Why play imports??

[stevec1636]

can somebody please let me know the joy of playing or collecting import games? Don't get me wrong i am not talking just to talk i have played some import stuff and i just don't see the apeal of them. Of what i played they are in a language i can't read which most of the time makes the game unplayable.
As for collecting these games aren't there enough games released here in the states worth collecting? is it a matter of getting the games first and beating them before they are ever released in the states?

If somebody who plays or collects imports can answer this thread and let me know i would be very happy.

thanks

Steve C.

[IntvGene]

There are many good import games that are worth learning basic Japanese for.

As for complete collecting of imports, it gets pretty expensive. But, you can still colllect import shooters, for example. You don't have to have a complete collection to have a good collection.

And, yes, there are enough games released here in the states worth collecting, but there aren't enough GOOD games worth collecting. To me, it's not usually about getting them first, usually I get import games because they don't even enter the US market. A system like the Saturn lives off of its import games, there are so many good import games, and so few good US ones.

[vulcanjedi]

Greetings

In the case of one of my favorite games, Power Drift on the Saturn, There was no US release. And there is no issue with the language I think the only part in Japanese is the words High Score. Even the jewel cases have the title in English on one side.

So for me the best reason to get an import is because it isn't available as a local release. Another would be getting a great deal like when I got a Jap. Virtua Fighter 3tb for $2.99 which some might argue isn't a deal but you get the idea.

VJ

[digitalpress]

Moving this to the import forum.

>> shimmy <<

[kainemaxwell]

Yes, its expensive but I would think it would balance out in being able to play some great and sometime innovative games that normally wouldn't appear on our shores.

[NintendoMan]

This answers a few of my questions as well. I mean I am so damn unfamilar with imports! Mostly because I have never ever been around anyone playing or collecting. Probably everyone I know barely knows what they are. (Partly due to having alot of friends that play games, no true collector's like me though)

[anagrama]

A few reasons:

- Almost every system you can think of has some games that weren't released in the US. Some of these may be incomprehensible if you can't read Japanese, but in many cases the language barrier isn't a problem. There's several reasons why some games aren't released in all regions - often a system will be dying in one market but is still viable in others (eg. most later Japanese Saturn games), or a game may be considered too 'niche' for a mass-market Western release but will still be of interest to some.

- Similarly, other games may be re-worked or censored in their Western versions (think Streets of Rage 3 or many NeoGeo games**), and the dedicated fan will prefer to play the original either because it's 'better', or purely to see the differences.

- Sometimes (OK, pretty rarely) the Japanese version of a particular title will be considerably easier to find and cheaper than the US version.

- Also, you say "Aren't there enough games released in the US?". Well, for a start, not all of us are in the US or have any interest in collecting US releases - while there are very few (any?) Japanese DP members, there are several European & Australian members who collect PAL games - these are also considered 'imports' to the bulk of DP members, and are thus eligable for discussion in this forum.

- Finally, the packaging for Japanese releases is often far superior to Western releases, and may contain extra items/soundtracks etc or have some kind of funky Limited Edition - whilst of minimal interest to the typical 'gamer', collectors love this kind of stuff. And a whole bunch of Japanese games neatly lined up on a shelf just looks cool ;)


** Yeah OK, the Neo isn't a great example since the changes are hardware-based rather than software, but you get what I'm saying.

[stevec1636]

ok, thanks that has opened my eyes some.

[Jive3D]

- Finally, the packaging for Japanese releases is often far superior to Western releases, and may contain extra items/soundtracks etc or have some kind of funky Limited Edition - whilst of minimal interest to the typical 'gamer', collectors love this kind of stuff. And a whole bunch of Japanese games neatly lined up on a shelf just looks cool

Yes. Japanese boxart is almost always better than the crap that we get here in the US. I'm a slight Japanophile, so anything that has anything to do with Japan will prick my ears up.

Take the box art for SMB 3 - way cooler in Japan. Take the system box for the GBA SP in japan, tiny little sucker and way cooler than the US. Also, most japanese boxes art not unecessarily large, like the large NES boxes, Large GBA US boxes - all smaller in japan - more can fit on my shelf!

[MegaDrive20XX]

because like the Europeans say or the Americans will say "WE NEVER GET THE GOOD SH*T!"

So we are forced to import that one or TWELVE titles that never came to the USA or to Europe :)

[importaku]

Growing up in the uk i been screwed by nintendo europe time & time again with poor conversions/censored games/crappy artwork on boxes. So nowdays i try to never buy uk stuff as i hate giving my cash to NoE.

Japanese importing to me has become a normal way of life. The language barrier is hard sometimes but theres never been a game that i couldn't complete even in japanese. hehe i managed to play the japanese version of pikachu genki de chu on N64 with no problem. Japanese games tend to be higher quality in apperance, amazing artwork & full colour manuals.

for example the nes classics series vs the famicom mini series, nintendo japan took a lot more effort in the presentation of the famicom mini series, over here they just knocked up some shoddy boxes slapped a nes rom on a gba cart & charged £15 for it, no wonder people feel ripped off seeing as the japanese version costs £10

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/importaku/misc%20pics/comparison.JPG


Also when buying japanese games you usually dont have to worry about bits been removed or censored. In the west quite a few games seem to be messed about with, heres a couple of examples.

Gamecube legend of zelda 4 swords+ : us version has tetras trackers missing, which is a fantastic game mode.
DS mr driller drill spirits : missing 1 extra character, 1 main game mode & 1 extra level.
Snes Legend of the mystical ninja : Missing strip shows, ebisumaru's farting dance. Lots of unneeded westernisation like adding pizza slices & stuff

The list goes on & on.

[davidbrit2]

I tend to import for a few reasons.

1. No US release. Beatmania, Pop'n Music, Drummania, Guitar Freaks, certain DDR releases, etc.

2. Vastly superior Japanese release. Although I don't have the import, Mr. Driller DS is a perfect example.

3. Much earlier Japanese release. The US DS lineup is pretty thin right now, so I've resorted to importing Chokkan Hitofude and Band Bros.

In other words, I'm not really an import "collector". I just order non-US versions when there's a very good reason.

Language differences can be an issue, but take 2 semesters of Japanese with a native Japanese speaker, and you'll be plenty skillful enough to get by in non-RPGs and to learn new words and grammar more easily.

[Richter Belmount]

ahem* >.> points to sn and sig pic.

[maxlords]

I play a lot of imports just to play games that were never released elsewhere. All of the imports I have require little to no knowledge of Japanese....pretty much all great action games that never came out here. How much Japanese do you have to know to play R-Type style games after all? :D

I play em cause they're games I can't get anywhere else.

[Aussie2B]

Saying you don't understand the appeal of imports is like saying you don't understand the appeal of video games in general. o_O Games are games, regardless of what region they come from. If a game is good in English, it'll be good in Japanese too, and vice versa.

Yes, there are tons of games that have been released in the US, but why be satisfied with what someone else deems you should and shouldn't be able to play when gaming can be even better? You could live your whole life being satisfied by going to Burger King every time you want some fast food, but wouldn't it be nice to go to a fancy restaurant and maybe try something unusual that you've never had before every now and then?

It also comes down to what genres you like. First of all, I prefer games made by Japanese developers, so it's natural to get into importing. Second, I like RPGs a whole lot. The 10-20 RPGs that came out for the US SNES are almost all great, but why force myself to just play those over and over for the rest of my life? With importing, I can play tons of excellent Super Famicom RPGs that have never and most likely will never come out in the US, and many of them I consider even BETTER than the games the US received.

It's kind of silly to suggest that all Japanese games are unplayable because of the language. What imports exactly have you played? The truth of the matter is that the vast majority of imports are easy to play without any knowledge of Japanese. I know there are some gamers out there who look at an import game and they see a title sceen in Japanese or a couple Japanese words here and there and they're automatically turned off to the game, but that's just being close-minded, in my opinion. I mean, look at all the main genres of gaming: action, platformer, puzzle, shooter, racing, fighting, beat-em-up, rhythm, sports, etc. None of these games tend to have much text in them at all, so it really doesn't matter what region version you're playing. Now if you're talking adventure, RPG, strategy, sim, etc., then you may run into more difficulties, but if you truly care about gaming, those genres, and enjoying some games that you normally wouldn't be able to play, then it's absolutely worth it to find a little katakana chart on the internet and learn how to read it. It's not hard to learn, and there's nothing bad about expanding your mind and learning something new. If you're already familiar with those genres in English AND you can read katakana, you've already eliminated most potential problems you could have. Most katakana is in English believe it or not, so when you think you're looking at a screen full of Japanese you're actually looking at English simply written in another form.

I don't know much beyond katakana myself, but I'm still able to play through and thoroughly enjoy Japanese RPGs, strategy games, dating sims, raising sims, you name it. There are only one or two Japanese games I own that I find too daunting with my meager knowledge of Japanese, and I bet if I seriously sat down with them and experimented I could probably figure them out too. I fully plan to expand my knowledge of Japanese, so I think I have a lot to look forward to. It's truly a wonderful feeling when the whole world of gaming is open to you, not what some businessman decides you should play.

[soniko_karuto]

i play import games because they (the majority of times) have a great soundtrack, a game wich is a rythm game, based on lupin the 3rd has great tunes, i believe it's called punch the monkey. Lemme see that in this part of the world, without having some kind of britney spears/linkin park/tony hawk (all of those suck, imo).


CUATION: BROKEN ENGLISH BEHIND!!

[Gapporin]

Soniko, you have Punch The Monkey!? ME WANT.

Also, if you're a little scared about importing things at first, buy games for handheld systems. Usually, they don't have any region lockout that you must avoid/get around, and can be played like a regular US game.

[joshnickerson]

I only own two import games, Sin and Punishment and Pokemon Pinball (I got it for free). I'm planning on importing the Gamecube games Bonk's Adventure and Nintendo Puzzle Collection, because they're not going to be released here in the states.
I'll also admit that it feels a bit cool to have a few imports in your collection. :D

[djbeatmongrel]

i import since i cant normally get wonderswan games domesticly

[Funk Buddy]

I import because, well um... because, where else could I get Strip Mahjong games?!? :embarrassed:

- edit

and because I can.

[davidbrit2]

I import because, well um... because, where else could I get Strip Mahjong games?!? :embarrassed:

MAME. Don't they add a couple dozen with each new release? Heh.

[Funk Buddy]

Not into the Mame thing really.

Ok, it's really because I want to seem cool to all the kids on the block. 8-)

[bargora]

If you're a Saturn collector, you import because Sega USA apparently had a great idea: "Don't release any of the good games in the U.S."

For example, if you like 2-D shooters (aka "shoot-em-ups" or "shmups), importing is the way to go with the Saturn.

[Parodius]

I have recently started importing PAL xbox games.

Mashed is one of the funnest multiplayer games I have played in ages

Ditto with Flat-Out. Awesome physics in a racing game that rocks in multiplayer.


Mostly I just buy Japanese games on import. from places like www.yesasia.com and www.playasia.com it doesn't cost much more, or about the same as the US version including shipping from Hong Kong and if it is an arcade type game the language usually doesn't matter and you get the game eons before it is released here.

[Ed Oscuro]

Ok, it's really because I want to seem cool to all the kids on the block. 8-)
Cool people use MAME! Just buy the console version and ENJOY the MAME one. 'specially with a number of the old BEU's, scrolling and space shooters.

Box art isn't the only thing almost always done better in Japan - strategy guides, when you find them, are usually good looking, unlike most everything pre-PlayStation and N64 (discounting many first party Nintendo guides) here in the states.

Finally, though - sometimes the Japanese release of a game wasn't as good. I don't know many examples offhand, but it's widely known that the Japanese release of the original Tenchu wasn't nearly as smooth as the US one in terms of texturing and frame rate. Sometimes being first isn't always good!

[Lord Contaminous]

!
Finally, though - sometimes the Japanese release of a game wasn't as good. I don't know many examples offhand, but it's widely known that the Japanese release of the original Tenchu wasn't nearly as smooth as the US one in terms of texturing and frame rate. Sometimes being first isn't always good!


Same goes for Final Fantasy VII. We scored a point on Japan big time. Even if they did make FF7 International for the Japanese people and they tried to keep up, the fact still remains we still got the best version of FF7 on the planet.

Before FF7 Int'l came out, Ruby and Emerald Weapon were US exclusives.

[Dire 51]

Why import? How the hell else am I supposed to get Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, Gradius II, Gradius Gaiden or Radiant Silvergun, I ask you? :D

[blue lander]

For a shooter fan, you have to import. Many of the greatest shooters never came out in the US, so importing is the only way to get them. For instance, the Dreamcast has a fairly large shooter library, but most only came out in Japan (Ikaruga, Border Down, Chaos Field, Shikigami no Shiro 2, Psyvariar 2, Zero Gunner 2, etc). Same goes for the Saturn or Playstation. If you want to play greats like Gradius Gaiden, Soukyugurentai, Radiant Silvergun, and so on, you have to import. It's simply a matter of necessity if you want to play those games.

The Turbografx-16 is another good example. While it wasn't popular in the US, it was hugely popular in Japan. Many great games came out for it that never made it to the US. By not importing, you lose access to 50% of games for the system.

And beyond importing games, there's often good reason to import systems. If you're a big anime fan, importing a PC-FX gives you access to the kind of games you simply can't find in the US. If you're a big shooter fan, the MSX has a huge library of arcade shooters, often with extra levels, as well as many great exclusive games by Compile.

And then there's systems like the X68000 and FM Towns. Do you want arcade perfect ports of Splatterhouse or Tatsujin Ou? FM Towns is the only place to go to get them. And the X68000 has tons and tons of arcade perfect ports of Konami and Capcom games, superior to any version you can get in the US.

[Lord Contaminous]

Y'know what, I know a way they could've bridged the taste barrier between Japan and all other countries years ago and there would've been less angry non-Japanese gamers at companies making executive decisions.

They should've thrown import gaming tests in. For instance, before companies make decisions not to localize a game without making non-Japanese gamers drooling over magazine screenshots, they should've invited gamers from all around to try the game, and use a professional Japanese translator to let them see what they're dealing with. They're basically measuring the fanbase on what they say and it could rule out if it would sell or not.

Imagine if they did that with Final Fantasy 1 back in 1987, we could've gotten it year later instead of 1990, and on top of that, FF2 and 3 as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

Granted, Lord C., and Nintendo should've acted better in helping along Square, but you gotta remember that Square was pretty fly-by-night even after the release of FFIII, with their kiddie "oops we goofed, no last Famicom game from us, kthxbye" flyer sent out. I don't think they had a real grip on their own domestic operations, much less going overseas!

[Lady Jaye]

Maybe the best example for playing imports is the Sega Master System. Its games are not region or TV system based, so most European SMS games play without any problem on a North-American SMS... and since the SMS had a much longer lifespan in Europe than North America, this zone-free fact is a big plus....

As for Japanese games for other consoles, well I can't read Japanese right now and I don't have any modded / imported consoles for them, but I have to say that I'd be willing to play most Japanese games, except for RPGs and sim games (in other words, anything text-intensive where dialogs matter).

And indeed if it weren't such an expensive venture, I'd buy Japanese Bemani games... besides, after a bit of playing around, it's not that difficult to figure out which selection does what.

Anyway, that's just the perspective of a gamer. :)

[Tron 2.0]

A few reasons:

- Almost every system you can think of has some games that weren't released in the US. Some of these may be incomprehensible if you can't read Japanese, but in many cases the language barrier isn't a problem. There's several reasons why some games aren't released in all regions - often a system will be dying in one market but is still viable in others (eg. most later Japanese Saturn games), or a game may be considered too 'niche' for a mass-market Western release but will still be of interest to some.

- Similarly, other games may be re-worked or censored in their Western versions (think Streets of Rage 3 or many NeoGeo games**), and the dedicated fan will prefer to play the original either because it's 'better', or purely to see the differences.

- Sometimes (OK, pretty rarely) the Japanese version of a particular title will be considerably easier to find and cheaper than the US version.

- Also, you say "Aren't there enough games released in the US?". Well, for a start, not all of us are in the US or have any interest in collecting US releases - while there are very few (any?) Japanese DP members, there are several European & Australian members who collect PAL games - these are also considered 'imports' to the bulk of DP members, and are thus eligable for discussion in this forum.

- Finally, the packaging for Japanese releases is often far superior to Western releases, and may contain extra items/soundtracks etc or have some kind of funky Limited Edition - whilst of minimal interest to the typical 'gamer', collectors love this kind of stuff. And a whole bunch of Japanese games neatly lined up on a shelf just looks cool ;)


** Yeah OK, the Neo isn't a great example since the changes are hardware-based rather than software, but you get what I'm saying.
:-D

[esquire]

I have to agree with blue lander. As a shmup fan, if I didn't collect imports, I'd be missing out on a lot of great games for the PC-Engine, MegaDrive, Saturn, Playstation, Dreamcast, Gamecube and PS2.

In particular, the PC-Engine has some wonderful japanese imports that were never released here in the US. In fact the PC-Engine library has about 3 or 4 times as many shmups as its US TurboGrafx 16 counterpart. Same thing with the Saturn and MegaDrive (both Japanese and European imports).

The Dreamcast is still getting games published over Japan, in particular shmups like Ikaruga, Border Down, Psyvariar 2, Chaos Field and Castle Shikigami 2.

PS2 and Gamecube have some great compilations and rereleases by Hudson (Bonk, Adventure Island, Star Soldier, LodeRunner), Sega Ages (Outrun, Columns, Golden Axe, etc) Simple (Double Shienryu) and Psyiko (Strikers 1945 I & II) that we can't get over here.

Of course I stay away from the RPGs as I can't read Japanese, and I also stay away from the rhythm games. (Sorry, I can't stand those!). But, if you are not importing, you are missing out on a lot of great games.

[Kamino]

I play PAL British and Australian Imports.
Quite simply, there are some kick ass shooters for the MegaDrive that were not released here.
Zero Wing and Twin Hawk are both EXCELLENT vertical shooters by Toaplan...if you know genesis/md shooters, YOU KNOW TOAPLAN ROCKS. Those two don't even require a modification to boot in an NTSC console; neither does super fantasy zone.
Xenon 2: Megablast and MEGA SWIV, as well as psycho pinball, need a mod to boot...but heck, it takes all of three wires and a switch to modify a system for 50/60hz, and you're set. I might add, that the presence of a 32x does not affect this.
Since I only import from PAL territories, the language barrier does not get in my way. It's great. For a first time importer, I'd highly reccomend checking into the PAL scene.
The way the genesis region mod works, is you boot the game in 50hz mode - until you pass the SEGA splash - then change to 60hz. Some US NTSC Televisions do not support PAL 50hz display; these televisions mainly will have a 'rolling' picture akin to a lousy VHS Tape. I am fortunate that my television is mostly compatible with PAL. Zero Wing displays in black and white in PAL 50hz mode; the others will display in full colour, simply squashed up in 50hz refresh rate. So, I change it anyway.
There's some great SMS games I still need to check out in the PAL scene...it's gonna be a blast!!!!
Now, Japan and asia are another story. I'm too leary of piracy, and the language barrier, to bother.

[Fuyukaze]

As an importer, I do so because there are just to many games that will never be released in the states due to the interestes of the majority of gamers. Games like Sakura Taisen/Wars which have crossed over many systems, had multiple releases on systems, and spaned over 5 games still have not made it across the Pacific. Does this make the series bad? Because it hasnt? Somehow, that doesnt sound right. Exspecialy when one considers the outright unit sales the series has earned. I like playing the games that various companies dont care for American (or even worse European, sorry Eruo gamers, you get crapped on more) gamers to play. The language barrier can be difficult at times to get beyond. Thats not because it makes the game unplayable, but simply because its hard to get the most from the game if you dont know the small things. Small things like what they are saying. Menues can be learned, items can be consumed, and equipment can be compared. All that makes the game playable, but not knowing what they are saying can make it hard to enjoy to its full potential. As Aussie 2B said though, if you are willing to stretch your mind and learn something new (be it an aditional language) you can get even more out of the game. Why not learn a new language? It wont kill you. It may actualy improve you and at the very least make you more impresive looking to your friends.

[MeatPopsicle]

I haven't imported any games yet, but I have a hook up in Argentina and a potential in Japan. If either of these pan out, I would like to buy/sell and collect. My question is, will the import games play in the NTSC consoles? Also, I'm getting an O3 console soon, but I believe it's in PAL format. Does anyone know about these?

[ventrra]

Another "fun" reason to import games: Famicom. U.S. cartridges were almost all grey in color (granted, there were a few exceptions, however most of them were.) Famicom games came in a rainbow of different colors. US systems: problematic front loading machine or much more rare top loader with not so good RF only. Famicom always top loading (and some nifty "pirate consoles as well.)

[Cthulhu]

I started out buying import games just so I could play new games before they came out in America. Then I realized that there were games in Japan that didn't come out in America at all! LOL Discovering that, of course, only made me want more imports. This was back in the early days of the Genesis / Mega Drive era...

Flash forward to the year 2000. I entered college and started taking Japanese. I had more reasons for taking it than just wanting to play games in Japanese, but games certainly were a big factor. :D

Today I've taken almost five years of Japanese and I can play RPGs in Japanese just fine. My life feels complete. Hell, I even moved to Japan... so for me an "import" game is in English. LOL I'm going back to the US in August though, but believe you me, I'll still be importing a whole lotta stuff.

[Arthur-Otaku]

My reasons for import mania:

1 - Packages, japanese packages, boxes, manuals are very superior than usa and european releases, only us working design games comes with superior package than japanese release, I have much care of my collection (it's my money lost man!), I really apreciate a nice cover or package or an system that looks different than the common version @_@

2 - I really like to have valuable items, rare, very rare or expensive systems and games, it's funny, principally when you get for an bargain, japanese stuff are more valuable (80% of time) and more hard to found (90% of time). I am an collector first than gamer, so I prefer to have 10 valuable rare games than 20 common cheap games x_x

3 - Saturn (Saturn was released in USA?)

4 - Pc engine

5 - Fm towns marty :evil:

6 - Another jp only systems (crap but interesting): playdia, pc fx, super grafx, fc dd, n64 dd and etc

I don't care about japanese language, I will not lose anything in a fighting game conversation, or an conversation between mario and bowser but in rpgs and adventures are really important

[dj898]

for me import would be either NTSC-U or PAL titles since I started collecting/playing with NTSC-J titles...

well I get PAL or US if there's no equivalent in JPN or when it's cheaper...

[TurboGenesis]

Here are some easy reasons why I have import games...

1. Dracula X - Rondo of Blood. Arguably the best game in the Castlevania series.

2. Radiant Silvergun. Again, arguably the best shooter.

3. I like shooters...and american gamers don't.

But for real the reason I import games is mainly becasue there IS no US version. If the game had a US release I would get that. In the case of things like the PC Engine there is a major discrepancy in the games released where there were 4x more games released in Japan than the US. It is also pretty much the same with the Saturn.

[StealthLurker]

I really like to have valuable items ... expensive systems and games

LOL Then you then you need to start collecting NEO GEO *AES* games. Where one game has the potential to be worth more than a boxed complete FM TOWNs Marty 2, Wondermega (ver 2) and PC Engine LT *COMBINED*

.

[Lord Contaminous]

I swear I posted after Turbo Genesis. I talked about the music getting altered for localization and there are people that import just to compare soundtracks of both versions.

What the hell happened to my post? :angry:

[The Great Dane]

Personally, I am very much into wrestling games. It is very hard to find good wrestling games in the US, so I started getting into Japanese wrestlers. So far I have only imported Fire Prowrestling D but I'm planning on preordering Fire Pro R here in a couple of weeks, though.

[MrSmiley381]

If you already know Japanese, importing most stuff is definitely worth it. Japanese Dragon Force is much cheaper than the U.S. copy. Hell, I think the Euro version is cheaper, and I'm betting it has an English option anyway.

Most of the reasons have been touched on already. They can be cheaper, they can be uncensored, they can have more extras, they may have never been released, they may be RPGs. In the last sense, it's like being a tourist. I can't wait until Devil Summoner arrives. I'll be bumbling around like an idiot. Or will I? If I have a small list of kanji, I can translate most of the moves anyway! Agi? Maragi? It's all almost translated perfectly in the new Megami Tensei games released in the U.S. I can do a little extra homework and POOF I can at least combat.