Sony is asking Japanese customers to prove they actually play PlayStation before they're allowed to buy one. The company's official Japan store now requires at least 60 hours of gameplay on a PS4 or PS5 to apply for a PS5 Pro — double the 30-hour threshold it set for the 30th Anniversary Edition.
The hours must be logged between September 27, 2024, and September 27, 2026, on the same Japan-registered Sony account used for the application. Applicants have to live in Japan. Applications close on October 7, with winners notified from October 26. Those selected then have until November 2 to pay.
How the lottery works
The console in question is the 2TB model, priced at ¥137,980 — roughly $876. Each account is limited to one unit. If demand outstrips supply, Sony will run a lottery to pick buyers. The company hasn't said how many units will be available through this channel.
Sony is also warning that it will cancel any order it believes was placed by a reseller. Buyers can't change their delivery address after applying, and package forwarding is banned. Those aren't new restrictions for Sony's Japan store, but they're stricter than what most global retailers enforce.
The playtime catch
The 60-hour rule is the part likely to cause the most friction. It effectively shuts out anyone who skipped PlayStation for the past two years, even if they've owned the console since launch. A returning player who lapsed between 2023 and 2025 and picked the hobby back up this month wouldn't qualify, no matter how long they'd played before. The requirement doubles the 30 hours Sony demanded from Japanese buyers of the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Edition, a limited run that sold out quickly.
Sony hasn't explained why it settled on 60 hours specifically, or whether the threshold will apply to future hardware launches. The company also hasn't said if the policy will expand beyond Japan.
The playtime requirement arrives as Sony is raising console prices. The company has pointed to AI memory demand driving up chip costs — the same squeeze affecting GPU and smartphone makers. Sony (SONY) shares are down nearly 10% this year, though they've climbed back from a June low below $20.
Other moves have rankled PlayStation owners. Sony plans to stop making game discs in January 2028, a shift that will push the platform further toward digital-only distribution. And the company deleted purchased StudioCanal films from PlayStation libraries — content that customers had already paid for. Neither decision has gone over smoothly with parts of the user base.
Why Sony is doing this
The stated goal is to keep consoles away from resellers. Limited-edition PlayStation hardware has been a reliable target for scalpers, who buy up stock and flip it on secondary markets at multiples of retail. By tying eligibility to account history and banning forwarding, Sony is trying to make it harder for someone to buy a console in Japan and ship it overseas.
The playtime threshold does that, but it also screens out legitimate customers. Whether that trade-off is worth it depends on how many units Sony has to sell and how badly it wants to avoid seeing them on resale sites.
What happens next
Applications close on October 7. Sony starts notifying winners from October 26, and those buyers have until November 2 to complete the purchase. If the lottery produces more winners than consoles, the company hasn't said how it will handle the overflow. And there's no word yet on whether the 60-hour rule will show up in other markets — or on the next PlayStation hardware launch.
