Are games that cheap in Japan?

[Vlad]

Never been to Japan myself, but I've read some people claiming that games in Japan are damn cheap. Yes, I also have heard the opposite. So, for those who are/have been there, which part is true and which is a sort of urban legend?

I've seen a guy living in Japan who's selling an excellent condition Pulstar (AES) for $415, so I guess he finds it for about $350 or less

Discuss

 

[2Dfan]

Depends where you go, In Akihabara stuff has Ebay prices. In lesser known shops, you can find good deals.

But then again, I bought lots of stuff there anyway back in 2003

 

[firebomber]

You can find good deals on used stuff.
New games on the other hand cost more than they do in the States.

 

[OrochiEddie]

dvds cost an arm and a leg.
I'm guessing the games do too (new)

 

[funkified]

ya newer gen games and consoles are definitely more expensive for the most part than north america. like a used slim PS2 still runs you like 150 bux! its ridiculous.
as for used games its hit or miss, depends where you go and what day you are there and how much you are willing to dig through all the shops (theres at least 10 that come to mind)
the neo geo stuff isnt all that cheap i dont think, its on par with the guide most times if that is still any good. ive seen pulstar before and never less than 60 000 yen which is about 550 bucks i think.

 

[kobylka68]

I have found tons of dirt cheap games in my trips to Japan. I found a brand new and sealed Samurai Shodown 3 AES for $25, a mint AES system with box and all registration and manuals for like $90 and a mint KOF 2001 AES for $70 all 3 years ago. It depends where you go. You can find lots of great deals in Akihabara but your best bet is to walk around and look for the smaller shops. I managed to find a few great places that I go back to often. I try to go back to Japan every year or 2 and pick up some games.

 

[ResO]

New games are pretty much normal American price and used new consoles are so expensive you might as well just get a new one in the first place. Anything other than the absolute newest generation can be had at great if not amazing prices. I have easily made a good living in Japan just by reselling games on Ebay. Toys are also a great resale market.

 

[Dolphin]

I discovered very few truly great home cart deals during the time I was in Japan. Then again, I was preoccupied with other things and wasn't able to devote a lot of energy to searching - individual results may vary greatly.

And the comments made about Akihabara in this thread are correct; the prices there roughly on par with eBay. One good thing that can be said about cart shopping in Akihabara, though, is that the condition of what you'll find is typically better than what will be encountered while randomly trawling eBay/hoping for desired games to materialize on the selling forum.

 

[aria]

I'm going to actually differ slightly from the opinions on Akihabara and other locations in general: If there's one system where, no matter where you go in Japan the prices will be much lower than the US/eBay, it's the Famicom. No one really carries it, and there were an unreal number of games, so going into a store for Famicom games will get you a lot of games for cheap. I bet that's what the eBay sellers do anyway, then they double the price.

 

[Neon_Sonic]

I don't have any personal experience as I haven't been to Japan yet, but I get the impression that it really depends on where you go and what you're talking about. For older games and collectables, Japan would of course be much cheaper. There seems to be quite a few people who make a living off of buying used Japanese games and selling to them on eBay to us crazy Americans who will pay so much for them. In terms of new releases, it seems to be like DVDs (that is, very expensive). For major titles like a Final Fantasy game or something, I remember seeing prices as high as 7000 to 8000 yen (60 to 70 dollars) on Amazon Japan. Although, prices seem to start dropping pretty quickly.