PlayStation VR Launch Sees Long Lines In Japan

At this point, it is already clear that the PlayStation VR has been a successful launch for Sony. We’ve had Sony’s Jim Ryan outright state that production capacity for the VR headset will have to be increased so that Sony can keep up with the demand, and the headset has sold out in at least Germany.

However, the one market where it wasn’t clear whether the PSVR would do well was Japan. Japan formerly used to be the premier market for console and handheld gaming, but in recent years, the market there has sputtered out. People in general simply don’t seem to be excited by consoles anymore like they used to.

The launch of the PSVR, however, seems to have brought them all out of the woodwork. In fact, the PSVR launch has revived what used to be a tradition of major launches in Japan, but had become increasingly rare in recent years- the long lines of people waiting to get their hands on a new game or system.

Yes, according to Twitter user Success (courtesy of DualShockers), people started to line up in front of the popular electronic store Yodobashi Akiba in Akihabara as early as 3 AM. It seems like even the Japanese market was caught up in the fervor around VR gaming.

［今朝の秋葉原、行列・その他］
行列：ソフマップ本館＝15人、ヨドバシAkiba＝約200人（7:00頃）
ほか：早朝完売していたヨドバシAkibaのほか、ソフマップでもプレイステーションVRの一般販売を抽選という形で行う模様 pic.twitter.com/e0tcfFRoXM

— ﾂﾙﾐﾛﾎﾞ (@kaztsu) October 12, 2016

ヨドバシAkiba、今日発売のPSVR待機列なんだろうけど思ったほど並んでる人いないなぁと思ったけど中央ロータリー側に伸びてる列もあった(そりゃそうか

ロータリー側はいつもの感じで列形成され150くらい？加えて画像のエントランス待機列側20～30くらい pic.twitter.com/dIegKekc8U

— 霧。 (@kirifurikogen) October 12, 2016

秋葉原のヨドバシ前、まさかの始発前から並んでた･･･w pic.twitter.com/BvC333XNMY

— (株)VRI はるね🔯 (@halne369) October 12, 2016

ヨドバシAkiba、本日発売の「プレイステーションVR」当日一般販売分に徹夜待機も含め約170人くらい pic.twitter.com/uc6ExDgdnw

— ﾂﾙﾐﾛﾎﾞ (@kaztsu) October 12, 2016

ヨドバシAkiba、本日発売の「プレイステーションVR」午前7時前頃には当日販売分が予定数に達し〈終了〉徹夜待機もあり、平日の早朝にもかかわらず約200人が長い列をつくっていた pic.twitter.com/7fXeK06pxz

— ﾂﾙﾐﾛﾎﾞ (@kaztsu) October 12, 2016