do you import videogames? whats the best store/site ?

[jenova_9]

This generation with PS3 consoles not being region locked, importing is now a breeze that doesn't require modding or buying things to play foreign games!

I only know of play asia

Buy Games/PlayStation3™ - Play-Asia.com

and NCS

National Console Support, Inc | Your Import Gaming Spezialist |

but I think there might be others, well I haven't tried importing myself but in the future, it may be helpful to know the best, fastest, most reliable and good import resource for PS3 Japanese games that might not reach stateside (or if we dun wanna wait for the US version :p )

[TheGrandMom]

Re: do you import videogames? whats the best store/site ?

Fastest depends on what shipping you pay for. SAL is the slowest and can take months to get to you. EMS is the fastest and has insurance but you pay a premium price. As with shipping anything from Japan, weight is an issue but also size. You can have a box with a light plushie in it but if the box exceeds a certain size, the price for shipping goes up quite a bit. So some limited edition games in larger packages may cost significantly more.

Play Asia has very good shipping prices on games and sometimes they are shipped from a US warehouse so its fairly quick. NCSX ships from the US too so it fairly quick. Both are very reliable. I have been a NCSX customer for more than 13ish years now. I have purchased from Play Asia too and the only issue I've had is that some things are shipped from Japan and can take a bit longer to get.

Here are a few links. I have purchased from all of these sites and did not have issues. (Some may be Australian or UK stores too.) Some I only made a single purchase at though. Also some I used mostly for retro games or merchandise but you can occasionally find a gem by hunting.

YESASIA: Games & Consoles - Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PS2, PS3, DS Lite, GameBoy, PC Games - Free Shipping

Japanese Import Videogames - Online Store - Buy

eStarland - New and Used Video Games & Anime Merchandise - Starland

Genki Video Games - Imported Japanese Console Games

JapanVideoGames.com - Buy and Shop Online for Import Japanese and US Video Games, Toys, DVDs, Anime Character Goods and more!

Buy Import Video Game Console Accessories from Japan & Asia - GameBaz.com

Buy Import Video Games from RenChi.com for Sony PSP PS3 Xbox 360 Nintendo DS Lite Wii

And of course, do not underestimate

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

or

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

both have used and new import games. Of course, look at the individuals feedback ratings before buying. AND ALWAYS look at shipping prices before buying too!

For those long gaming sessions when you need some snackage, try this website for some unusual flavors!

JBOX.com | Japanese Snacks

Be aware that they do sell adult merchandise on this website so surf with caution!

[TheGrandMom]

Re: do you import videogames? whats the best store/site ?

Fastest depends on what shipping you pay for. SAL is the slowest and can take months to get to you. EMS is the fastest and has insurance but you pay a premium price. As with shipping anything from Japan, weight is an issue but also size. You can have a box with a light plushie in it but if the box exceeds a certain size, the price for shipping goes up quite a bit. So some limited edition games in larger packages may cost significantly more.

Play Asia has very good shipping prices on games and sometimes they are shipped from a US warehouse so its fairly quick. NCSX ships from the US too so it fairly quick. Both are very reliable. I have been a NCSX customer for more than 13ish years now. I have purchased from Play Asia too and the only issue I've had is that some things are shipped from Japan and can take a bit longer to get.

Here are a few links. I have purchased from all of these sites and did not have issues. (Some may be Australian or UK stores too.) Some I only made a single purchase at though. Also some I used mostly for retro games or merchandise but you can occasionally find a gem by hunting.

YESASIA: Games & Consoles - Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PS2, PS3, DS Lite, GameBoy, PC Games - Free Shipping

Japanese Import Videogames - Online Store - Buy

eStarland - New and Used Video Games & Anime Merchandise - Starland

Genki Video Games - Imported Japanese Console Games

JapanVideoGames.com - Buy and Shop Online for Import Japanese and US Video Games, Toys, DVDs, Anime Character Goods and more!

Buy Import Video Game Console Accessories from Japan & Asia - GameBaz.com

Buy Import Video Games from RenChi.com for Sony PSP PS3 Xbox 360 Nintendo DS Lite Wii

And of course, do not underestimate

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

or

Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more

both have used and new import games. Of course, look at the individuals feedback ratings before buying. AND ALWAYS look at shipping prices before buying too!

For those long gaming sessions when you need some snackage, try this website for some unusual flavors! Collons are my downfall! I can eat and eat and eat those. ...must resist placing an order...

JBOX.com | Japanese Snacks

Be aware that they do sell adult merchandise on this website so surf with caution!

[jenova_9]

Re: do you import videogames? whats the best store/site ?

oh thanks for info!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: do you import videogames? whats the best store/site ?

Don't import because I'm mostly interested in RPGs, RPGs are text-heavy and I'm not terribly interested in learning another language just to play a video game. If I was going make an effort to learn Japanese beyond the little bits I know, I'd probably want to pursue a career in localization, which would probably ruin the magic of playing a game for me.

I'm essentially avoiding a vicious cycle

The only thing I would probably still import these days are fighting games. No need to study language there, because the story is irrelevant and gameplay is just about hitting the other guy. Shmups work well for imports, too. I did it with the original Sin and Punishment on N64. Well, the story was in english already there, it was just a batshit Akira kind of story.

I learned my lesson about importing RPGs with Pokemon Crystal. I was a big Pokemon G/S fan, so I got that the first chance I could. Game Boy Color was region free. I winged my way past the second town and lost interest, mostly due to switching out to my copy of Pokemon Silver for a point of reference.