Pepsiman's Guide to Surviving Imports v1.1

In my personal opinion, the practice of importing games from other regions is becoming an increasingly necessary experience for those who want the full spectrum of games to play, and not just for the Japanese language-learners, either. Whether it's because your country's censorship laws either prevent you from experiencing the games as they were originally intended (ie: the US release of MK vs. DC Universe) or not at all, because you happen to be curious about game design from overseas developers, or are just wondering about that one quirky game whose underlying culture prevents it from garnering an international release, there are now a number of legitimate reasons to import games. Thankfully, there's been no better time to do it than right now, either, as there are a number of resources at your disposal to make the transition into import games easy. Having said that, this guide is devoted primarily to those who have very little to no experience in importing games and that's more or less because you can become really self-sufficient once you know the basic information. Naturally, there are things here which could be handy for people who have been in the arena for quite some time, but they are not the main concern here.

Like a lot of FAQs, this one is a work in progress. Although you're free to shoot me a PM and tell me what else I should cover in here, this is the area to turn to if you feel like helping me out a bit. I'll post a couple of topics I want to address, but need more information on from people who are experienced in those areas. Though you are by no means obligated to help, you'll obviously get due credit at the bottom of this guide, as well as my gratitude.

With the proliferation of the Internet and numerous free translations, it cannot be denied that emulation has played a very significant role in gaining people access to imports. Indeed, while many of the classics which have gotten their corresponding translations have hard copies which can be easily located for relatively inexpensive prices, it has more importantly enabled people to play a lot of the rarer gems which would otherwise remain extremely obscure and, more like likely than not, remain in the hands of primarily collectors. I am therefore not here to provide you with any moral reasons against using emulation to play imports. What I will do, however, is provide a couple of disclaimers about the matter before proceeding onto the rest of the guide.

By far, the most popular region from which to import games is Japan and the reasons for this are many. Besides being the birth place of modern console gaming post-Atari, it also happens to be the land where a lot of genuinely unique gameplay mechanics are raised, yet never brought out of captivity into the rest of the world. For most people, it's the allure of playing games which they know for a fact will never get releases elsewhere that entices them to import games from the region. These folks don't have a problem trying to overcome the potential cultural hurdles which arise from playing Japanese games; they're just out to have an unusual, but good time. There are also those who prefer to import games from Japan so they can have the region's latest AAA titles before they undergo months of localization for other regions. Whether it's because they happen to know the language well enough already and don't need to wait for an official translation or simply want to play the game entirely as their creators intended, these people are often on the front lines when it comes to releases from the area and don't mind paying a little extra for the premium of being early.

A good chunk of this guide's readers probably live on this continent anyway and are free to skip this portion, but for the rest of the world, importing games from North America is typically an enticing proposition from a budgetary and localization standpoint. Regarding the former, North American games have been on the market long enough that capitalistic mentalities have set specific trends in their pricing. A lot of the time, even after exchange rate conversions and shipping fees, the games still cost less to buy from North America than, say, their counterparts in Europe. Additionally, with regards to specifically games of Japanese origin, North America has a fairly consistent track record of getting translated Japanese games first. Although the scripts they come with might differ from the finalized version released in other regions, those who are interested solely in being able to play a major Japanese release in English without waiting for at least several months for a release to finally take place in their homeland are often inclined to just mooch off of the North American release and be content with it.

Europe is probably the least popular region from which to import games and that's probably for good reason: most of the games there have international releases and, thanks to a concerted effort on the part of developers, the butchering transition from 60 Hz video signals to 50 Hz ones is largely a thing of the past. That doesn't mean that Europe is completely irrelevant in the field of importing, though. While the games there can often be more expensive to varying degrees of magnitude, there are still specific perks for certain demographics. The most significant perk for European imports is that of multiple language translations on one cartridge and disc. Thanks to the way the European Union does things, games nowadays often have to be packed with language options for tongues such as Spanish, German, and French. Those who speak such languages natively in, say, the United States may find it's worth their while to look into an alternative version in Europe if they don't believe their English is quite up to par.

While there aren't really exclusives in this region per se, Asia has become the go-to region for budget-conscious importers who either want some English and/or Chinese with their otherwise Japanese game or want a couple of dollars off a completely English localization and have the means to run Asia region-encoded games. In recent years, Asia-region games are also more and more likely to be region-free ones, particularly on the Xbox 360, so those who want some minor savings and don't mind waiting for shipping may want to look into specialty online retailors who deal in those games specifically, a topic which will be covered later.

Besides figuring out what it will take to get your console to run games from its non-native region, the major worry about playing imports is whether your television will do okay with potentially using different video signal standards. This basically isn't a worry at all if you live in North America or other NTSC-abiding regions and seek to import games from Japan, since that country uses the same standard, as well. If, however, you happen to live in Europe, this could be an issue, as a large number of TVs there run PAL signals natively. Although a number of standard TVs can now run NTSC just fine, it's recommended that you look into the official specifications of your television before importing console games. The same must be said for those living in North America and wish to import European games; although PAL can be run on more and more TVs, the adoption rate on the part of manufacturers is still relatively slow. Doing research prior to importing could save you a good amount of money in the long run.

Obviously the main issue when it comes to importing Japanese is the language barrier. While not a problem with all genres, not knowing the language at least fairly well in advance can pose a number of problems if you pick a game which is unsuitable for your fluency level. If you happen to run into that problem, it's recommended that you find an FAQ/walkthrough online so that you can still derive some sort of enjoyment out of the game. I say this because of the next recommendation: Do not, under any circumstance, use import games as a sudden motivation to learn the language. Too often have I seen forum-posters think that they'll scrape by playing the latest RPG by learning hiragana and katakana and then calling it good. The reality is that very few modern games, if any, rely solely on those kana scripts anymore. It was a vaguely more viable option in the Famicom days due to technical limitations in cartridge space, but even then you had to worry about vocabulary issues. Nowadays, you have to worry about Kanji as well and learning how to interpret them and their numerous readings properly requires much more education than self-teaching hiragana and katakana ever does.

Thanks to the magic of region locking, most systems have different requirements for running games whose regions differ from the ones they run natively. There are a few exceptions and they'll be noted in the following, but I'll break down the methods you can use for each system and, on top of that, organize them chronologically by system manufacturer. I'm only going to worry about the major systems, as that's what most of the importing is for, so if you're trying to run imports on a more obscure console, I apologize in advance for not covering it.

Nintendo's cartridge-based systems all need adators to run games from other regions properly. The adaptors go by different names and have largely stopped being manufactured for some time, but whether it's the Famicom, Super Famicom, or N64 games you want to run, you're going to probably end up consulting online auctions in order to acquire that particular accessory. The only exception to this is the SNES, which can run Super Famicom games if you clip of the plastic sides to the left and right of the cartridge slot, but if you're not up for trimming, then a cartridge adapter is the only way to go.

For the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, you can apply modchips to both and be on your merry way. If you're a bit frugal with your money, though, you can do a number of DIY hardware mods to either your large or slimline PS2. For the former, you're most likely going to be taking out the front panel and making a plastic card which will open the disc drive for you without triggering the eject button and bringing you back to the console's main menu. For the other model, you're going to need to open up your PS2 and kill your warranty, as you'll either be forcing several switches on the motherboard to be permanently pressed down or installing a lid mod. The point of doing either one is to allow you to take out discs without, again, triggering the eject button. Regardless of which method you use, you'll also need to go fetch "SwapMagic" discs, which function much like the GameCube's Freeloader. Essentially, you put the SwapMagic disc in, wait for it to load, take it out using a non-eject button method, put in your import, and wait for the magic to happen. Not too terribly hard of a process, no?

For the original Xbox, you'll need to do either some modchipping or homebrew installation, if not both. Unlike the PS2 and GameCube, there aren't any discs which allow you to play games of other regions without altering the hardware substantially. As for the 360, some games are region-free, although this depends entirely upon whether the developer and publisher choose to do so. Play-Asia has a handy feature on every 360 game's page which shows you what consoles will take what region of a given game. It's very nice to have and saves quite a bit of time on researching forums. You can also modchip your 360, but doing so definitely risks a ban from Live and a possibly bricking during firmware updates. Take that route with lots of caution if you choose to go down it.

The handhelds you probably care about are already region-free. Whether it's the GameBoy, DS, or PSP, you're probably already set to play imports. Just pop them into system and go. There are only two major exceptions. The first is Korean-encoded DS games, since they use characters which aren't on standard US, Japanese, or European firmware, but more likely than not, you're not even thinking of getting games from there. The other, more important exception, is the DSi. While regular DS games from any region can still be played on the DSi, the downloadable games you can acquire at this point are restricted to ones from the same region as your DSi. So if you imported your DSi from Japan, for example, you could only access the Japanese DSi store, even if you live elsewhere. There is also the potential that DSi-exclusive retail games could have this same problem, should any of them come to fruition in the future. Other than those, though, you were already prepared to play portable games from all over the world by just buying the system itself.

Thankfully, PC games don't have region encoding and nor do you have to worry about video signals since even mediocre monitors can handle various resolutions and frequencies just fine. The only thing you have to really ensure in advance is whether your system has foreign characters enabled. While this obviously isn't a worry for most Latin-character-based games, it is for a number of Japanese games. As such, it's wise to look up the specific methods for rendering other character sets on your operating system, although it is probable that you'll need to go fetch an operating system install CD to do so, at least with the Windows line. Different operating systems have different methods, though, so a trip to Google or your local tech support forum probably wouldn't kill you.

So, after all my warnings and disclaimers, you're still not put off by the notion of importing a game, even if it's in a language you can't remotely comprehend. Good! The next step is probably the hardest for first-timers: picking the right game. This is primarily because it's really, really easy to mess up and pick a game that's either too foreign to you from a gameplay standpoint or is completely incomprehensible from a linguistic standpoint. The idea in picking your first import is to thusly find one whose gameplay you can pick up intuitively, whether it's because you're familiar with similar games or the game does a really good job at showing you what to do through context. This means that most RPGs are already out of the question if you aren't familiar with the target language, as most games use quite a bit of text and/or voice acting to direct you to where you need to go and what has to be done. There are a few exceptions, such as Tomato Adventure on the GameBoy Advance, but more likely than not, you'll get stuck if you pick an RPG and go gung-ho with it. If you still feel compelled to import one, then at least do a bit of research and make sure that there's a guide you can use which covers the game from start to finish. You might not always need to consult it, but you'll probably run into language barrier issues and need advice on how to overcome them at least sometimes.

One of the keys to having a good experience with importing games, besides picking something right for you, is finding a good retailer that has that specializes in imports. I say that because import games are one of the markets where it's fairly easy to get ripped off just because of their exotic nature, so it's wise to do extensive research on various outlets before making a purchase. To help you with that, I'll discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the main types of retailers you'll find who deal in this sort of merchandise, as well as provide specific examples of ones I personally endorse should you choose to go down the road. By no means is this breakdown exhaustive, but it should be enough to serve most, if not all of your needs, especially when you're still testing the waters.

If you don't have much experience with the other types of sellers below, it's wise to just go with a full-fledged retailer with their own dedicated site. Most of the major ones have been around for quite some time and have thusly built up very solid reputations, as well as a huge variety of items to sift through. Play-Asia and NCSX are the best known sites of the bunch. Play-Asia is slightly newer and while some people have had shipping issues with them in the past, they are by and large a reliable site to use. It's the import site I personally turn to most often since I very rarely encounter those problems for myself. Whether you're looking for just that slightly cheaper Asian version of a 360 game or you're craving that old Japanese Genesis/Mega Drive game you played years ago, Play-Asia will probably be able to help you out. Even if an older item is out of stock, however, they have services in which you can formally request them to track a copy down for you if you're willing to pay for it should they be successful. Plus, they have sales quite often where even the most expensive products can be made quite financially manageable. If, however, you're looking for a site which has been in the business of imports for quite some time and has become reliable because of that, then NCSX will serve your needs perfectly fine. Their prices tend to be higher than Play-Asia, but their service is also top-knotch.
Regardless of whether you use those sites or one you discovered on your own, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, Play-Asia not withstanding, most online retailers' prices are fixed and therefore don't usually change very often. Depending on how much pricing research you do into a particular game ahead of time, that may be for better or for worse. Secondly, since the larger ones in particular are fully-fledged businesses, any customer service inquiries might not garner the personal response you'd more often expect from the other types of sellers listed below. These businesses usually employ customer service representatives, but if you need to contact them, it can still be a fairly contrived process. But finally, and more positively, online retailers are typically the most consistent when it comes to shipping prices. What they post as the shipping cost for one shipping order given the weight and location will usually remain true in the future, especially if they use services like UPS or Fed-Ex instead of a postal service. Contrast that with auction services where shipping prices on a given product can vary wildly due to a number of factors unique to such places.

Before we get started, I think most of you realistically know which sites I'll be referring to in passing and therefore endorse: eBay, Yahoo Auctions, Chase the Chuckwagon, and the like. I will therefore not cover how to search for items or determine the legitimacy of a seller. If you're reading this guide, you've probably had experience in that arena already and don't need any hand-holding from me. So instead, I'll cover the advantages and disadvantages which are unique to auction sites. First and foremost, the allure of getting import games from auction sites is the potential to find deals that nobody else can beat. While many sellers have their prices set to market standards, there are still nonetheless plenty of opportunities to get discounts if you're clever and resourceful about your searches. Furthermore, auction sites can be the best place to buy especially obscure import games. Their collectible nature can make it really difficult to find them on retailer sites, making auction sites the resource to consult during such times. However, the disadvantages of importing games from auction sites are akin to buying most anything off such places. If you're not using Buy It Now-like options to instantly purchase your import game, then pricing is more or less a matter of how lucky you are with the auction. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, shipping prices can be higher to varying degrees than what you would find on retailer sites. This can be due to a number of factors, although one should always be on the lookout for price hiking in that arena; some sites have policies in place which compel sellers to raise shipping prices as a way to avoid paying the site higher commissions. Ultimately, however, your success with auction sites is relative to your resourcefulness. If you know where to look, their prices really can be unbeatable with the right timing. Additionally, those sellers, especially the smaller-scale ones, tend to offer better, more personal customer service, which can be a huge plus under certain circumstances.

This section is here mostly for those interested in buying directly from Japanese sellers outside of English-speaking sites such as eBay. If this is your first time importing a game at all, it's probably best if you ignore this option for now. The other two alternatives will serve you just fine, especially when considering that language barrier issues typically aren't present in them. But if you have a desire to nab an especially rare import game that even the craftiest collectors abroad have a hard time nabbing, or if you're wanting one more potentially good option for deals, then read on.
Ordering from Japanese sites is the option I personally endorse the least. This has nothing to do with pricing or service issues; Japanese shops are actually quite good in both arenas. Rather, the bigger worry has more to do with shipping and language issues, with the former being more predominant today. Going into the arena of Japanese shops, you should recognize first and foremost that many of them will not ship outside of their own country. This is primarily because making international shipping happen in Japan is a larger logistical hassle than it is in other countries; the services are certainly there, but aren't necessarily set up in the sellers' favor. Some of it probably has to do with exportation laws related specifically to electronics, although those are hardly enforced by Japanese customs in reality. That said, the language barrier can still be a huge obstacle if you don't have at least some experience with Japanese. While some Japanese sites have English options, many are written solely in Japanese and may require a liberal use of machine translators to get anywhere if you lack any fluency whatsoever. This is especially true when inputting addresses; the Japanese system is not the same as others more commonly used elsewhere and can therefore be difficult to fill out correctly.

That said, if you know what you're doing, then I would personally say that you should begin your search for import games on Amazon Japan and Yahoo Japan Auctions. While I won't provide guides here about how to use both of them, I will say that they are probably the best places to consult first in your searches. Not only are their selections probably truly unmatched with good enough searching, but they also allow you to tap into Japan's used game market, an option which is very rarely available for stores set up abroad. (It should be noted that Play-Asia has some games available used, but that's usually the exception and not the rule.) Besides the language difference, the experience of shopping on both of them is largely the same and, of course, if you're buying from a third party seller, be sure to check out their feedback history first, even if that means using an online translator.

Still, the main issue at hand is getting the games shipped out to you once you've bought them. For that, you basically have two options. One is to use a third-party service to bid/shop in your place. Under this scenario, you're basically employing a shopper within Japan to buy the items for you. You then naturally pay for the price of the item, the cost of shipping to shopper within Japan, the cost of shipping it out to you, and a commission for their service. This is not the option I personally recommend for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason for this is that you'll more likely than not end up paying significantly more than market price for whatever item you want to get. In addition to paying for multiple shipments, this is mainly due to the commission you'll end paying to the proxy shopper. While different sites have different commission systems, the percentage and/or minimum payment tends to be significant enough for them to profit off of your transaction. That's fine, as they're businesses, after all, but it certainly doesn't help those who want to be budget conscious. Also, since many such services are somewhat small, financial security can potentially be an issue as well. There are many perfectly legitimate places to use, but it should keep in mind that their niche nature has prevented them from gaining recognition and reputation in the mainstream.

So unless you really don't trust your own abilities to navigate Japanese sites and/or really need a representative for customer service needs, I recommend you go for the alternative instead: Tenso. Tenso is a new service, but their legitimacy has already been proven by a number of bloggers and having used them in the past, I know that they're a good company to use. So what is it that they offer? In short, your own Japanese address for free. Essentially, they have facilities in which they assign you your own PO box, which is what you write down whenever you order something off of a Japanese site. When items arrive in this PO box, they are then forwarded to whatever international address you give them. The benefits of using this over a third-party buyer are numerous. For one thing, while you naturally still have to pay Tenso when they forward items to you, their pricing is really fair, especially when considering that they only use EMS, Japan's insured express mailing standard. Also, using a Tenso mail box entitles you to all the benefits that having a Japanese address entails. This might seem like an odd thing to say until you see sites such as Amazon Japan offering free shipping to Japanese addresses when the subtotal goes over a specific amount. (In Amazon Japan's case, it's over 1500 yen. This is great even for items they would normally ship out overseas.) What this means is that you might be saving quite a bit on shipping; if you can get it free within Japan, then the only shipping you do end up paying for is when the item is shipped to leave the country. In short, Tenso is highly, highly recommended as long as you're willing to figure out how to navigate Japanese shopping sites on your own. If you can do that, then there's no reason to really use anyone else. Tenso works as advertised and you can't ask for much more than that.

You're an insane person if you read this guide from top to bottom and still want to read this section. It's nice of you, but I don't need that much validation. Still, you have my thanks for reading this. As stated before,  you're free to give feedback of any sort on it. Beyond that, here's a list of people I owe thanks to for providing additional information after this guide's initial publishing. Right now, it's just two people, but hey, a list with two bullet points can still be a list, right?

• Linkyshinks, for reminding me about the Wii Freeloader and what firmware it works on, as well as telling me that spell check is a good thing to use on the word "retailer"
  
• Poki3, for reminding me about the region limitations for the DSi