Are there less import players now?

[Dazzyman]

JPN PS3 buy made 20% import stuff on it mainly USA (ie Rock Band) thats it for this gen, 360 and Wii are PAL (but I wish also that Id bought a USA Wii but I couldnt get one last chrimbo so got a PAL one instead).

I dont think it matters as much this generation as its very rare that on PS3/360 stuff comes out 6months later like they used to on PS2. Ive been importing for 15yrs so for me its just natural.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I still import everything, and it's as important as ever to do so for Nintendo stuff. Nintendo EU are still utterly useless.

For MS stuff though EU delays are less common now, so I can see why some would buy PAL gear.

[capcom_suicide]

Can you ship me 10 wii's please ?

Well if my local shop is anythign to go by, you could just buy airmail from any games shop here.



As for the Wii, if I had managed to get a US unit I would have, but I needed my Mario, and I hope it's ok on PAL. I'll sell the machine in early 2008 as I have no time for 3 consoles, but I can't do without Galaxy.

I'll no doubt import Wii2. As others have said, if you are into Ninty games, importing is really the only sensible way.

I too started with an Import Megadrive, and have only been after games as fast as possible, at the right speed and look. Simple as that.

[chipsgravy]

So in conclusion.

Most people have domestic 360's. PS3's are a mixed bag but mainly due to the importance of Blu-Ray / Backwards Compatibility to the individual. Wii's are mainly imported. Due to long releases and sub standard VC releases. Nintendo should take a look here and realise their shortcomings.

It would seem that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Credit to Microsoft though for driving the market correctly.

[egparadigm]

Just thought I'd add my predictable import tendencies to the list.

UK 360, importing Asian releases for cost.

US Wii for video quality, cost and immediacy.

[elkatas]

As others have said, if you are into Ninty games, importing is really the only sensible way.

*shrugs* Only if games are matter of life and death for you.

I dont think it matters as much this generation as its very rare that on PS3/360 stuff comes out 6months later like they used to on PS2.

Mostly because there hasn't been that much japanese stuff yet. 95 percent of X360 games have been made in the west, and for PS3 numbers are easily over 70 percent. When japanese games start to be more prominent, there will be far bigger gaps.

[Lyris]

*shrugs* Only if games are matter of life and death for you.

I heard that a lot before the Wii release. Many of the same people afterwards complained about late releases or non-releases of titles like Super Paper Mario and Manhunt 2.

Actually games aren't a matter of life and death for me, but I can't afford to pay for PAL video game releases (not that I actually want to buy them...). I can pick up mint condition pre-owned releases from the web much easier.

[charlesr]

Yeah, I seem to remember having to close threads full of people whinging about PAL Wii releases. NTSC-uk is hardly the place for that. What are we supposed to say apart from told-you-so?

[Kotatsu Neko]

*shrugs* Only if games are matter of life and death for you.

Or if you find it morally repugnant to pay much more for a game which was released elsewhere in the world months earlier.

Or in the case of Manhunt 2, not have the option to buy a game at all due to ridiculous UK censorship.

[Lyris]

Or if you find it morally repugnant to pay much more for a game which was released elsewhere in the world months earlier.

Business is business, so I don't feel quite as strongly as that - if a company can make extra profit by milking people who have the option to buy cheaper products of equal (or better) quality but choose not to, then so be it.

But yeah, I have a 60hz TV, speak English, and enjoy saving money. So, US releases are the obvious choice for me.

[MonkeySteve]

I can see what you guys are saying; I think everyone on this site knows the benefits/disadvantages of the import scene. However, I can also see Elkatas' point of view.

Yes, games over here are a few quid more, but the ability to go into a shop on a whim and pick one up, and being able to trade old stuff in, makes up for that (not to mention the fact that you can easily get another copy the same day if the original disc is borked). And as for the 50/60hz debacle, it's gradually getting better (even with Nintendo games), and I daresay a lot of gamers wouldn't even know the difference anyway.

I have a mixture of PAL/US/JPN stuff, and I'm glad that importing is an option, but you have to remember that for a lot of people the issues you mention aren't a factor, and I think it's poor the way people get slammed for even daring to buy PAL stuff, even if it's the most suitable choice for them.

[Keith]

Wii's are mainly imported. Due to long releases and sub standard VC releases. Nintendo should take a look here and realise their shortcomings.

It would seem that the more things change the more they stay the same.

I imagine that the majority (including myself) imported Wiis due to Nintendo's history of PAL release schedules in the pre-Wii days. Nintendo Europe have a lot of ground to make up before not importing a Nintendo console seems like a sensible idea.

[elkatas]

Or if you find it morally repugnant to pay much more for a game which was released elsewhere in the world months earlier.

*shrugs* Three years ago I would have agreed with you, but times have certainly changed. These days I don't save more than few euros by ordering stuff from USA instead of Jersey. Plus release dates don't really matter me, because my backlog is already pretty insane, and I don't really need dozens of releases to feed the fire. Instead of gathering more stuff, I'm trying to get more enjoyment from games that I have.

[Lyris]

Yes, games over here are a few quid more, but the ability to go into a shop on a whim and pick one up, and being able to trade old stuff in, makes up for that (not to mention the fact that you can easily get another copy the same day if the original disc is borked).

I don't see the appeal really. I much prefer browsing the bargains online. Also, out of the thousand or so optical discs (be they DVDs, game discs, etc) that have passed through my hands writing for a DVD review site over the last few years, I've only ever had a single dud.

Plus release dates don't really matter me, because my backlog is already pretty insane, and I don't really need dozens of releases to feed the fire. Instead of gathering more stuff, I'm trying to get more enjoyment from games that I have.

I'm doing the same thing, yeah.

[MonkeySteve]

I don't see the appeal really. I much prefer browsing the bargains online.

Which is fair enough. However, other people might like to browse through physical copies in a shop, and be be playing the game 30 mins later. I don't see why they should be derided for that, each to their own.