Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes has been out for less than 48 hours in Japan, but most game retailers are selling it at considerable discounts, as much as a 20% shave off its retail price of 2,980 yen (about $29.50), even for a new copy. Tsutaya, Japan's biggest entertainment media vendor, has all versions of the game (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4) listed online for the retail price, but within the store, it's universally marked down to 2,458 yen, which kinda seems like an arbitrary number, but whatever. The madness doesn't stop there; nationwide electronics big box store Yamada Denki has it for 2,324. No joke, twenty-three twenty-four. It's like the store manager just said, "Eh, how about 23… 24?" I'll bet his password is "password." Media World Magical had it for 2,890, so only the smallest of cuts. Game Shop Arashi, meanwhile (not to be confused with the J-pop band of the same name) is the champion of cheap, selling Ground Zeroes for 2,315 yen (about $23). Used copies are currently 2,200 yen.
There's been a little bit of controversy regarding the price of MGS5:GR, with some players feeling that $30 is a bit much for a reportedly short game. Are shop managers hip to this and taking slices off the price accordingly? Or has the first-day shipment sold badly enough to warrant a next-day price drop (like what happened with Lightning Returns and some others in Japan)? I have no idea. What I do know is that this game can be found for well under its suggested retail price, even at the big boys who usually aren't so fast to cut prices.
