PS2 import questions - help apprechiated

[Pirotic]

Hiya!

first of all sorry if this is repeated elsewhere, i searched the forum the best i could and didn't find any answers to the following:

1.) When importing i've noticed they normally have both a 'Asia' and 'JPN' version of the game - and both have different prices, apart from the writing being in either chinese or japanese do the games differ elsewhere?
(i always thought hong-kong was PAL so i figured i should check this out)

2.) Do i need to get a new memory card for jpn titles, or do the saves sit happily along side my existing PAL games on the one card?

thanks for reading, any help would be great!

[Kubrick]

Hmm, the only real difference is the back of the case- JPN versions say FOR JAPAN ONLY, and Asian versions say FOR HOME USE ONLY, and also have a little boxout describing the game's genre, and the supported language(s).

One memory card is all you need, as far as I know

[Sketcz]

Greetings, and welcome to the exciting world of PS2 imports.


1.) A very good question. Asian games, are basically NTSC-J games, except they come with an additional mini chinese and english booklet, for the chinese/english speakers in asia.
This is excellent, since as well as getting your Japanese booklet, youll also get a little mini booklet with English in it, explaining controls and sometimes plot.

2 cases in point, both my MGS collectors edition box set (ps1) and Shikigami No Shiro (ps2) were the "asian" versions.

As a result, they came with a second instruction manual, in both English and chinese. It explained controls gfor both games, and had some plot intros for MGS, and explained the complex combo system for shiki.

Very useful, and therfor probably a bit more pricey.

The actual games themselves though will be in Japanese only, so you have to weigh it up, how important is an english mini booklet, since its basically a cut down version of the original. Good for games with complex scenarios, but it depends on the game really.

Remember though, its only a cut down version of the original booklets, so many sections will be missing, and the game itself will still be in Japanese.


2.) For the PS2, JPN, USA and Euro games will all happily sit on one card with no problems. its only the Gamecube where you need a seperate card for the Japanese games.

hope that helps!

[Pirotic]

cheers lads!

the wife finally said i could spend a bit of ? to get a few games and get my machine chipped, e-mailed londonconsole today but i suspect he'll be busy until after christmas.

ordered Initial D, GT4 prologue and Hyper Street Fighter 2.. woohoo

[Naiera]

Very useful, and therfor probably a bit more pricey.!

Asian versions are cheaper to buy for the shops. Curse Lik Sang for charging the same prices for ASN versions as AI Trading does for JPN versions.

[Sketcz]

I wasnt too sure, I havent actually taken the time to check and compare. But thanks for the confirmation, looks like the asian versions are better off after all, english booklet, and lower price.

also, to original poster, have fun with the imports. I could recomend titles, but thats why this site is here, filled with good reviews.