Hi List,
This has been long overdue since I've been back from Japan for over a
month. I think you all might find this interesting....
Before I tell you about what's up with the Turbo over in Japan, I have
to thank two very cool people who took the time out of their very busy
schedules to hang out with me in Japan.
1. Joan Touzet and I met up in Shinjuku and had a great time over dinner
at the most unique Chinese restaurant (and the first one I'd ever been to
at that!- hard to believe). Those of you who might know her know what a
great person she is.
2. Takumi Suidu and I met up in Osaka and went and (in very rainy
weather) headed out to Kobe where we did some great shopping. I saw some
very cool video game items in Nihombashi (Osaka's version of Akihabara)
which blew my mind. They even had a Colecovision DINA clone (from
TELEGAMES!)with a couple of games!! They had many other things there that
were difficult to find in Akihabara like just about EVERY Japanese 3DO
game, a Bandai Pippin, and more. He and I even went through a long and
narrow flea market together
where I picked up some unbelievable deals like a COREGRAFX without cables
or controller for Y500 (about $4.00!)!
I deeply appreciate the time I got to spend with both of them and hope
to see them when I go back to Japan very soon. I also want to thank
everyone for their replies to my questions from Japan when I was debating
over what games to buy. Now, onto the good stuff.
I have to say that since I started going to Japan over two years ago,
certain items have definately gotten more expensive. This particular time
around (from May 15th to June 2nd), I found games more expensive than
before (generally speaking). On the other hand, the selection for PC
Engine and PC-FX is better than I ever remember it being. I don't know how
much of this you'll find useful but I will list some sample prices and
stores.
Actually, let me go with the stores first.
1.Of course, Medialand is one of the main sources for any console in
Akihabara. They are a tad expensive these days I think. The people
who work there are very nice (this goes for all--ALL stores actually)
and the selection is fantastic. One slight drawback is that they are
cash
only...no credit cards or ATMs or anything like that. But, then again,
any traveller to Japan should have cash available when buying video
games
because many of the deals are in flea markets and discount shops and
ATM
machines accepting your American card are difficult to find. Most rare
PC Engine and PC-FX games can be found here. As with most shops, there
is a section of loose cards which I think are too expensive...for example:
a loose Power League III was like Y700 (about $5.50).
All in all a very good store...I always go there first (as it is right
next to one of the subway exits anyway) and you are always going to find
a PC Engine LT in a box (about $900 if you're wondering).
2. TRADER stores (there are two of them) are much smaller though,
amazingly,
I think that their selection is better than MediaLand. Also a cash
only
place, they are very convenient in that they have printed price lists
of
almost all of their games! If anyone isinterested, I have many such
lists
from different shops. You will find more used games here than at
MediaLand (though both have a healthy supply of both new and used).
The
TRADER stores also have a much better selection and better prices for
PC-FX games! Within Akihabara, the best FX selection is here. Some of
the prices are good but even more so is the great selection. At any
one
time, you will probably find 30+ titles for the FX in stock (changes
every day. Another cool thing here is that the prices are somewhat
better
than MediaLand (maybe like a 5%-10% difference depending on the game).
They have pretty good loose merchandise which is way more reasonable
than
MediaLand. Most anything there is about $1 or 2. They also have a
good
console selection but nowhere near as good as MediaLand's.
3. There are plenty of other shops which have very little left but with
great deals...
1. SoftMap had a few brand new Arcade Card Duos for about $25. They
were
going used for that much in the other stores.
2. The Computer Soft (actually, I think I got the name wrong...i'll
check
on it) had just opened a case of brand new Tengai Makyou III:
Kabuki
Den and was selling them for about $3! More on this place in my
SEGA list posting where I attended a neat SEGAGAGA debut. As an
aside, Tengai Makyou Zero for the Super Famicom was going new for
about $1. It was going for about $9 in other stores.
3. In Kobe, Takumi san took me to some cool shops as I said. In a
used electronics shop, I picked up some great deals but some
things were expensive also. You really have to compare as you
go through Japan. Prices for about 80% of the games are very
similar but there are many exceptions.
There are many more stores that I could list but, that should give you
a rough idea. I'll gladly send you more information if you'd like
including detailed price lists. I want to point out that I am not
doing this so that you can attack your favorite importer saying "Well,
why should I pay this when it's so much cheaper in Japan?" The cheap
deals are difficult to find many times. On top of that factor in the
effort in hunting games down, shipping them to the US, what the
demand is in the US, and a profit to make it all worthwhile and you'll
understand the pricing. I'm just doing this because before I ever
went to Japan, I was dying to know more about it and the games I love.
Pricing of the games generally works like this from most expensive
to least: (using Dracula X as an example)
NEW- MINT about $85
USED- with S/card $60-70
USED no spine card $50........
if a game case is damaged, an extra generic will usually come with
it as well as a small discount and every game I hvae ever purchased
has worked no matter what it looked like. i never felt as though i
was being lied to in a shop and nothing was ever pushed on me. the
level
of honesty and lack of pressure to buy is amazing! Since I get the
feeling you are getting tired of this message, I'll finish up with
some of my better PC-FX and PC Engine purchases from this trip:
Bomberman 94 (no spine card)---$4.00 (normally $20 used)
Galaxy Fr. Yuna 1 (no s/c)-----$4.00 (normally $25 used)
Sailor Moon Collection-NEW-----$4.00
Last Imperial Prince used/ no s/c--$25.00
Blue Breaker used/ no s/c----------$22.00
I also picked up:
Legend of Xanadu 2 (upon recommendation from List members) $40
Emerald Dragon (") $28
Tengai Makyou Ziria (CD version/ already had the SCD version) $15
and plenty more, but that is a rough idea....
Most encouraging of all however is that PC Engine games still sell
very well over there. There were always people in the PCE sections
and several store clerks told me that it was still very popular and
loved! Amen to that!!!
Well, for those of you on the Saturn List, I have lots of exciting
news about the Saturn side of things and VERY COOL stuff about the
Dreamcast which is definately alive and well over there!!! If you would
like to know what certain games go for in Akihabara I can give you some
detailed price lists. I jsut didn't post them to the List cause I wasn't
ever sure you'd get this far in my message as it is.
thanks for reading,
george
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