NTSC-UKers abroad: How do you get your gaming on?

[vkun]

Wait, LBP special edition?

Not being a UK resident myself I pretty much import everything from game/gameplay, with coupons I can usually cover the shipping fee which is 3 GBP per order (unless it's a preorder, which is pretty weird since they ship regular orders 1 game per envelope as well). Play.com unfortunately doesn't ship to Slovenia and shopto's 3.5GBP shipping prices suck, so I'll get their games shipped to a friend in London and have someone pick them up when they're there.

As for local prices... 60-70 euros with no sales EVER. There's pretty much no competition, 2 decent gaming stores in the whole country plus a major chain store that tends to import their own stock.

[Cuber001]

Same here - it's an awesome service they offer if you live in Japan. The only snag is finding the odd title that only exists in rare corners of PALland, like cricket games.

Speaking of which, is there any in develpment for PS3? The Ashes are next year and with Australia once again gonna trounce them 5-0 and send the barmy army again into disarray, what better way than to do it online against other Poms

Anyway never imported anything from the UK as i could never find any to ship to Australia. So had to buy from ebay (which was from the UK) a copy of Rock Band for 360.

[MisterKIKI]

The daft thing though is that the Boxsets tend to be the same price as the normal editions, lol. They have no concept of what collectors editions are all about.

Yeah, like you said, I found that both Fable 2 Ltd edition and the normal Fable 2 cost 269 Riyal, which is ?48 now compared to the ?36 it was back in August! The price doesn't bother me too much as long as I use the local cash allowance rather than my UK credit card. If I think about exchange rates, then I'd never buy games here, either.

One major stumbling block for me is the internet. I can just about browse and order stuff from work, but back at the hotel, it is slow. most of the time, LIVE gaming is sadly out of the question (and I was really looking forward to Left4dead).

[NemesiS]

One major stumbling block for me is the internet. I can just about browse and order stuff from work, but back at the hotel, it is slow. most of the time, LIVE gaming is sadly out of the question (and I was really looking forward to Left4dead).

Lol, the internet in the Middle East is shocking. Me and the missus pay 460AED (£85!!!!!) per month for 4mb!! broadband. Hotel internet connections are usually a maximum 2mb leased lines, but its shared between about 500 rooms. So if a percentage of guests are using it, and thats not counting the staff, it will be and usually is ****e.
Almost all sites are banned as they are deemed unsuitable. Its a joke, but you can use software called "hotspot shield" which uses another proxy server. You can get it in Saudi. The main site is blocked like skype but you can find the client elsewhere by googling it.

I've not had too many issues playing left 4 dead and the new WoW, but i think thats because we are paying throught the nose for the 4mb connection. Its just a piss take compared to everywhere else.

[DeathAdder]

Speaking of which, is there any in develpment for PS3? The Ashes are next year and with Australia once again gonna trounce them 5-0 and send the barmy army again into disarray, what better way than to do it online against other Poms

Anyway never imported anything from the UK as i could never find any to ship to Australia. So had to buy from ebay (which was from the UK) a copy of Rock Band for 360.

I'm afraid not, on all account. Don't think there are any for PS3, and Australia have failed to replace the retired stars of Spin and Pace. Think it will be a drawn Ashes myself.

[kryss]

I only import about 5-10% of the games I buy. I've bought a few from Messe Sanoh (the import one down the side of Club Sega) and Games Hollywood (same street but on the 5th floor of another building) and they almost NEVER have sales. Their prices aren't bad but the J-versions are at least 20% cheaper elsewhere so I go with the saving and convince myself I'm improving my Japanese while playing.
Occasionally I use VG+ or Play-asia and have the game shipped direct, other times I have stuff sent from Play.com to my mother who then forwards it on.

[MisterKIKI]

Lol, the internet in the Middle East is shocking. Me and the missus pay 460AED (?85!!!!!) per month for 4mb!!

That's just crazy! Maybe I shouldn't complain about my internet connection after all. I hear what you're saying about the shared hotel internet connection!! Usually the connection gets really good on Thursday afternoon/evening, when most of the guests escape to Bahrain for a piss up.

I tried that Hotspot Shield, but didn't work out for me out here. When I run it, it starts up IE, but doesn't get anywhere. Ah well, other than not being able to order anything from HKFlix, there's nothing blocked that I desperately need (PortableSkype seems to run fine from where I am)

BTW Nemesis/Dubai based people, how's the Emirates Terminal (T3?) like for getting gaming stuff?

[NemesiS]

That's just crazy! Maybe I shouldn't complain about my internet connection after all. I hear what you're saying about the shared hotel internet connection!! Usually the connection gets really good on Thursday afternoon/evening, when most of the guests escape to Bahrain for a piss up.

Lol, yeah, we get all the businessmen in from Saudi on a Thursday night for the weekend lashups at Barasti or wherever and brunches before they bugger off back home to work. Part time Muslims (No offense intended). But then Saudi is unbelievably strict. I hate having to go there although it is actually a nicer than Dubai.

I tried that Hotspot Shield, but didn't work out for me out here. When I run it, it starts up IE, but doesn't get anywhere.

I use Hotspot shield with Firefox. Have it on the toolbar and it pretty much connects me to most sites other than downright filth . Tbh, i only need it for the football365.co.uk forum as it is barred through the UAE Etisalat Proxy

BTW Nemesis/Dubai based people, how's the Emirates Terminal (T3?) like for getting gaming stuff?

They had the opening day a bit back for T3 and the company i work for got invites, but i couldn't be arsed going to look at an airport terminal . I haven't been through it yet either. Most of my flights go through T1. You can get most titles in T1, although GTA4 was banned and Left 4 Dead wasn't out there in either T1 or Sharaf-DG. No one had heard of it even though it had been released a month before. Unusual for Dubai stockists as they are usually on the ball with new releases, so i'm assuming that was banned as well

[MisterKIKI]

Can't find Left 4 dead anywhere for the 360 either, although Jarir (the main bookstore chain in Saudi Arabia) were stocking the PC version.

Yeah, I read that copies of GTA IV were confiscated from Bahraini shops, but their airport had tons of the big special edition in stock . Can't find anything worthwhile here at Dubai T3 (getting really bored of my 8 hour transit). Off on holiday to visit family and the 360 is coming along. Wish I could plug it into the 42" LCD behind me.

[DCharlie]

if i want something really quickly, i'll pop to Messe sanoh Choas or game hollywood, but most of the time, i pick up X360 asian games from play-asia or US stuff from Amazon.com in the sales (via Myus).

Or if i'm on a business trip i can go hit up Wanchai direct

[Jaz]

I pay the equivalent of 130 pounds a month for 2Mb internt in Qatar.