttons outside Asia, and I don't see SIE adding that option to the PS5, especially anywhere near launch. I also learnt through playing the Japanese version of the FF7 Remake demo on a Japanese account, and with my system language temporarily in Japanese, that the console has an override for these buttons that made X still act as confirm in the Japanese ISO.

So how much more have consoles tended to cost as imports near launch in the past, like the PS3 or 4? I'm not spending $400-$500 on a North American console just to repurchase it.

tech3475 · Mar 5, 2020

Have you tried this?:
https://www.howtogeek.com/245977/how-to-remap-buttons-on-your-playstation-4s-controller/

If you still want to import, the closest you may get now is to try importing a PS4 and see what the difference is, I know Amazon when importing from US to UK can handle taxes/fees so you know up front how much, don’t know if it applies to their Japanese site.

That said, there may be restrictions and/or higher costs near launch (e.g. scalpers), plus the higher chances of failure may not make buying near launch worth it.

CaseyDog · Mar 5, 2020

Unfortunately that fix doesn't really work, even with the on-screen button prompt mismatch aside. For example, in Monster Hunter World, international versions use X to confirm in menus and O to confirm things in the environment, since O used to be confirm in the Japanese version and its otherwise cancelling use is preserved as confirming there. This creates a problem where climbing vines for example is confusingly the back button, and simply remapping what O acts as won't change this reprogramming job in the localised ISO. That also remaps the roll button to the side of the controller where it's clunky and completely defeats the purpose.

zxr750j · Mar 5, 2020

Not an expert but you could cut the traces on the pcb for the two buttons en crosswire them by soldering thin wires on the end of the traces.

CaseyDog · Mar 5, 2020

zxr750j said:
Not an expert but you could cut the traces on the pcb for the two buttons en crosswire them by soldering thin wires on the end of the traces.

Refer to my reply above for why that wouldn't fix the problem.

CaseyDog · Mar 5, 2020

tech3475 said:
If you still want to import, the closest you may get now is to try importing a PS4 and see what the difference is, I know Amazon when importing from US to UK can handle taxes/fees so you know up front how much, don’t know if it applies to their Japanese site.

Apparently Amazon Japan requires a separate account as well as a PO box number, and I don't have a PO box, meaning I can't even do that.

tech3475 · Mar 5, 2020

KiloLop said:
Apparently Amazon Japan requires a separate account as well as a PO box number, and I don't have a PO box, meaning I can't even do that.

Can you fake an account? I.e. fake/‘borrowed’ details, throw away email, etc.

CosmoConstant · Apr 21, 2020

https://www.facebook.com/groups/308909993422420/?ref=share

CaseyDog · May 1, 2020

CosmoConstant said:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/308909993422420/?ref=share

what

Anfroid · May 1, 2020

KiloLop said:
Apparently Amazon Japan requires a separate account as well as a PO box number, and I don't have a PO box, meaning I can't even do that.

I've ordered through amazon.jp and used my home address just fine.

titan_tim · May 1, 2020

Depends on a couple of factors. If it's released in Japan before the rest of the world, like the PS3, it'll cost you double the original price. I sold two on day one in Japan, and it cost me about $600 with one game. It sold on eBay for $1,200 + shipping. Same thing happened with the PSP and Vita. Easy profit.

If the console is sold at the same time around the world like the PS4, then you'd be looking at at least an extra $100 for shipping being the main extra cost with maybe an extra $50 for someone buying it for you and shipping it.

Deleted User · May 1, 2020

I guess it costs the price of a ps5 plus some scammers choice of income plus shipping plus fees and taxes of your country.

So probably too much just to have x to confirm xD

micp · May 1, 2020

voddy said:
So probably too much just to have x to confirm xD

I know we all have our issues with little things but surely muscle memory after 30 minutes or so of playing takes over? It's like playing a shooter that uses R2/L2 as apposed to L1/L1. At first, it's annoying but after a little while its completely normal.

Pokemon_Tea_Sea_Jee · May 5, 2020

micp said:
I know we all have our issues with little things but surely muscle memory after 30 minutes or so of playing takes over? It's like playing a shooter that uses R2/L2 as apposed to L1/L1. At first, it's annoying but after a little while its completely normal.

I never accepted the change to L2 & R2. I use custom button assignments on PS4 if a game does not let me fix the problem.

m3inard · Aug 28, 2020

buy a controller which accepts customizations

FAST6191 · Aug 28, 2020

I know this is an old thread bumped needlessly but I figure I have something to add.

If you can ignore on screen prompts and go with muscle memory then you can rewire a controller and put some switches around the place to change on a whim (and also turbo fire and macros if you really wanted as you are in there anyway). You can probably also swap (or 3d print, or simply sand off and paint on) the buttons so the X is on the right hand side rather than circle if that will help.
Other than the sanding part, and getting all fancy with turbo/macros, that can be done with a soldering iron and a few cents worth of switches to select what maps where (if you only have two to swap around then you can you can probably buy a single one off the shelf to handle it). Turbo/macros then needing a microcontroller but they are not exactly expensive either.

Otherwise you have 4 main options for going from Japan

1) You buy direct from a Japanese vendor. Many reluctant but others might not be, though being a high value item it can be harder.
It can also help to have a bank account in Japan (if you can find someone that left Japan, maybe a nice flygin, they will usually have kept theirs open for various reasons).
2) You use a local cutout service, or maybe someone going on holiday there. Not sure what such services are available at this point but there are usually some people that live in Japan that speak English well enough to take requests for all the weird and wonderful things that Japan makes and pop them in the post for a fee.
3) You use a website like Play Asia. These are specialists in games and usually make a thing about stocking games and limited editions. Cost wise they are usually pretty reasonable (cost of including taxes, shipping and a small bit for them) but not always.
4) You suck it up and pay ebay's inflated prices. As above then if it is a unique item at that point in time (not released elsewhere, unique colour scheme, unique SKU...) then expect to pay more.

There are occasionally local vendors that will do the above in bulk and sell on themselves in country but they are few and far between, not to mention Sony has a habit of taking them out (see Electricbirdland - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/electricbirdland-rallies-indies-over-sony-bullying ).

As others mentioned if it fails (and early consoles do usually have the best chance of this) then you might have a hard time claiming warranty in your home country. In the modern world there is usually no technical reason* for this other than to discourage imports (if some other country is cheaper then you lose out on those sweet high profit local sales, you might have to pay to fix a different region's device where you got none of the initial sale/profit, or if selling at a loss then you lose even more).

*back in the day you might have had different hardware between regions (different video, different power, different clock chips, hardware based accommodations for different keyboards/languages as Japanese, Korean and Chinese might not fit in as well...) and people that might have soldered something to fix it rather than just sending a replacement with your account details on it. Today it is all the same thing with maybe a token firmware difference.

MikaDubbz · Aug 28, 2020

Why does everyone keep suggesting rewire the buttons? Doesn't the PS4 allow you to remap the buttons as you please in the options? Surely the PS5 will allow you to do the same. Hell, even the freaking Switch let's you do that.

FAST6191 · Aug 28, 2020

Remapping options are not so common even when it would be trivial at system level (it has been trivial at game level since... probably the SNES but I could make a case for the NES as well, PS1/N64 on up then definitely, and as we are still having this debate today then how did that one go?). Whether it will have them is a different matter.

If you put a switch in you can also switch back and forth as easy as flicking a switch, in game, out of game without fiddling with menus (not to mention maybe going one step further and having rapid fire and macros if you do decide to chuck in a microcontroller.

MikaDubbz · Aug 28, 2020

Yeah I'm talking on a system level, you can remap the buttons and save them to be that way for everything in a PS4 (or Switch, not sure about Xbone, but I'd be shocked if you can't do it on a system level there as well) for that particular controller until you turn off or change the remapping. I don't think OP is concerned about turbo though.

Borgman2018 · Sep 15, 2020

micp said:
I know we all have our issues with little things but surely muscle memory after 30 minutes or so of playing takes over? It's like playing a shooter that uses R2/L2 as apposed to L1/L1. At first, it's annoying but after a little while its completely normal.

Not really: I'm playing Breath of the Wild after years of playing Nintendo only sporadically and after a month or so it's still confusing as hell, especially because the buttons have the same exact letters of the Xbox ones (which I'm accustomed to) but they're swapped! (i know, it's Microsoft's fault, not Nintendo's)

The command layout choice is also baffling: Y, I mean X (fuck), to jump and B to run ? This makes run and jump pretty much impossible (contortions aside).

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