PS5 Pro Japan lottery: the 60-hour rule, dates and price
The PS5 Pro Japan lottery needs 60 hours of PS4 or PS5 play since 2024 and closes Oct 7. How it works, the ¥137,980 price, and what it means elsewhere.
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Sony is selling the PS5 Pro in Japan by lottery, and only players with a real track record can enter. The PS5 Pro Japan lottery opened on September 28, 2026, through the Sony Store, and it asks for at least 60 hours of PS4 or PS5 play on your Japanese Sony account between September 27, 2024 and September 27, 2026. Entries close on October 7.
Key takeaways
- Sony's official application page takes entries until October 7, 2026, at 23:59 Japan time, and holds a lottery if entries exceed planned stock.
- You need a Sony account registered in Japan, 60 hours of combined PS4 and PS5 play in the two years to September 27, 2026, and a Japanese address. One console per account.
- The price is ¥137,980 including tax, the Japanese price since Sony's April 2 increase. Winners hear from October 26 and must pay by November 2.
- Sony's page does not explain the shortage. Memory costs and GTA 6 demand are the explanations other outlets give, not Sony's stated reason.
- It applies to Japan only. As of September 29, we found no Sony announcement of a similar system in other regions.
How the PS5 Pro Japan lottery works
Sony Interactive Entertainment runs the entries and the draw, and Sony Marketing handles payment and shipping, according to the application page. The console on offer is the standard PS5 Pro, model CFI-7100B01, with a 2 TB SSD and a DualSense controller in the box.
The steps, with Sony's dates:
- Apply through the form on the page, signed in with your Sony account, by October 7 at 23:59.
- Wait for the draw. After entries close, Sony checks who meets the conditions and draws winners if eligible entries exceed the planned number of units.
- Check your email from around October 26. Sony also offers result notices over LINE if you link your account.
- Pay by November 2 at 11:59, online only, by credit card, Rakuten Pay, PayPay or Merpay. Consoles ship within Japan; Famitsu reports delivery is expected in early to mid-November.
Units that PS5 Pro Japan lottery winners don't pay for go to a second draw among eligible entrants who lost, from November, Sony says.
Who qualifies for the 60-hour rule
All of these have to be true, per Sony's page:
- You live in Japan and use PlayStation online services with a Sony account registered in Japan.
- That account logged 60 hours or more of play on PS5, PS4 or both between September 27, 2024 and September 27, 2026 at 23:59.
- The account's sign-in ID is unified with My Sony ID, Sony Japan's store login.
The window has already closed, so hours you play now don't count. Winning rights can't be transferred, and Sony says it will void entries or orders it finds were made for resale, along with orders that try to change the delivery address or forward the parcel. Sony doesn't say the 60-hour rule targets scalpers, but those resale rules make that the obvious reading.
This isn't Sony's first playtime gate in Japan. Tecstaff, an authorized Sony online retailer, recounts that the PS VR2 application in 2022 required 20 hours of play and the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Edition in 2024 required 30. The bar keeps rising.
Why PS5 Pro stock is short
Sony hasn't given a reason for the PS5 Pro shortage on the lottery page, which only says a draw happens if demand beats planned stock. GamesRadar reports, citing a translation of a Japanese PlayStation blog post, that Sony said the PS5 Pro is facing stock shortages in Japan. Tecstaff says the console has been listed as awaiting restock on the Sony Store and hard to find since May 2026.
Two explanations circulate, and neither comes from Sony here. GamesRadar ties the shortage to the ongoing RAM shortage and says the August GTA 6 reveal emptied PS5 Pro shelves in the US. When Sony raised prices worldwide on April 2, its PlayStation Blog post cited "continued pressures in the global economic landscape" and did not mention memory. That increase took the Japanese PS5 Pro from ¥119,980 to ¥137,980, as Game*Spark reported at the time.
What it means if you live outside Japan
Nothing changes for you directly. Entry needs Japanese residence, a Japanese Sony account and a domestic delivery address, so importing through the lottery isn't an option.
For reference, the PS5 Pro's list prices since April 2 are US$899.99 in the US, £789.99 in the UK and €899.99 in Europe, per the same PlayStation Blog post. Sony hasn't said anything about bringing the system to other regions, so we'd treat talk of a global version as speculation until Sony says otherwise. Sony's other recent moves, like skipping CES 2027, are in our video games coverage.
Bottom line
If you're in Japan, have a Japanese Sony account and played 60 hours between September 2024 and September 2026, enter before October 7 at 23:59 and watch your email from October 26. If you don't meet the playtime rule, you can't qualify this round, because the counting window has closed. Outside Japan, the lottery is a sign of how tight PS5 Pro supply is, not a new way to buy one.
FAQ
How many hours do you need for the PS5 Pro lottery?
At least 60 hours of combined PS4 and PS5 play on the Sony account you apply with, logged between September 27, 2024 and September 27, 2026. Hours played after that don't count.
How much is the PS5 Pro in Japan?
¥137,980 including tax, Sony's suggested retail price in Japan since April 2, 2026. The lottery sells the standard 2 TB model at that price.
Can people outside Japan enter?
No. Sony limits entries to residents of Japan with a Sony account registered in Japan, and ships only to Japanese addresses.