Whats the best import system to get started on?

[PDorr3]

I want to get started on importing. i need a cheap, fun, and managable system to get started on. whats the best one?

[Raccoon Lad]

PC Engine.

[Lord Contaminous]

Let's see, I'd say if you have a 8-bit NES, Famicom is your cheapest bet.

Otherwise, tell us exactly what systems do you have and maybe we can help you narrow it down.

[WanganRunner]

Game Boy.

It's already region free, so you can get a taste of whether or not you can deal with Japanese language games without having to buy a system that doesn't play English games.

In fact, I happen to have a surplus of Japanese GBA games right now....for sale!
:eek 2: lol.

But seriously, GB/GBA is the way to go. You've probably got one already.

[delafro]

Saturn. Easy to play JP games on, and there's a huge selection of games to choose from. And unlike GBA games, they all won't necessarily cost you an arm and a leg.

[maxlords]

I'd say any of the following:

Mega Drive (Genesis)
Super Famicom (SNES)
Famicom (NES)
PC Engine (TG16)
Saturn

Any of those you can get scads of cheap imports for..some of em are even good and playable by non-Jp speakers! I personally started out on the PC Engine for importing and then branched out to Mega Drive and Saturn, and then to Famicom and SFC.

[UndeadKing]

Handhelds are easy due to the lack of a region lockout. However, the games are less common in the Us and generally cost a little more than you'd expect.

As for consoles, both the Saturn and Dreamcast are easy systems to import for and many of the games are dirt cheap(with some exceptions.) So I would recommend one of those systems, depending on your taste in games.

[Crush Crawfish]

I say super famicom. It's very simple to get a SNES to play them, and there are tons of great games.

[EnemyZero]

saturn or pc engine, even DC is worthy of imports

[Keir]

The really good Saturn imports are really expensive and PC Engine adapters are hard to find and also expensive so I vote Mega Drive. (Though PCE CDs are region-free so if you already have a Duo you may want to start there instead.)

[dj898]

I'm leaning towards Saturn - not just because I'm Saturn nut myself.
Sure there are some titles very expensive but most of them aren't that expensive if you souce outside eBay...

[Tron 2.0]

PCE
Saturn
DC
GBA

[PDorr3]

ok thanks alot guys! I have a japanese pokemon silver on gameboy which i played for about 40 hours, and managed easily with no guide! so i can handle it im guessing. I think i might start with a mega drive and super famicom.

[GaijinPunch]

I wouldn't really choose by system per se. The Saturn only requires an external card, and Super Famicom only requires you to solder a couple of grooves in an old SNES. Why not do both? :)

[CRV]

I know when we talk about "importing", we talk mostly about Japanese games, but wouldn't an American buying PAL Master System games be "importing" as well? Games are pretty cheap on eBay, most will work on a US SMS with no convertors or modification, and it has a smaller library than most of the Japanese systems mentioned.