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Why are Japanese games so pricey?


Shug244

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I literally can't find a single jap game that is under $30 for the vita all of them are $30+,and im not purposely looking for Jap games but i am looking for a rpg game on ps vita and basically all of them if not all of them are japanese and $30+ and that go for both digital and physical copies.

If i could get a jap rpg game for no more than $20 than i would buy it in a second,i might even go as high as $25 but i only buy games for $30+ that are brand spanking new,i mean call me cheap if you want but i know i never play single player games again after i beat them unless im going back for missed trophies which is why i buy used,while on the outher hand i buy new games with MP for $30-$60 because more than likely i will enjoy the MP,for example im waiting till october to preorder blackops 3 ( trying to make sure they won't cancel the ps3 version) and i will also preorder the next battlefield game ( not buying hardline unless i can get it for $20 because i feel like it's not battlefield,same go for cod advance warfare )

Edited by Shug244
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You're best bet is to wait for the Golden Week sale that PSN have every year OR eBay.

 

And I know exactly what you're talking about. There's a custom limit in Norway, and I've been waiting for Moe Chronicle to drop down a little bit. You also have to remember that JRPGs are a niche genre and reflect the price.

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Be thankful you're not buying them in Japan. They'd be about double the price there. And the price would hardly come down with time.

 

That's one of the main reasons Atlus releases their games dub-only in the West - to prevent reverse importing and losing sales money in Japan. (Not really sure why they also did it in the PS2-era, when the console was region-locked, but...)

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Be thankful you're not buying them in Japan. They'd be about double the price there. And the price would hardly come down with time.

 

That's one of the main reasons Atlus releases their games dub-only in the West - to prevent reverse importing and losing sales money in Japan. (Not really sure why they also did it in the PS2-era, when the console was region-locked, but...)

 

Actually it's cheaper than you think if you know where to look in Japan. Yea the price of Vita games are still relatively high, but they're cheaper than what a lot of websites make them out to be. I bought a used God Eater 2 (used in Japan looks the same as new) for the Vita for 500円 which with the current exchange rate(1 usd to 123 yen) is $4.03 or 3.66. New copies of it went for around 2000円: $16.1 or 14.66. On play-asia( http://www.play-asia.com/god-eater-2/13/7063p5), the price of the same game is $58.99..

 

Yep Atlus region-locked Persona 4 Arena because the yen was really strong at the time and it was releasing in NA and JP only weeks apart. Both version contained English and Japanese text/voice option so it was the same game. With the strong yen at the time, importing a NA copy was cheaper than buying it in Japan. 

 

Yea new vita games tend to be above 6000円 which is $48.42 or €44, but you can still find cheaper options. Like Phantasy Star Nova which came out last year tend to go for less than 2000円. Most games especially the more mainstream ones in Japan tend to drop down in price over time but more niche ones like visual novels tend to retain their value.. Western games in Japan tend to be more expensive too. 

 

Importing tends to mean that the price will be higher than in the original country of sale. 

So if you want to buy relatively cheap Japanese games.. Come to Japan! Hurry before they raise sales tax again... They raised it from 5% to 8% last year and it's going up to 10% soon..

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oztxx.jpg

 

Actually, I find that most, if not all Japanese games also have way better graphics than Western games... though I do realize this is a bit subjective.

 

 

Yep Atlus region-locked Persona 4 Arena because the yen was really strong at the time and it was releasing in NA and JP only weeks apart. Both version contained English and Japanese text/voice option so it was the same game.

 

It's only the battle-voices that are dual-audio, so it's not exactly the same.

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Actually, I find that most, if not all Japanese games also have way better graphics than Western games... though I do realize this is a bit subjective.

 

 

 

It's only the battle-voices that are dual-audio, so it's not exactly the same.

When the Japanese games are focused on graphics they are better.  MGS4 and FF13 were probably the best looking games that I can remember on PS3 and they were quite early in the lifecycle of the console.  Regardless, Japanese games usually have 10000000000x better gameplay than Western games and that is why (IMO) they are vastly superior to most of the stuff over here.  Western games focus on other aspects of gaming though and they do what they need to in order to appeal to their market.

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When the Japanese games are focused on graphics they are better.  MGS4 and FF13 were probably the best looking games that I can remember on PS3 and they were quite early in the lifecycle of the console.  Regardless, Japanese games usually have 10000000000x better gameplay than Western games and that is why (IMO) they are vastly superior to most of the stuff over here.  Western games focus on other aspects of gaming though and they do what they need to in order to appeal to their market.

 

Agree with everything, though I think that, even without really trying, nearly all Japanese games still have way better graphics than Western ones. Some PS2 J-games even had graphics rivaling those seen in a PS3.

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I don't mind the price on some of the Japanese games I buy/ are going to buy. It's totally worth it seeing I love the quality they put out and I love Japan anyways. I do play my share of Western games but they usually don't captivate me as much like JRPGs or hack n slashes or Musou games.. the list goes on. 

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I agree with others, check the less popular import stores if you can find some. Ebay is pretty good but as usually the games are more auctioned off rather thana quick buy.

 

 

 

 

Agree with everything, though I think that, even without really trying, nearly all Japanese games still have way better graphics than Western ones. Some PS2 J-games even had graphics rivaling those seen in a PS3.

 

I have to say that certain Japanese do look graphically but at the currently moment I see none of them coming close to Wicther 3, Halo Master, Driveclub, Uncharted and many more coming in graphics. I think Bloodborne is the only game that is stunning and Japanese at the moment.

Edited by ZeroXOF
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You are talking about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

The first version of P4A had full Dual Audio.

 

Huh. Did not know that.

 

I'm usually a fan of the original Japanese and even refuse to buy anime games if they don't have it (which thankfully happens pretty much never these days), but since I was forced to play P4 in English and will be forced to play all other sequels like that, might as well play Arena in English, too (not that I'm going to get much of a choice anyway, since I skipped the original Arena and I'm just going to get the story DLC for Ultimax). Meh, the dub isn't too bad and I've gotten used to it anyway, so...

 

I have to say that certain Japanese do look graphically but at the currently moment I see none of them coming close to Wicther 3, Halo Master, Driveclub, Uncharted and many more coming in graphics. I think Bloodborne is the only game that is stunning and Japanese at the moment.

 

Japanese games tend to use more stylized graphics which still look good even after a few years. Western games tend to be more realistic, which looks great at the time, but tends to age really badly.

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It's only the battle-voices that are dual-audio, so it's not exactly the same.

Better than nothing... but yea, as others said, P4A had dual audio.

 

Check ebay, people usually don't keep those import games they buy for easy trophies (because they tend to be rubbish). 

He's looking for JRPGs, not VNs.

And they aren't rubbish. People just don't read them.

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Be thankful you're not buying them in Japan. They'd be about double the price there. And the price would hardly come down with time.

 

That's one of the main reasons Atlus releases their games dub-only in the West - to prevent reverse importing and losing sales money in Japan. (Not really sure why they also did it in the PS2-era, when the console was region-locked, but...)

Nope, it's actually much cheaper in Japan. Also Amazon.jp have a lot of seller with good price cuts + a good number of cheap games there right now lol...

Edited by Nelson_Otaku
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Nope, it's actually much cheaper in Japan. Also Amazon.jp have a lot of seller with good price cuts + a good number of cheap games there right now lol...

 

Yeah this is what I thought, your from japan so you would know. I heard that games almost always go half price after like the first or second week.

Actually it's cheaper than you think if you know where to look in Japan. Yea the price of Vita games are still relatively high, but they're cheaper than what a lot of websites make them out to be. I bought a used God Eater 2 (used in Japan looks the same as new) for the Vita for 500円 which with the current exchange rate(1 usd to 123 yen) is $4.03 or 3.66. New copies of it went for around 2000円: $16.1 or 14.66.

 

500 yen ? You mean IN japan and not online right ? ( I'm just getting my hopes up xD )

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What are you trying to say? 

I'm saying that accusing "most visual novels of being bad anyway" is stupid. Unless you also dislike books and other written works for the same reason you say VNs are rubbish. They are the same thing, except that people don't just flip the pages of books for fucking trophies and never actually read them.

 

More VNs should be like VLR, where you could only skip the text you've already read...

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Huh strange the only Japanese games I've seen on the vita that where more than 20 bucks where the newer releases I mean I got 3 of the hyperdimension neptunia games for under 20 new, freedom wars was 14 bucks new I mean really cheap and I just shop amazon, walmart, ebay, target, best buy so not really going out of my way lol but I do buy hard copy they are generally cheaper digital copies tend to retain there high prices

Huh strange the only Japanese games I've seen on the vita that where more than 20 bucks where the newer releases I mean I got 3 of the hyperdimension neptunia games for under 20 new, freedom wars was 14 bucks new I mean really cheap and I just shop amazon, walmart, ebay, target, best buy so not really going out of my way lol but I do buy hard copy they are generally cheaper digital copies tend to retain there high prices

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