Is the grass is always greener on the other side?
The good, the bad, and the ugly of videogame imports

Seeking imports of foreign goods are attractive for a number of differing reasons such as the supply, demand, and the cost of the product that is being sourced. From items such as wild fruits, perfume, wildlife, to cars, electronics, or in our case videogames, the import market plays an essential role in providing goods that simply cannot be obtained domestically at either supply or cost levels.

In most cases, importing is a delicate balancing act, consisting of weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of such an approach. In this article, we shall discuss some of the issues surrounding the import market for videogames, and highlight some of its merits and drawbacks when we consider such an option for acquiring the latest releases in electronic entertainment. In order to discuss the wide-ranging issues, the article will be divided into three parts, namely The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, to represent the various advantages, disadvantages, and potential pitfalls of the import market. Finally, we will provide a buyers guide to imports for gamers who are considering buying imports in the future.

The Good:

1. Time Factor
If you ask anyone who has ever bought imported hardware or software, one of the main reasons that they have done so is to overcome the wait for the official release. Since Japan are still the leaders in hardware manufacturing, the rest of the world simply has to wait for those products to be localised for other territories leading to months of delay. Whether you are a hardcore or casual gamer, the chances are that you would have endured the time lag for official releases, where the only way around the problem is by seeking grey imports.

2. Originality
Domestically produced games aside, imports are the only way of obtaining the latest releases of foreign games in their completely original state without the eventual alterations that are made to official versions. Even when there are linguistic issues involved, serious gamers would go to great lengths to acquire a rare piece of hardware or software in its original packaging, language, and general state, just like any meticulous collector or hobbyist.

3. Exclusivity:
The value of imported hardware or software can increase dramatically when official releases are ruled out, hence adding to the element of 'nobody else has it'. In any case, owning an imported version of a game or piece of hardware guarantees a certain level of exclusivity - such as the period before and after official release, especially if the original version is found to be superior.

4. Value:
This advantage of imports is only applicable to titles that have not been released domestically. As a result, the imported version is likely to be the only version in existence and hence would be able to hold its value - maybe even enhance it due to rarity. This is one aspect of imports that can be capitalised on by the gamer with the greatest awareness by buying the right types of games at the right time and that will appreciate in value indefinitely.

5. Price:
Strangely enough, imports are also a great source for bargain hunters. Assuming they already have the matching hardware or software converters, selected imports can be picked up relatively cheaply compared to official versions. However, this scenario is only typical for games that are not particularly high in demand (such as poor quality titles), or which the market is already saturated with supply. The ideal time for buying bargain imports is immediately after the release of official versions, where retailers still have imports in stock of which consumers are not buying. However, rare and highly regarded titles will still command high prices relative to domestic versions.

6. Technical merits:
The last but definitely not the weakest advantage of videogame imports is their technical merit due to the variation in the NTSC (e.g. U.S, Japan) broadcasting standard compared to European PAL standards (e.g. U.K, Germany). The difference in the two standards causes problems with compatibility, and for videogames, the difference in the mains frequency (with NTSC at 60 Hz, PAL at 50Hz) causes a niggling problem when displaying games on television screens. The widely renowned 'letter box' PAL format has plagued the European games industry for discerning gamers to learn that games are displayed in a tighter and squashed format compared to their NTSC counterparts in Japan and the U.S.

To compound the problem further, the difference in standards mean that games are presented at a speed that is 17.5% slower than NTSC versions. As any serious gamer understands, this reduction in speed is agonising and painfully unacceptable for great videogames, causing a significant change to the overall feel of the original game and therefore adversely affecting gameplay.

Above all else, the advantage presented by imports by providing a full screen and full speed gaming experience is perhaps the most compelling reason for their demand in the European markets. Despite some attempts by manufacturers to rectify the problem by providing a 60Hz option in newer games, the problem is still apparent when two machines from the NTSC and PAL regions are compared side by side. One thing is for sure, once a serious PAL gamer has experienced an NTSC system, the decision of going for imports becomes even more appealing.

Having now highlighted some of the more compelling reasons for videogame imports, join us next week for the second part of the article where we will be examining the bad aspects of the import market.