Is importing cheaper for you?

[Yakumo]

This got me thinking. Being a Japanese 360 owner I'm lucky to have access to all those cool shooters but I'm also stuck with high prices with some games costing upto 53 pounds. So last night I was Reading the Alan Wake first play thread wanting the game so much but it won't be released in Japan fir another 2 weeks. No problem I thought. Then I checked out the official trailer on the 360. To my horror it was in Japanese!! I wasn't willing to take the risk of the game having no English soundtrack especially at 50 pounds.

So I think about importing the Chinese version from PlayAsia since that's in English. Not only will I get my game a week before the Japanese release date but also for 10 pounds less with postage includded!!! Then I check out a few other games that were released in China and Japan. Everyone was at least 10 pounds cheaper after shiping. It looks like I'll be importing pretty much anything that isn't a Japanese exclusive from now on.

[Mr Ono]

In the UK, with the crap exchange rates and the suppliers seemingly charging high prices (looking at Yes Asia here) I have given up on importing. Only time I do buy JPN or Asia versions are when they are shooters that are region free. I do get the odd US game for PS3 if there is a large lag between release dates (Demon Souls).

[briareos_kerensky]

Yes, it is.
Here in Italy new games cost from 40 to 70 euros, depending on the distributor, Italian translation/dubbing, hype received and so on. Supermarkets usually sell games cheaper than the few remaining videogame stores, but not by much.

So UK sites are cheaper than the standard retail point here and a lot of gamers buy from them...it's PAL-to-PAL import, but it's import nonetheless :P
The biggest problem for many Italian gamers is, however, if a game bought in the UK will feature at least Italian subtitles: I don't know if it's a lack of English skills or a personal preference, but on newsgroups and forums there are a lot of threads asking if game X from UK site Y is Italian friendly.
Imports from Japan are extremely rare and most gamers will take their chances and hope for a release in PAL land.

On the other hand, I only buy games from VGP, Play Asia and Yes Asia (when PA doesn't ship to Europe). I buy less games than I used to, but even with courier shipping a single game costs less than the average Italian price and often comes out earlier.

[Number45]

In the UK, with the crap exchange rates and the suppliers seemingly charging high prices (looking at Yes Asia here) I have given up on importing. Only time I do buy JPN or Asia versions are when they are shooters that are region free. I do get the odd US game for PS3 if there is a large lag between release dates (Demon Souls).

Same here pretty much. I used to import because it was both cheaper and because you could almost guarantee getting games early, now neither are true I buy PAL almost exclusively.

There are exceptions, if for example a game looks like it might not reach these shores, but they're few and far between now.

[Kubrick]

No chance. Importing Japanese games is miles more expensive, probably about ?15-?20 above what you can get the PAL version for, on average. Example: Right now, a JP copy of Lost Planet 2 from play-asia will cost the princely sum of ?55 plus shipping. More than thirty quid dearer than buying the UK version.

American & Asian games used to be a cheaper option, but they're just as dear as buying domestic. In fact, they're probably more expensive now since the ?/$ rate took a dramatic nose-dive into the low 1.40s yesterday.

[Geoff D]

Those heady days of nearly $2 to £1 are long gone & unlikely to return (at least not in the short term) - solely importing is no longer a viable option for me I'm afraid as it's too costly for my pocket.

[fuse]

Much, much more expensive. When the pound was riding high I took full advantage and yes, some Asian and US versions worked out cheaper than domestics, but before then importing was more about getting a game early and getting the 'best' version of a game possible, and it's back to that again for me.

[Ouenben]

I paid £40 for Mario Galaxy 2 That did include $15 Fedex shipping but still it used to be only £24-£30 for me to get a game from videogamesplus or whatever.
And to add insult to injury you often see PAL Wii games reduced within weeks here.

[112]

I find that the only time i ever import a game these days is when i go abroad myself or I have friends and family going or coming from abroad - which happens a few times a year, and can be helpful........

The times when I would pay double the RRP for an import have gone and will never come back because I understand the value of money more now, as oppossed to when the bank of my Dad's back pocket used to have what seemed an endless supply of green coming out of it........

With so many decent games coming out so regularly, my attention is swayed so easily now........ and by the time I come back to a game that is only available on import, it can usually be picked up cheaper........

Its all in the waiting game IMO, something which is very difficult to do when you frequent this forum and talk about said games........

So is importing cheaper for me - yes if I wait, and no if I am impatient........

112

[Guts]

Yes, it is.
Here in Italy new games cost from 40 to 70 euros, depending on the distributor, Italian translation/dubbing, hype received and so on. Supermarkets usually sell games cheaper than the few remaining videogame stores, but not by much.

It's the same thing here, I only import from UK/Canada. I won't pay 69,90? to the local Gamestop when I can get the game shipped to my door for about 20-30?.

The biggest problem for many Italian gamers is, however, if a game bought in the UK will feature at least Italian subtitles: I don't know if it's a lack of English skills or a personal preference, but on newsgroups and forums there are a lot of threads asking if game X from UK site Y is Italian friendly.

I would guess it's a bit of both, Italian movies, games etc. are dubbed like in most of the big European countries (France, Germany, Spain etc.). In smaller countries like here in Finland nothing gets dubbed on the TV or in games (except if they are for young children). This, of course doesn't mean that there wouldn't be people who can't speak a word of English here, but I'm sure it helps the majority to learn English better. Personally I probably learned more English from games, movies and TV than I ever did at school.

[briareos_kerensky]

Personally I probably learned more English from games, movies and TV than I ever did at school.

When I was in school my drive to learn English was to understand games. I remember how clueless I was when playing Castlevania II and the local Nintendo magazine wasn't of much help.

Also, the Italian version of MechCommander (translated and dubbed) left a scar so deep that I require my games to be in English (or their native language, at least for voices).

[Jay]

It's the expensive option now, whereas it used to be the cheaper option so I hardly import anything these days, which is a real shame. Right now, I'd like Darius Burst and Hyakuman Ton No Bara Bara, but both of these cost nearly 40 quid from yesasia which is silly for PSP games.

[J0e Musashi]

Meh, if you know what you are doing you can buy imports for almost the same price as domestic releases. I use a large number of outlets for my games and I rarely pay more than I would if I went to GAME etc. Most of the time the only added expense is the shipping costs. Also if you dont mind waiting a little you can make massive savings. For instance I recently got COD:MW2 brand new for £6 shipped.

I'm big into used games at the moment, mainly due to a guy I've found in Japan who seems to buy all new releases, plays them for a week and then sells them to me for £29 including shipping. Everything I've purchased so far has been in as new condition, just not sealed. Can't go wrong there.

[J0e Musashi]

Right now, I'd like Darius Burst and Hyakuman Ton No Bara Bara, but both of these cost nearly 40 quid from yesasia which is silly for PSP games.

How so? Games are games no? Just because you can't play it on your TV you won't pay?

[sj33]

We're basically lucky that, as the cost of importing has increased, the actual reasons to import have decreased, with worldwide releases being pretty commonplace these days, and technical issues like 50/60Hz now being a non-issue. 10 years ago, we'd of had little choice but to just pay the extra.