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Import gaming: the fine art of playing games we don't understand

Posted Nov 24, 2007 at 03:15PM by Charles D. Listed in: Opinions & Analysis Tags: Star Trek, Sony, Wal-Mart, piracy, Gundam
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Taking a look at the games from both the east and the west, there's no denying both have their own charm in wooing their respective crowds. However, some gamers enjoy crossing the lines and end up playing imported games, despite the fact they don't understand a word of what the characters say.

Import gamers constitute a small community in the video gaming industry now. However, what makes them tick? What exactly is the charm in playing a game you couldn't normally make heads or tails out of?

There are actually a lot of advantages in importing games outside your local region. Depending on the game, some titles are released weeks or even months ahead of its regional counterpart. This gives import gamers the chance to play the game ahead of everyone else and get the twisted satisfaction of spoiling the plot out of everyone else. This is asides from the fact that importing games is usually cheaper than waiting for the local version to come out at the nearest Wal-Mart.

And there will always be die-hard collectors who prefer their games in their "natural state". These include unchanged dialogue to even some uncensored scenes that are sometimes lost in between translations.

 Box art of two popular Japanese released games - Image 1 Box art of two popular Japanese released games - Image 2 


Breaking the language (and the system) barrier

Importing games don't come without their own set of difficulties, however. During the early years of console gaming, a lot of the older consoles featured varying degrees of regional lockouts to discourage the practice.

Still, a lot of gamers tried to find a way to surpass these difficulties just so that they can get their hands on a game they probably couldn't even understand (at least interface-wise). Technical issues were really a big thing then, with hurdles such as region-locked consoles, as well as the classic NTSC/PAL compatibility problem.

This gave rise to players acquiring modchips or whatever hacks they could use to overcome these compatibility issues. Because of this, piracy became a real threat to game publishers and the practice was greatly frowned upon.

However, a lot of the consoles nowadays are pretty much region free - much to the relief of many import gaming fans. Even the console manufacturers, such as Sony and Nintendo, seem to have recognized this fact by making a lot of their games region-free.

Today, this makes the biggest difficulty in becoming an import gamer would probably be your game getting misplaced during the shipping process due to the FedEx guy getting lost along the way.

Long-haired bishounen vs. seven-foot marine: you decide the winner - Image 1 


The "Star Trek Syndrome"

This is the phrase I came up with when trying to explain just why import games are still quite the commodity for some gamers. Simply put, the "Star Trek Syndrome" refers to the long standing popularity of any [video game] series, enough for people to play it despite the interface and the in-game text being in another language.

A classic example of this would have to be the Final Fantasy series in Japan. While it wasn't that big a hit when it first came to the States, it's popularity has snowballed over the years so much that gamers are quick to grab any copies of a game with the words "Final Fantasy" in its title.

On the flip side, some Japanese gamers have also acquired the taste for FPS games over the years, with games like the Halo series and Counterstrike taking the forefront of their interests.

Apparently, name branding works just as well in video games regardless of which side of the globe you live in. This is actually a beneficial thing if you want to share popular cultural cliques between inter-racial gamers; to say the least about the number of Trekkies in Japan, as well as the Gundam maniacs in the U.S.

The universal language of fun

Screenshot of Banpresto's Super Robot Taisen Alpha 3 for the PS2 - Image 1Every import gamers' wish, this blogger included, is to have their favorite import games ported to their local language. More often than not, game publishers realize the potential some games have in drawing a huge market and end up making a local port of it.

Popular series such as Final Fantasy and Super Mario have all undergone local translations usually several weeks after its original release in Japan. However, this doesn't stop hardcore import gamers from getting their hands on it and feeling their way through the game before local players even know what the game's about.

Whatever way you want to look at it, import gaming is a great alternative to any players' lifestyle. While dialogue and script both play an essential part in any game, what really breaks the language barrier is just how much fun they get out of a game despite not understanding a word of what the characters say.

With that said, I hope everyone forgives me while I fanboy about my own import gaming tendencies as I'm off to play another round of Super Robot Taisen W on my DS.

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8 Comments


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   by Pwner1 - 2007-11-24
 » My experiences
The Japan only released games I've played are Hokuto no Ken games and the dialogue and events are retelling the anime and manga, so no problems understanding about what's going on.


   Re: iamback(unregistered) - 2007-11-25
 » :)
We play games all the time without paying attention to the words :) I often times just press A rapidly if text appears on the screen in most games :P

Of course, in games like Zelda, I'll pay attention. But in games like Castlevania, I'll just ignore the storyline. Less talking, more mashing :)
   by AkiraPsychic - 2007-11-24
 » .
I've only imported the Gundam games because i'm a huge Gundam fan.

   by Advertising -
   by platon - 2007-11-24
 » I'm not at all into this
I play almsot only JRPGs, and I play them for the story, not the battles... (even if battles are fun, you need the story to continue playing)

   by mohaas05 - 2007-11-24
 » yea
japan has many titles that are catered to specific interests. For example, i imported Densha de Go! Pocket for PSP. Although its in Japanese its really easy to pick up and understand. I even picked up a little japanese from it too.

   by lavino - 2007-11-24
 » that ds one in the pic...
don't we have an english version of it?

   by Missa - 2007-11-25
 » I love imports
I simply cannot stand it whenever poor english voice acting is crammed down my throat. I love my collection of Japanese PS1-PS2 games. My PC-FX games though really make me sometimes forget I am not in Japan when playing them.

My 10 years out of practice Japanese though is not too pretty, but I guess I am one of the lucky ones who can generally stumble through without getting too frustrated. Though games like Classmates 2 and the Power Dolls series can try my patience. The Power Dolls games mostly so since generally every level has a special objective, which is usually shown in Japanese text for about 15 seconds and you will loose unless you complete this objective.

Vib Ribbon has also provided me with countless hours of entertainment. The Engrish songs that come with it are fun to inflict on people who usually after hearing one for a little bit realize much of it is in English...kinda.

Oh and who can forget Time Gal, the PS1 version of that game is near flawless. Stopu!
1. Jump on to the ship
2. Jump into the water
3. Pray to god

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...*tick tick tick*

   by j23c8nn - 2007-11-29
 » imports are awesome
I love imports too.
My first taste of import gaming was a Dragon Ball Z game for the Super Famicom, back in 1994 when barely anyone knew about it in the US.

I think it's all about getting games that might never come out here, and/or getting games FIRST. It's one of the main reasons I refused to get an American Wii console, and got a Japanese one. :)



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