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Where was your PS4 made? Japan or China?

I think we should wait to see whether Europeans actually get all of them made in Japan before people start wildly speculating.
 
genjiZERO said:
Even if a few are made in Japan here at the beginning I strongly doubt Sony will continue to manufacture them there as efficiency increases in China. So if you get one - keep it - it might be a hot item one day.
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Depends if they have the capability in Japan, I suppose. Obviously it's not the same as Foxconn but if the renminbi keeps appreciating and yen depreciating their yuan-denominated production contracts are going to get a lot more expensive and that'll take a big bite out of their margins. It may eventually become better to produce as many as possible in Japan (I'm assuming they have some capability based on this thread; I really have no idea what size that capability is). Costs and wages are increasing in China, too, on top of slow renminbi appreciation, so it's not exactly the cheaper place to produce anything anymore. Vietnam and a few other neighbors are becoming much better for a lot of basic goods. But for electronics, obviously, it'll take time for the infrastructure to shift. But in Sony has some infrastructure elsewhere already, they can switch a lot more easily. Japan is becoming cheaper than before, too; companies have shifted a lot of benefit liabilities to the government in last couple decades. So, eventually may make local labor hit a turning point in cost. So, any of these reasons could really encourage them to to produce more in their own factories.
 
KyanMehwulfe said:
Depends if they have the capability in Japan, I suppose. Obviously it's not the same as Foxconn but if the renminbi keeps appreciating and yen depreciating their yuan-denominated production contracts are going to get a lot more expensive and that'll take a big bite out of their margins. It may eventually become better to produce as many as possible in Japan (I'm assuming they have some capability based on this thread; I really have no idea what size that capability is). Costs and wages are increasing in China, too, on top of slow renminbi appreciation, so it's not exactly the cheaper place to produce anything anymore. Vietnam and a few other neighbors are becoming much better for a lot of basic goods. But for electronics, obviously, it'll take time for the infrastructure to shift. But in Sony has some infrastructure elsewhere already, they can switch a lot more easily. Japan is becoming cheaper than before, too; companies have shifted a lot of benefit liabilities to the government in last couple decades. So, eventually may make local labor hit a turning point in cost. So, any of these reasons could really encourage them to to produce more in their own factories.
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The Foxconn worker's salary is just one fifth of Japanese worker. The cost can be more cheaper to manufacture in south east Asia. Sony have no reason to manufacture any PS4 at Japan.
 
This "thanks for beta testing" is nonsense. EU will have china hardware the same as every other region. The cost of labor at the site of manufacturing does not change based on where the hardware ends up... and at the end of the day the cost of labor is what drives production, and China is cheap, so get ready EU, Latin America, PAL, your china boxes are on the way. Fortunately most of them work, and they are glorious.
 
Thomasnoki said:
The Foxconn worker's salary is just one fifth of Japanese worker. The cost can be more cheaper to manufacture in south east Asia. Sony have no reason to manufacture any PS4 at Japan.
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Actually there is. China can only produce so many system each day. This mean that Sony has to turn to other factories that can produce right away. So why not turn to other countries with cheaper labor? Well it is not easy to hire people needed and have infrastructure in place.
 
RaikuHebi said:
I wonder whether this is why Europe are paying more.
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Nop im in Europe, we always pay "the same" in numbers (399$ -> 399€)... My PS2 console and controllers was made in Japan. MY PS3 console with one euro controller and one american controller, all made in China.
 
So where would that put other Asian countries?

It releases here in Taiwan on 12/18. I'm assuming Taiwan is getting a batch from Foxconn because Foxconn is Taiwanese-owned?
 
This thread needs more info. Who are the ones getting European PS4s a week early? Where did they get them from? Are those systems regular copies meant for retail? Are there photos of the label saying it's made in Japan?
 
Made in China, Manufactured in September 2013.

Canadian PS4.

Working perfectly fine since launch, always on standby/on (outside of cold boot testing).
 
1.21Gigawatts said:
The UK made the "Made in germany"-sign to warn people, because most of stuff that came out of germany was pretty shitty in the 50s. A few years later "made in germany" was a sign of quality.
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My two VW Golfs beg to differ :p (Sorry Nibel <3)

Mine was made in China :(
 
sakipon said:
This thread needs more info. Who are the ones getting European PS4s a week early? Where did they get them from? Are those systems regular copies meant for retail? Are there photos of the label saying it's made in Japan?
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We'll know next week
 
liquidtmd said:
top5bttf2.jpg
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Hah, this is all I could think of reading this thread.
 
China is a huge place with lots of modern areas. I don't think we can label Chinese build quality as universally bad. Everyone uses Foxconn. I think most of the high quality ASUS motherboards I use at work that are very reliable are made by Foxconn. And yet, barebones, shoddy Dell desktop motherboards are also made by Foxconn. So I think it depends on the contract, location, etc. Though I do see Japanese built stuff as more reliable in general, just like American made shoes.
 
RaikuHebi said:
We have to go deeper?
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No. It's a reference to a scene where Doc (from 1950s) complains about Marty's (1980s) stuff not working because it's Japanese made, to which Marty responds "Doc, all of the best stuff is made in Japan."

In other words, you're a young'in and old gaf is getting older.
 
Pirzolaman said:
Ok I'm one of the EU guys who got it early and I took pictures for the non believers:
The shop broke the street date, and I got a Japan made console.
Double jackpot I guess.
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:wow:
I was a non believer, thanks very much for this.
This is great and unexpected news.
2x jackpot confirmed!
 
Thomasnoki said:
The Foxconn worker's salary is just one fifth of Japanese worker. The cost can be more cheaper to manufacture in south east Asia. Sony have no reason to manufacture any PS4 at Japan.
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Hmmm I'm not sure, definitely a year ago before the currencies began to go in opposite directions. But now, maybe closer to 3.5-4x in Japan, and only 3x in high demand situations. Average electronics factory worker in Japan makes, what, 320k Yen a month, or basically around 3 grand USD now. That's about 19K yuan. Average Foxconn worker base salary is only about 1800 yuan but in practice no one makes that -- average is closer to 5000 yuan, and up to 8000 yuan probably in any high demand situation (e.g. probably the last 1-2 months for the PS4). Considering the ramp up Sony had for PS4s, Foxconn was likely averaging at least 6000 yuan an employee in expense, so when they negotiate the contract with Sony they'd consider the extra expense of a high demand quota. Further, if it was a long time contract, they'd likely negotiate an even higher price to consider the further strengthening renminbi (maybe). And if yen keeps weakening, the contract becomes even more expensive. So, at the least, the labour is likely 3-4x more expensive, and if the yen continues to weaken that number will shrink even more. Also, though Foxconn isn't really raising wages much because they're already pretty good, they've had to put more into social expenses and that's caused contracts to go up. It's less of a concern because Foxconn is such as high demand job (because people love that they can work so much overtime) but it's beginning to hurt other areas (personally I've seen demands of workers go up a lot in lumber mills near Harbin, a tiny sector) but it's slowly going into other areas, too.

Mind you, it's still relatively cheap. And, weakening yen is going to make a factory contract in any country in its currency or USD more expensive. And, I'm not trying to argue that China isn't the best choice. It's in my personal interest that labour remains cheap in China. My point was just that the environment is changing and because of slowly rising costs in China, appreciating renminbi, and weaking yen, the advantages have begun to become a bit smaller. At some point, especially when factories in China are at high capacity (and resulting wage increase results in a more expensive contract), it may become beneficial to at least consider producing some elsewhere and though that is likely not Japan yet (I really don't know but I can't imagine it us) but it could worth considering at least in the lifetime of the PS4 if current trends continue. It's likely the same reason some electronics manufacturing have moved back stateside though I really only know China-Canadian trade and manufacturing. Probably better to move elsewhere in Asia, as you said -- my point wasn't to say they'll surely move back to Japan, but just that the disadvantage to manufacturing in Japan is decreasing and relative to China (because of contrasting currencies) the advantage is decreasing.

Sorry if that comes off as rambling, I'm more of a numbers guy and I get long-winded when I start talking about details. Point is, I agree with you but I was just trying to comment on the changing trend.
 
Pirzolaman said:
Ok I'm one of the EU guys who got it early and I took pictures for the non believers:

There is a sticker on the bottom of the box:



And this says beneath the console itself:




The shop broke the street date, and I got a Japan made console.
Double jackpot I guess.
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Well that settles that. Seriously the nob ends that didn't believe it at all got on my nerves. I suppose they didn't read my OP.
 
Another "Made in China, September 2013" reporting in. No problems at all so far. What were some of the issues that people were reporting with the September batch?
 
SamwiseRed said:
Another "Made in China, September 2013" reporting in. No problems at all so far. What were some of the issues that people were reporting with the September batch?
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Doesn't start or broken hardware like cracks or buttons broken off and HDMI ports have issues, noisy drive/fans etc,

I have one from Amazon as well and have no issues luckily.
 
There aren't any Japanese PS4 releases yet is there because Japan's console release isn't until February right?

So uhh, I ask this because to find out if the PS4 is region free.

I wouldn't actually be against importing a Japanese PS4 come February if that implied I'm guaranteed a Japanese built unit.

I have nothing against projects made in China, hell I have a tons of video game accessories and in fact one my near $200 Qanba Arcade stick cost this much, so I'm not adverse spending money on Chinese made products.

It's just in regards to a game console which is something I will HEAVILY use on a daily basis, I'd rather get something that has build with more stringent quality control, hence why I bring up the idea of buying an import PS4 with the hopes it's region free.
 
My launch PS3 is made in Japan and still works. I switched to the slim though because of the quieter fans.

PS4 made in china, and works! I wish there was Japanese made in on US launch.

Oh well!
 
Pirzolaman said:
Ok I'm one of the EU guys who got it early and I took pictures for the non believers:

There is a sticker on the bottom of the box:



And this says beneath the console itself:




The shop broke the street date, and I got a Japan made console.
Double jackpot I guess.
Click to expand...


Is your model numbel CUH-1003 or CUH-1001B?
 
BakaJaNai said:
Yeah lets ignore taxes that are included in EU prices and not in US.
God how there are still people on GAF who don't know such basics ?
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You're saying that some US citizens have to pay 35% taxes on their PS4? Because that's the price difference according to the yen prices mentioned above. But of course you're right, for meaningful comparisons we should add all taxes.

Anyway, I'd be more than happy if I had to pay more for my PS4 because it was made in Japan with workers treated like actual human beings.
 
BakaJaNai said:
Yeah lets ignore taxes that are included in EU prices and not in US.
God how there are still people on GAF who don't know such basics ?
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If I wanted to ignore that, I would do the usual whining about how the USD-EUR exchange rate doesn't translate to equivalent prices.
My intention was to compare the strength of the Euro and Dollar against the Yen to show that there may be a little more room for increased production cost if consoles are to be sold in Euro.
 
Au{R}oN said:
i can confirm that 99% of the european PS3s are made in china, and the only PS3s made in japan are... the japanese version.
i REALLY DOUBT that this will change with the PS4. any proof that european PS4 are made in japan?
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A Norwegian retailer is shipping consoles early and 2 have posted pictures of their "Made in Japan" consoles in the euro thread.
 
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