How did you get 'into' import gaming?

[SuperDanX]

For me it was reading C+VG/Mean Machines/Super Play wot dun it and all those loverly jap sfc/md games they reviewed, although having said that it wasnt until i heard that metal slug was getting a ps1 converstion but no pal release, that really pushed me over the edge.

[sj33]

Technically from the beginning... as the first game I ever played was a JPN import copy of Rainbow Island on the MD back in '90 (or '91?) which my uncle had.
For the first few years of my gaming, I played my uncles Japanese MD and his Japanese games.

I first started to pursue it for myself in the later Saturn days, and the antics of SoE/SoA and the non-release of the best titles.

Now all my consoles are modded or NTSC (bar my 360 which is region free most of the time anyway), so I buy NTSC-U as standard.

[J0e Musashi]

I was bought a PC Engine by my Mom, this would have been in 1988 or 89. She thought I'd like it after my Commodore 64 blew up and they had no Master Systems in stock, I had played Dragon Spirit in the same store a few weeks before. I came home from school one day and there it was. I was a bit dubious at first, but I once I got to grips with how you didn't really have to read the text anyway, all was cool. Since then and me buying a PAL 360 last December I must have bought about 20 PAL titles tops. I've never been big into RPGs, but that's prolly because I've never been able to understand what is going on.

[mackemansj1]

Imported mega drive games from a carboot sale. I didnt even know what they where just that the art on the box looked ace and the converter was gold so it had to be bought. Never really got fully into it till the cubes launch.

[charlesr]

Was first stunned by the delay of PAL excitebike64, so imported from Australia. Then came here and realised it could run faster, so bought an import JPN GC as soon as the US mod became available.

[Keith]

I was on holiday in Florida when Tekken 3 was released for the PS1, so I bought it along with Alundra and SaGa Frontier. I was pleased I did too; the latter was never released here, and the other two had really awful conversions (in fact, I'm pretty sure Tekken 3 was the worst PAL conversion ever; it took them about six months to half the screen size and slow it down to arthritic-tortoise pace?).

It was once Tekken 3 was finally released over here and I had a quick play on it that I reliased how much better off I'd be importing everything from then.

[AllYourBase]

My local indie games store was mostly import in the early 90s. It just seemed natural to pick up the latest megadrive and snes games before their UK release - after all, they were cheaper too!!

Before long I was happily ordering with Postal Orders!! from the likes of console concepts and dream machines from the back of mean machines mag - great times!

The Japanese artwork was the best bit, comparing with my old master system collection which was all PAL, this seemed on another level!!

[eastyy]

For me it was sega saturn stuff as there was so much great games that looked unlikely for a pal conversion

[Baseley09]

Because I was bored of UK consoles, wanted some exotica and was thrilled by scart leads. Infact I went to buy an Super Colour Enhanced SFC from Adavnced Console Ent. but couldnt garantee until a week before Xmas so opted for a Core II & Splatterhouse instead.

I remeber someone asking my mum once why I they bought me import consoles and I was suprised when she said something along the lines of the games being harder & faster, guess she had the idea.

[Kubrick]

I think Street Fighter II Turbo was my first imported game (and I'm sure it was many others' too...). Simply couldn't wait for that to appear in the UK, so got it ASAP. Was one of a handful of JP/US titles I got for the SNES but they were one-offs and only played on a PAL system through a convertor.

It wasn't untill the Dreamcast-era when I became a full-time importer and began buying NTSC hardware. Nowadays, I have 3 PAL games in total, and 2 of those were bought simply because they have nice boxes

[capcom_suicide]

It was C&VG that showed me the import scene. About 3 of us at school imported the Megadrive on release from "Adams World" It was bloody expensive though!

I can't believe the prices back then.... The bubble really burst around the end of the Super Famicom period though. I think I spend 100 quid on Street Fighter 2, and that still is the most ever, 15 years later!

Up until the 360, I've not really owned much in the way if PAL stuff. I'm pleased with the 360 purchase, and waiting 1 month extra for full screen full speed is fine.

Why do/did I import?

Not to be cool or different, but just to play the arcade games at home, as soon as possible, without big black boarders!

In my opinion the company that have insulted the PAL region the most over the years, has to be the mighty Nintendo. They really don't give a **** about European gamers.

SFC, 64 and Cube were all imports, (The Cube being a USA one for a change)

So in the horizon I will be certainly buying an import Wii, and would strongly advise against PAL.

For PS3 the jury is out! But my money is on Sony screwing PAL regardless of their promises. Sony's poor treatment of PAL comes a close second to Ninty.

So that's me. An importer on mainstream bog standard games. Nothing fancy, cool l33t or hardcore. Just a strong believer in buying games in the way they were supposed to be played.

[bingowings]

got into it quite late - started when i eventually got myself a cheap Dreamcast about 4 years ago. downloaded the Utopia boot disc (yeah, i know - but it's free and it works. mostly.) and off i went. now i'm wasting money on JPN 'Cube and PSP titles.

never been all that bothered about getting things chipped or modded as i just like to play games in whatever form - PAL or whatever.

[wicky]

mine was due to my impatience

first import game would have been some second hand job from charlies on westgate road in newcastle.

First brand new import item was my U.S N64 for ?350 and games were ?80 a shot. I bought super mario 64 and shadows of the empire

[Zed]

mine was due to my impatience

Ditto. The two year waits for Armored Core pissed me off (literally, i'm not exagerating here) and i was also very interested in other mecha which wasnt getting a PAL release.

The real push was probably from Cacophanus who was hanging out on the same USA AC board at the time, and was nudging the few PAL members to import. I would only consider myself a very casual importer, although almost all my PSP games are imports, and i wonder if i'll continue next year if region lockouts go (ha yeah right!) and release dates even up alot. NTSC-uk is an excellant resource for the budding importer, however the bickering over consoles/devs/manufacturers recently has dampened my respect, but years later and i'm still here...

[Sketcz]

I was forced into it as a kid. South Africa, despite being a PAL country, wasn't really officially supported regarding games. So a grey import market sprung up to cater to people's needs. Been doing it since the late Famicom/early MD era. Everyone (I personally knew as a kid at school) imported... Except we didn't call it importing, we called it gaming. I guess it's a bit like how people in China simply call it food.