January 1999




January 28, 1999

Oh Canada  The mystery of why Canadians have trouble buying video games has now been solved!

This comes from a reader living in Canada:

>> I found out that I'm out of luck about the Canadian PO's IMO's - but now I
>> understand why.  (Don't read this if you don't care).  Several years ago,
>> Canada decided to franchise out the operation of most of its smaller post
>> offices.  The main post offices (not many of these left) are still
>> government-run.  I had a problem sending a regular MO to somewhere in
>> Europe once, and the gov't-run PO told me about IMO's, and the "via Ottawa"
>> thing.  The franchisees don't even know what an "International" MO is (so
>> they obviously don't have access to this service).  That explains the
>> variation in response among Canadians - whether their PO is government-run
>> or a franchise.  I no longer work near a gov't-run PO (nor do I know where
>> one is anymore), so I can't use the "IMO" strategy.

January 27, 1999

Quote of the day: "The world is a more interesting place with you in it" - Psycho Mantis/Hannibal Lechter.

The Devil is in the details CESA (Computer Entertainment Software Organization) is a lobbying group which represents Japanese entertainment software manufacturers.  They are also the group who organizes and sponsors the Tokyo Game Show twice a year (not to mention the fact that they are leading the campaign to ban the sale of used games in Japan).  They are kind enough to provide part of their web site in Japanese.  Readers may be interested in the reader survey results from the Spring 98 TGS.

Games I wish existed Wouldn't it be nice if there was a portable NES/Famicom? I know about the Portendo project, but I want something real.  Now that Nintendo has started to re-do some older NES titles for Game Boy Color, I might get the next best thing.  What I would really like is for Konami to release Metal Gear for GBC. Since NCL/NOA are famous for releasing a "new" version of popular games for every platform they release, perhaps we will see many of our old favorites making new appearances.  Can you imagine telling your younger siblings (or your kids for that matter) that you played their favorite new game 15 years ago?  While I'm dreaming, I want a portable system which uses Mini Disks for storage.  Almost any CD ROM based game would fit on an MD so the idea is not too far fetched.  I know that a portable CD ROM based system could be done more easily and would have greater computability with an existing library of games, but any of you who have used a discman know how that would just stink.  MD uses a better caching system than present day portable CD players so there would have an advantage just because it does not "skip" as much.  For now I'll just have to be content with my GBC, GT, Game Gear,  Nomad and Neo Geo Pocket.

January 25, 1999

No collecting news, but instead a few thoughts about game translation.  Before I get too far into this, I just want to mention that I spent a little time comparing the manuals of the Famicom and NES versions of Metal Gear and I really have to say that US gamers were fed a grand crock by Konami.  In any case, on with the editorial.

There are at least two ways to look at the process of translation:

Obviously, no game translation fits entirely into either category, but let's use these for the sake of argument.

Everyone has played a game which was translated poorly.  I'm sure that all of you have a favorite line which didn't make sense ("Uh Oh! The truck have started to move!") and equally you have a game which you felt like not only were you never distracted by bad spelling or grammar, but you never even once consciously thought that you were playing a translation.

Unfortunately most games fall somewhere in the middle.  There have been various complaints in the gaming press and on the newsgroups about Working Designs' translations.  Some people felt they were too "Americanized", although I have enjoyed all of the WD games I have played.  Pretty much everyone agrees that Metal Gear Solid was flawless.  Pretty much everyone that is...

Many of you are probably aware of the "do it yourself" translation efforts which have arisen out of the emulation scene.  There are projects in progress to translate the Japanese Final Fantasy games which were not release in the States as well as various others on the Net.  One of the highest regarded of these is the project to translate Metal Gear 2 for MSX into English. All I can say about the people involved in this project is that while I may not see eye to eye with them, I think they are doing a great job.

Next time you pick up an RPG or adventure game, think about the story you are experiencing.  Are you satisfied with it or do you feel that something may have been left out which would have made the game better in some way?

January 23, 1999

Shipping update I will be out of the country for a few days around the beginning of February and no games will be shipped during that period.  I may not be able to pick up email during that time, but any payments will be received by the person watching my place.

Stuff about Japan  Did you know that Yoshitake Amano, the artist who did all the Final Fantasy characters up to FF VII, is actually a famous artist who does lots of gallery shows?  Did you know we actually have weekly TV shows about video games here?  Did you know you can buy video games at convenience stores? Did you know that Metal Gear SOlid sold less copies here and stayed in the top 10 for a shorter period than it did in the US?  Did you know that some kind of Gundam game is always in the top 10 here?  Did you know that more new games are released here in one week than come out in a month in the US?  Did you know that most of them are unplayable trash?  How do these companies stay in business?

Natsukashi!!!  which means something like "I remember the feeling of the good old days".  Last week I actually saw a Terra Drive!  I could have afforded it but I have no space left in my apartment, so I didn't buy it.  Like a bird watcher, I was happy enough just to have seen it.  For those of you sitting in the back row, the Terra Drive was a 286 computer with a built in Mega Drive.  This was not Sega's first computer either.  Sega made two different 8 bit personal computers back in the day, but they didn't do too well in the marketplace.  I guess this was back when Nintendo released Family Basic, but I'm not sure about the release dates.

Lord knows why, but I saw a boxed NES for sale in Akihabara a week or so ago for about $400.  There was also a Turbo Grafx package with a Turbo Express and some other stuff for about $500.  Speaking of expensive games, some of you might know about Sofmap's infamous "sets".  They put together a bunch of related games and then add 20% to the total price and sell the whole thing as a set.  One of the Famicom sets is priced about $7000.  It includes darn near every accessory, game or related thing you can think of.  It's been there for more than 6 months now.  Who is going to pay that much money?

For a few months they had a Square RPG set with 22 games (GB, FC & SFC, no PSX cuz Sofmap won't sell used PSX games) for about $700.  I saw a girl no more than 14 buy it last week and she paid in cash.  I can't recall if any of the Square FDS games were in that pack or not, but I did notice that it was not a complete set of all Square games, just the RPGs.  Personally, I wouldn't buy a set like that.  I enjoy the thrill of the hunt too much!

Upcoming games It seems that Konami will release a PSX version of Dance Dance Revolution with an NES Power Pad style controller.  You too can stomp around and annoy your downstairs neighbors.  Square will release FF VII in about two weeks and it will have Pocket Station compatible mini games.  Sony has also announced their support for Bandai's Wonder Swan upcoming handheld.  I could not be any less excited.  These days I'm just not in the mood for cinematic epic RPGs.  The Neo Geo Pocket Color will come out in March, right around the time of the Spring Tokyo Game Show.  Like the sucker that I am, I'll end up buying it and the color version of Samurai Spirits, Last Blade and Metal Slug.  I've found the Neo Geo Pocket to be the perfect system to liven up dull train rides.

January 13, 1999

The US$ continues it's slide against the Yen, but a brief end of day rally in trading in Tokyo may show signs of recovery.  Special orders will continue to be suspended until there is stability in the 120 range.  Unfortunately, it seems that some prices are going up as well.  "Tales of Phantasia" is now approaching the $100 mark.

One good find: thanks to a email tip, I was able to locate a nice 3D0 Policenauts Box set which includes a mouse and mouse pad.

January 10, 1999

First the bad news; no special orders for a while.  Next the bad news;  I can't continue to sell PC-FX systems while the US$ is so weak.  Please buy them from NCS.  When the Dollar regains some strength against the Yen, I can start selling FX's again.  No interesting collecting news this weekend.  The only good news is that shipments will finally resume as normal starting tomorrow.

January 6, 1999

Back in Tokyo!  Vacation was great and the best part was getting home again! I'll be updating the pages over the next few days with lots of goodies which I found during my travels.

Kojima Games  I have added a page of Metal Gear, Policenauts and Snatcher games for sale here.

The Euro  Thanks to toe introduction of the Euro to the international currency markets, the US$ has taken a beating across the board.  Currency traders are a fickle lot.  Always going for the sexy new thing.  Why do you care?  As of February 1 prices on PC-FX and AV Famicom systems will go up by $15.  Prices on some used goods may go up as well.  I was really hoping to avoid this, but if things keep going in their current direction I will have no choice.

New Games How many of you are interested in being able to order current games as well as classics?  How about special orders on hard to find Japanese PSX and Saturn releases?  If enough of you are interested I might be able to do this on a regular basis.

Consoles only?  As my interest in the games of Hideo Kojima has expanded, I am considering offering some coverage of the MSX computer platform as well.  To date, I have only covered console gaming and have intentionally stayed away from games for Japanese home computer systems.  Very few of you would have access to systems such as the NEC PC8801 or 9800 series but considering that the MSX enjoyed a good degree of popularity in Europe and a variety of models were made by many different manufacturers, I may start covering it as well.
 

January 3, 1999 Roadshow update

Happy New Year!  Or as we say here in Japan, "Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!"  I'm writing from a small town in Aichi in central Japan, about an hour outside of Nagoya.  Hunting has been good!  Most people have heard of Akihabara in Tokyo, but few know of Osu in Nagoya.  If you ever make it to Nagoya, go to Osu near the Yabacho or Kamimaizu subway stops.  A word of warning, there are no addresses here, even if I knew them they would not help anyone who is not familiar with the Japanese address system.  If you have the back issues of "Used Games" magazine, you can find a cartoony map of this area.

While in Osu you want to find the "denki gai" section (just a small street really).  This is near the "Akamon dori" entrance to Osu.  Look for "Mega Town" and go down that street a bit till you find "Dolphin Yamamoto".  Lots of old stuff there but be warned, they are not cheap.  I have not really found a good bargain there in three years.  Dolphin has a few branches and they do not seem to co-ordinate on pricing so dig around.  You can find Famicom Disk games, MSX, Mega Drive, Neo Geo, etc. if you look around.  Further down the street you came in on through Akamon Dori you will also find "Platoon" on the second floor of the building on the right all the way at the end of the road.  On Otsu Dori back up towards the Yabacho station there is a shop which you can only find by looking for the hand written sign outside the building.  They have lots of Saturn, PSX and computer games (mostly of the echii variety) but I did find one truly good thing there, a complete copy of Snatcher for MSX!  I don't usually include pictures in this page, but I have to show this one to you:

The game itself is on the three floppies, the cartridge contained sounds used in the game.  This was how Konami got around the storage limits of either floppy or cart only games for some of their better MSX titles. Sorry for the glare, but this is right off my digicam and I didn't have time to get a perfect shot.  Don't know what an MSX is? Go read about it at http://www.msxnet.org.  Just so you know, Metal Gear was originally published for MSX systems.

If you ever make it to the towns of Hekinan or Handa, look for stores named Magical, Fammi's or Geo.  They are chain stores so they are easy to find by their signs but you will need to be driving as none of them are really within walking distance of a train station.

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