North American (NTSC) PS2 games in Korea?

[RJ]

A co-worker/friend just left on a 2-week vacation to Korea (South, I assume). He's not a gamer, but I gave him a short list of PS2 games to look for, for me, w/ full payment upon return. My only reqs were that they be NTSC compatible, in English so I understand them, & they're $20 or less:

Dog's Life
DDRMAX2
Vampire Night
Everblue 2
EyeToy: Play (w/out the camera, which I have w/ Groove)

What is the likelihood that he finds the games? Are games quite prevalent there, like in every corner store? (I saw an Xplay where Adam visited a store in Japan, & the place was gaming nirvana, w/ stuff stacked to the ceiling.)

Are English/American games at all available in Korea, or are they as common as Japanese/Korean games here? (read: not very.)

Please don't respond w/ "You can get those games here." I know, but I thought they'd be a bit cheaper/more common there. I realize they're not rare, but I never see them around. Plus, I thought it was worth a shot.

[thegreatescape]

I was under the impression that there was some sort of trade rift between Japan and korea dating back to WW2, which is why koreans mainly play PC games (starcraft is practically the national sport).

[Querjek]

If those games are bought in Korea, there is a higher chance that they will be PAL than NTSC.

[kevincure]

There are tons of trade restrictions on JAP products in Korea - many consoles can't "legally" be bought in SK. That's one of the reasons PC gaming is huge.

That said, given the dollar-won exchange rate right now, I can't imagine any of these would be cheaper in SK than in the US.

[mezrabad]

If those games are bought in Korea, there is a higher chance that they will be PAL than NTSC.

No offense, but "WRONG!!! Very Wrong! BZZZZZZZ! Thanks for playing!"

They use NTSC just like we do. I've got about 15 games for the PS2 that I bought while I was living in Korea and they work fine on my Korean bought PS2 and playing on my US bought TV.

Okay, deep breath and off the top of my head . . .

They sell a Metal Slug collection for the PC in Korea for less than $10. It's a jewel case edition and includes MS 1,2,3 and X.

They sell Metal Slug 4 for PC there, too. It should be under $20US by now.

There are a lot of games that we know as console only that they've ported/emulated for the PC. Castlevania X is another one. Under $10. The Virtua Fighter series, Tekken hmm, lots of fighting games available for PC over there.

If your friend is going to be in Seoul, the best place to go would be Yongsan, a HUGE electronics market. If he takes the train there he'll have to walk over to the main electronics mall. Then, he should leave the mall via the bridge on the second floor which will take him to a building that has about 40 vendors dealing strictly in Video/Computer Game products (in the basement).

The other place he should go would be to Tech-Mart at the Gangbyoeng stop. (not sure of spelling on that one) This building has at least 10 floors of electronics. The game stuff is on floors 9 and 10. (at least it's the top two floors of the shopping part.)

There's also a lot of gaspon capsule machines at Yongsan and Tech-mart and for about a 1.50USD each you can get miniature figures of Manga, Anime and Video Game characters. Actually, these are everywhere over there. I miss them.

It's been about six months since I moved back from there, so I really have no idea what's hot over there right now. The last game I bought was a copy of Hardboiled Hero in 3d (Hanjuko) and it was the Korean version, entirely in Korean. Funny, that.

There are a lot of Japanese games available as imports, but they are expensive. (FF-X2 final mission when it first came out was $80) I remember seeing the J version of Donkey Konga and Crystal Chronicals over there long before they were scheduled for release in the states. Chances are if there is a Jap title you're interested in, and it ain't coming stateside, your friend could find it in Korea, but you'll only save in shipping costs.

The trade restrictions have been pretty much lifted with Japan.

Oh, and you should get Metal Slug 3 for the PS2 from there. It should be under $20 by now.

US games can be found over there but they're as expensive as imported Jap games are over here. Oh, and a US machine modded to play Jap games should also play korean games as my Korean PS2 played Jap games before I modded it to also play US games.

There are also a lot of Jap Saturn and Dreamcast game at one vendor in Yongsan. I picked up Sakura Wars 3 for $25. Unfortunately, my Japanese isn't any good so I was unable to read the spines of the other titles.

Vampire Nights was about 30,000 won when I was there last time, so that should be below $20 US by now.

If you're into RPGs you may want to have him pick up a copy of Magna Carta for you (PS2). I would think it would be out in Korea as a Korean game by now, I'm also pretty sure it was released in Japan, so there may be a Jap version available, too.

There is a also a PC game called "Magna Carta: The Phatom of Avalanche" which can be found at places like E-MART for under $20. Also, "War of Genesis 3 part 1+2" would be good to get if you're into RPGs that you can't read. Heh.

Sorry if none of this helps, my main point was to correct the misinformation regarding Korea's TV standard. Bottom line: It isn't PAL. Probability of bringing back a PAL game made for Korea: ZERO.

(heh. Zero is the title of the korean version of Fatal Frame, fyi, pronounced JAY-RO)

Anyway, good luck.

[RJ]

Wow- thanks for all the info! I wasn't quite sure exactly where he'd be staying, but he's already there, & I don't expect much more communication than an occasional email, so none of the specific directions really helps.

I didnt send him on a wild goose chase, I casually mentioned that if he happened to see these games in a store or someplace, that I'd like them. I also said it was OK if he didnt bring anything back.

I was already quite sure the Japanese/Korea games were NTSC. Good news about Vampire Nights, too. I hope he finds it. I think I could play a shooting game w/out needing to understand much else. But would I need a compatible/Korean PS2 to play it?

[mezrabad]

If you have a ps2 that plays japanese games then it will play Korean games.