Asian or PAL 360

[Chadruharazzeb]

I'm going to have to invest in a 360 after ?mas but my melon is being twisted by the decision whether to buy an Asian one from PA or just go down to the shops and pick up a PAL one.

So far I have considered: the Asian machine is cheaper but how much tax would I be raped for? The Asian/ JPN games are cheaper from PA but how often is there going to be language barrier issues? Are there likely to be any issues with an Asian machine eg DVD playback, compatibility with PAL peripherals, Live matters etc?

Is it better to keep it simple but pay for it by going PAL??

I just don't know.

[VR46]

you'll find a lot of answers in this thread matey

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=62980

[Chadruharazzeb]

Isn't that about US console VS Jpn, sir? It's the PAL conundrum that's melting my feeble mind.

[Paulos G]

I have a PAL and JPN 360. I can use all my PAL bits and bobs (controller, HDD, vision camera etc) and Live account on the JPN console. DVDs also work fine on each (both region 2).

Most of the Asian games are in English.

[VR46]

This thread then

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=61885&page=1&pp=50

I only got my PAL 360 in Sept this year, so managed to pick up loads of used older PAL titles for ten to fifteen pounds each here.
If your going to buy new releases week after week then Asian one has got to be the way forward (new games are only ?23 each)

Yesasia price was about ?70 more expensvie than PA last time I looked (for an Asian Premium pack), but once you add tax on to the PA price there was only a couple of quid in it.

If I was to go out and buy another 360 tomorrow, probably purely for ease would go the PAL route again.

[Chadruharazzeb]

I am leaning marginally towards getting a PAL one, it's the cost of games that's the most appealing with the Asian machine. I do mean *Asian* not Japanese, it seems a lot of Asian games are dual language and - correct me if I'm wrong here - there's no need to buy another stepdown as the Asian PSU has a UK style plug and can handle 220v?

[VR46]

Asian PSU just plugs straight into mains here yes (they use same 3 pronged plugs as us)

[tom-nook]

I am leaning marginally towards getting a PAL one, it's the cost of games that's the most appealing with the Asian machine.

Yeah that's a distinct advantage. However, many of the Asian games (60%+ at a guess) are region free anyway & run on a PAL machine so you can still get the benefit of cheaper games.

All the Asian games I've bought are in English so you should have no probs there. Pretty much all of them have turned out to be either the US or Australian release (probably to keep costs down) so manuals etc. are in English too.

[Chadruharazzeb]

Thanks for the assits folks. I think I'll get PAL for the first time. God, I'll feel so dirty....

[kendra]

My only problem with the Japanese 360, is that Table Tennis PAL isn't region free (which meant paying ?24 for it) and neither is Pro Evo Soccer 6... so having to wait for that =)

Apart from that, it was a lower cost and lower gaming cost... but with most games being region free it's less of an issue..

[Paulos G]

So kendra, does this mean you had two NTSC-J 360s until you sold me one (which is getting loads of very happy gaming btw)?