help on buying imported games

[ps24life(2)]

are there any retail stores selling imported (new, not used) ps2 games? are there any in southern california? also how much are they? also, my friend said his mom bought some new imported psx games for $1 each. how much are psx games in japan? thx a lot.

[ps24life(2)]

anyone?

[TheGiver]

Originally posted by ps24life(2)
are there any retail stores selling imported (new, not used) ps2 games? are there any in southern california? also how much are they? also, my friend said his mom bought some new imported psx games for $1 each. how much are psx games in japan? thx a lot.

Usually an import will go for $10 or $20 more than it does in it's original country. For instance, if a game is worth $49USD in Japan, it could sell for $69 in the US. Importing is not cheap, expect to pay about $70/title if you're importing.

As for your friend, he has HK silvers. Those are games pressed onto silver CDs, mostly from Hong Kong, hence the name HK silver. They can look pretty official to people that don't know. The discs are usually thinner than most discs, usually only use one color on the disc top, usually smell funny (like spices or coffee beans), and the covers very rarely have a Playstation logo, a UPC, and the cover graphics look a little odd. Also, some have a logo stamped on them that says "Players." And most noticeable, the disc is always silver, where PSX games have dark purple bottoms and PS2 CDs have dark blue bottoms... PS2 DVDs have silver bottoms, but mostly, the tops are in full color.

Sorry I didn't answer your initial question, but I'm nowhere near California. There should be lots of import shops over there, though, look around.

[ps24life(2)]

You're right. my friend's games have a silver bottom like music cd's. i thought only US psx games have dark purple bottoms. Looks like I was wrong. My question is, why are they so cheap? are they any better or worse than *regular* games? They ARE original, right?

[TheGiver]

They're so cheap because it doesn't cost much to press a CD. In the US, it takes about 80 cents to press a good quality disc. Now, if you make the disc thinner, only use one color for the label, don't use a glass mastering disc, and don't create a booklet or ship in a jewel case, you can cut production cost in half. So, for about 40 cents (US money), a bootlegged silver can be pressed in Hong Kong. The games aren't better than "regular" games, sometimes they can be worse (say they used a beta version of the game and are passing it off as the full version or since the discs are so cheap, they might not even work). The games are not original, they are bootlegs, just like any game on CDR. You still need a modchip to play them. Also, if you ever go to Asia and decide to bring some silvers back, make sure that you bring them back in a CD wallet in your carry-on luggage. My friend went to China and came home with only half of his finds because they wouldn't let him bring the ones he had in "Seal King" plastic resealable baggies. He ended up mailing those to his house and it took a month for them to reach him. They did let him take the ones in his 64CD wallet, though.

[fooniman]

I deal some of these discs, but the PSX ones are $2, not $1, your friend must be lying unless he went all the way to Thailand/HK.

[ps24life(2)]

he said his mom bought it in japan for a buck each. he stayed his ass right here. I didn't know they were silvers because i didn't know what psx silvers were (actually, never heard of it until nearly a year ago). I thought non-US original psx games had a silver bottom. he had about 50 (i thought was original) titles and i got really jealous.

for fooniman - it feels great for my name to be on your good list. thx a lot

[fooniman]

hahah, it has been for quite a while! but japan, and $1, that's sounds VERY weird...

[messiahfan2003]

Japan does have strict anti piracy laws. The anti piracy laws are tougher than the US.