What's the import scene like in Japan?

[norkusa]

I got a modded slim PS2 last week and have since been playing NTSC-J imports pretty much non-stop on it. This got me thinking though...do the Japanese import English games? Seems like everyone wants to import the Asian stuff because they get so many good titles that never get released in the West. But are there any English-exclusive titles that the Japanese go crazy for? I'm really curious how American music games like Guitar Hero and In The Groove do over there. Or don't they care much or our games? And are there stores there that even carry them?

[GaijinPunch]

Not really. Only recently have two "import" shops opened up in Akihabara. One is another Messe Sanno shop, and the other is Video Game Hollywood. They are average size in Akihabara terms. Never really went in that often, but I assume they do okay business, although they're nitch beyond nitch.

Coincidentally, I came across this article today which showcases E3 PS2 games that will appeal to Japanese gamers and most likely get NTSC-J releases. Very few will actually go to the lengths of importing them though.

To put it bluntly, no, they don't really care about foreign games for the most part. However, some games do remarkably well. Prince of Persia and God of War both did quite well, if I recall, as did the most recent GTA.

[poloplayr]

Very interesting post.

[davidbrit2]

It's rare, but it happens. I know a few guys that imported Outrun 2006 for XBox, believe it or not.

[petewhitley]

It was virtually impossible for me to track down even major US releases in Osaka when I was living there.